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ATLAS FormBuilder - Text Merge Formatting Cheat Sheet

Use the items in this tutorial to format your text merge options in ATLAS FormBuilder.

For general information about text merge in ATLAS FormBuilder, check out ATLAS FormBuilder - Text merge fields 

When using text merge in the mark down editor, you have some extra options for formatting available to you. 

The first step in all of these examples is to click on the text merge item to get it to display where you would like in the markdown editor. From there, immediately after that text merge value you will be adding one of the extra formatting options below. 

For each entry below, you will need to copy the bracketed items (including the brackets). In the entries below, the bracketed part is used, and then it's followed by an example of what it will accomplish 

{{"copy this": "copy this too"}} -> Here's an example of what it will do. 


Date Formatting

  • {{"dateFormat": "DayOfWeek"}} -> Tuesday
  • {{"dateFormat": "yyyy-MM-dd"}} -> 1955-11-5
  • {{"dateFormat": "Hi there, you were born on a 'DayOfWeek' in 'yyyy'!"}} -> Hi there, you were born on a Tuesday in 1955!
  • {{"dateFormat": "Updated on a 'DayOfWeek' by [[FormAssociatedUser_DisplayName]]"}} -> Updated on a Tuesday by John Smith

Multiple Questions Formatting

  • {{"tableFormat":"Html"}} -> provides a basic table with borders, rows, columns, and headers.
    a basic bordered table with columns, rows, and headers
  • {{"tableFormat": "FixedWidthText"}} -> provides a table bordered by character dashes and bars, with columns, rows, and headers 
    provides a table bordered by character dashes and bars, with columns, rows, and headers

Conditional Values

Unanswered questions

You can also use text merge formatting to insert a value on a question that didn't get answered in the survey. In the top example below, if the question asking for a street address was left blank, you may insert the text "No street address was given," and that will display instead of a blank field. 

  • {{"emptyValue":"No street address was given"}} -> No street address was given
  • {{"emptyValue":"[[Question_ValueOf:preferred_first_name]]"}} -> Jim
Answered questions
Similarly, you if a question did get answered, you can use the "hasValue" conditional formatting option to insert a statement other than the answer value. For example, if the response submitter answered 'yes' to a question asking them if they wanted to purchase a t-shirt. You could use "hasValue" to replace the answer value of 'yes' with "Thanks for purchasing a t-shirt!"

  • {{"hasValue":"Thanks for purchasing a t-shirt!"}} -> Thanks for purchasing a t-shirt!



Keywordstext merge, formatting, person attributes   Doc ID95604
OwnerTodd R.GroupUniversity of Illinois LAS
Created2019-11-06 13:47:34Updated2019-11-18 11:55:22
SitesUniversity of Illinois Liberal Arts and Sciences
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