Informational computed column functions¶

This section provides syntax and examples for the informational computed column functions you can use with the Data Prep Compute tool. The informational functions let you query column values and create new columns based on the results.

FIRSTNONBLANK¶

Compares the values of two or more columns and returns the first non-blank value. This function provides the same output as Excel's FIRSTNONBLANK function.

Syntax

FIRSTNONBLANK(ARGUMENT_1, [ARGUMENT_2, ...])]()

• ARGUMENT_1 is the first column.
• ARGUMENT_2, ... [optional] are the additional columns.

Example

FIRSTNONBLANK(@Current Employer@, @Previous Employer@, @School@)

Notes on use

If only one column is specified, the value of the provided column is returned.

If no non-blank values are found, the FIRSTNONBLANK function will return an empty cell (unless you include a final argument for what value to display in the output when no non-blank values are found).

ISBLANK¶

Checks for blank or null values within a specified column. If a blank or null value is found, the value TRUE is returned.

Syntax

ISBLANK(ARGUMENT)

ARGUMENT is the column to check.

Example

ISBLANK(@Column@)

ISDATE¶

Syntax

ISDATE(ARGUMENT)

ARGUMENT is the column to check.

Example

ISDATE(@Column@)

Notes on use

The values must be datetime objects, not datetime text strings. Datasets imported from an Excel spreadsheet will automatically import dates as datetime objects. Dates from all other sources need to be converted to a datetime object using the DATEVALUE function. See the DATEVALUE() section of this article.

ISNULL¶

Checks for blanks or null values within a specified column. If a blank or null value is found, the value TRUE is returned.

Syntax

ISNULL(ARGUMENT)

ARGUMENT is the column to check.

Example

ISNULL(@Column@)

ISNUMBER¶

Checks for numeric values within a specified column. If a numeric value is found, the value TRUE is returned.

Syntax

ISNUMBER(ARGUMENT)

ARGUMENT is the column to check.

Example

ISNUMBER(@Column@)

ISTEXT¶

Checks for text within a specified column. If a blank or null is found, the value TRUE is returned.

Syntax

ISTEXT(ARGUMENT)

ARGUMENT is the column to check.

Example

ISTEXT(@Column@)