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Custom Item Titles

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The Item Title of an Info Item is the title displayed for an item in Selection Panes (such as the Data Explorer).  By default Ultra Recall used the value of the Item Title core attribute for this value, with the exception of the Contact template, which uses a computed value based on the values of several attributes such as First Name and Last Name.

 

The actual expression used to define/compute the title of an Info Item is defined by the template an Info Item is based on, specifically by the Title Expression template attribute.  Most Items have a Title Expression value of Item Title as described above; in contrast the Contact template by default uses a Title Expression value of trim(coalesce([Last Name] || ', ' || [First Name],[Last Name],[First Name],[Company],[Email (work)],[Email (home)],'(New Contact)')).

 

The Title Expression attribute of a template can be modified by the user to customize the title formatting for new items based on that template.

 

Rules and Syntax for Title Expression template attribute values:

Use a different SINGLE attribute value as title (such as Date Created):

Simply enter the exact name of the attribute you want the Item Title to be based on (ie. Date Created)

 

Use multiple attribute values or a computation of attribute values:

To specify an attribute value, enter the name of the attribute value surrounded by [ and ] (ie. [Date Created].

Note: The numbers specified in the default Contact template Title Expression value are the underlying attribute values (done for efficiency).  This is the contact expression using names: trim(coalesce([Last Name] || ', ' || [First Name],[Last Name],[First Name],[Company],[Email (Work)],[Email (Home)],'(New Contact)')).

 

The following functions/operators (following sql convention) are available for use in the Title Expression value:

Functions

trim (and ltrim/rtrim): trim white space from the value (or left or right side only)
coalesce(2 more values): uses the first non-null value in the provided values, from left to right
val(): computes the number in the leading characters of the value (i.e., 123abc = 123)

Operators

||: the text concatenation operator (i.e., [Last Name] || ', ' || [First Name])

Note: a NULL || anything equals NULL

+ - / * and other mathematical operators (i.e., [Some Number attribute name] * 2)

 

General notes:

If the template is no longer using the Item Title attribute for the title, you can delete it from the template to avoid confusion.
Literal values must be contained in single quotes (i.e., 'value') and concatenated with attribute values using the || operator.
Date/Time attributes referenced in a Title Expression will be formatted according to the Insert date/time as Miscellaneous option, which allows you to specify Custom %Y%m%d format to give date titles that are sorted by date in the Data Explorer pane.
If items already exist for the template when you change the Title Expression value, the titles are not automatically refreshed for the existing items until you change an attribute value that is part of the Title Expression.
If an error occurs evaluating the title expression, the title will be displayed as "SYNTAX ERROR."

 

Examples:

Journal item template: Some users wish to use Ultra Recall for journaling and have each Info Item be titled with the day it is created.  Steps: Create a new template Info Item, set its Title Expression to Date Created, define a Custom Insert date/time as: option as %Y/%m/%d (or similar).
Different Contact title: Perhaps a user wants the title to be First Name, Last Name instead of the reverse.  Change the Title Expression value of the Contact template to: trim(coalesce([First Name] || ', ' || [Last Name],[First Name],[Last Name],[Company],[Email (Work)],[Email (Home)],'(New Contact)')).
A title based on 2 or more other attributes: Assume a template contains a Part Name attribute, a Size attribute and a Type attribute and the title should be equal to Product: Type: Size. Create a template with a Title Expression value of: [Part Name] || coalesce(': ' || [Type], '') || coalesce(': ' || [Size], '').

 

See Also:

Templates
Template Attributes
Miscellaneous Options
Date/Time attribute type
Selection Panes
Journal and Vehicle Maintenance Samples