RDM Functions

As of Version 8.0, each criteria field can optionally contain a function instead of a simple expression, as previously implemented. The advantage to functions is that you can implement much more complex logic than what you can with a single expression.

If the criteria source begins with a left brace ({) the source between the braces will be compiled as a function. Otherwise, it will be treated as an expression as in previous versions. The function uses syntax similar to C++ for declarations, statements and expressions (see Syntax Diagrams).

Each function must contain at least one Return statement that will return a value back to RDM. Most criteria requires a Boolean return expression, with a few exceptions, such as Index and Variable data, which require a string.

The function code can contain:

Variable declarations (int, uint, real, bool, string). Variables must be declared at the top of the function before any executable statements. Arrays with up to ten dimensions may be declared.
IF statement with optional else clause.
FOR statement.
WHILE statement.
RETURN statement.
Assignment statement.
Compare expressions, using ==, !=, <, <=, >, >=, match, and mismatch.
Boolean expressions using &&, ||, and ! characters.
Numeric expressions using +, -, *, /, %, ~, &, |, ^, and parentheses.
Casting functions, such as int(xxx).
Access to these built-in variables/functions:

•

jtic_desc - job description

•

jtic_name - job name

•

jtic_creator - job creator

•

title - document title

•

creator - document creator

•

dist_id - the generated dist_id string

•

current_page - current page

•

prev_page - previous page

•

next_page - next page

•

first_page - first page

•

last_page - last page

•

page(n) - page specified by number

•

<page>.region_text - extract a region from the specified page

•

<page>.text - extract text from a specified section of a page

•

region.total_lines - number of lines of text in the region

•

region.line[n] - specified line in the region

•

page_number - number of the current page

•

<page>.page_orientation - returns the orientation of the page being referenced, in degrees clockwise (0, 90, 180, 270)

•

<page>.page_var - get the value of a page variable

•

doc_var - get a document variable

•

doc_inx - get the value of a document index

•

string_len - convert an integer value to a string with leading zeros

•

page_inx - get the value of a specified page index

•

fill - fills a string with a specified character pattern

•

repeat - fills a string with a repeating character pattern

•

pad - pads the string by adding blanks to the right (at the end)

•

cpad - pads the string by adding blanks at both ends so the specified text is centered

•

lpad - pads the string by adding blanks to the left (at the beginning)

Example

{

int i;

string s;

s = current_page.region_text("Invoice Nums");

for (i=1; i<=s.total_lines(); i=i+1)

{

if (s.line(i) match "*9047*")

return(false);

}

return(true);

}

String Selection Criteria

The string selection criteria described in this section is only available for use with functions. They cannot be used with expression syntax. For a list of string selection criteria that can be used with both functions and expressions, see RDM String Selection Criteria.

Function	Description
cpad	Pads the string by adding blanks at both ends so the specified text is centered.
fill	Fills a string with a specified character pattern.
lpad	Pads the string by adding blanks to the left (at the beginning).
pad	Pads the string by adding blanks to the right (at the end).
repeat	Fills a string with a repeating character pattern.
string_len	Converts a numeric value to a string. It sets the value to a fixed length by padding it with leading zeros. For example, if the variable n contains 123, then string_len(n,7) will return 0000123.