Code Helpers

Code helpers are the $-prefixed functions available to form code. They cover reading and writing field values, inspecting selections, working with repetitive grids, aggregating data, and a curated set of JavaScript built-ins.

Contexts

Every helper lists the execution contexts it can be used in:

Token	Context	Access
script	On Load and button script actions	Read & write
vis	Visibility rules	Read-only
val	Validation rules	Read-only
text	Text Display {{ }} expressions	Read-only

All means a helper works in all four contexts. The helpers that mutate data — $set, $setIn, $grid(...), and $state(name, value) — are script only.

Field accessors

Reference	Returns	Contexts	What it does
$get(fieldId)	any	All	Read a field value by exact ID from anywhere in the form
$getIn(fieldId)	any	All	Read a field value relative to the current repeating-grid row
$set(fieldId, value)	void	script	Write a field value and trigger reactivity
$setIn(fieldId, value)	void	script	Write a field value within the current repeating-grid row
$getAll(fieldId)	Record | undefined	All	Get all values matching a field ID across repeating-grid rows

Data helpers

Reference	Returns	Contexts	What it does
$includes(fieldId, value)	boolean	All	Check if a field value contains the given item
$isEmpty(fieldId)	boolean	All	Check if a field is empty
$isNotEmpty(fieldId)	boolean	All	Check if a field has a meaningful value
$option(fieldId)	ResolvedOption[]	text	Resolve the selected option objects for a field, including token-aware labels
$selected(fieldId)	string	text	Resolve the selected option labels for a field as comma-separated text

Variable access

These resolve the runtime namespaces — see Runtime Variables for the full breakdown of what each one holds.

Reference	Returns	Contexts	What it does
$.self	object	All	Session context object for the logged-in user
$.form	object	All	Current form metadata such as id, name, and viewer mode
$.state	object	All	Form-scoped runtime state set by scripts. Not submitted or persisted
$.variable	object	vis script text	Global data variables from the registry (read-only, overridable per theme). Script-type variables use $.fn, image-type use $.image
$.image	object	vis script text	Image variables from the registry (read-only, overridable per theme via images/images_dark). Returns sl:// or URL strings
$.fn.name(...args)	any	vis script text	Call a registry function. Function bodies receive read-only runtime namespaces; callers perform mutations with $set or $state using returned values. Pass reactive values as args for dependency tracking
$state(name)	any	All	Read form-scoped runtime state
$state(name, value)	any	script	Set form-scoped runtime state and return the written value

Repeating-grid row context

Available inside Repetitive Grid rows. Outside a repeating grid, $index is -1.

Reference	Returns	Contexts	What it does
$index	number	val script text	Current repeating-grid row number context (-1 outside repeating grids)
$parent_path	string	val script text	Current repeating-grid row path prefix (for example, items.0:)

Repeating-grid row controls

Repetitive grids only

These helpers only work with a Repetitive Grid (d_grid_rep). Plain Grid Layout (d_grid) elements are layout containers and do not register row controls.

$grid(gridId) returns a row controller (GridOps) for the grid; call its methods to manipulate rows. All row controls are script only.

Reference	Returns	What it does
$grid(gridId)	GridOps	Get the row controller for a repeating grid (d_grid_rep) by ID
$grid(id).addRow()	boolean	Add a new row to a repeating grid, respecting maxRows
$grid(id).removeRow(index?)	boolean	Remove the last row, or remove a specific 1-based row number
$grid(id).getRowCount()	number	Get the current repeating-grid row count
$grid(id).moveRow(from, to)	boolean	Move a row from one 1-based row number to another
$grid(id).duplicateRow(index)	boolean	Duplicate the row at the given 1-based row number

Repeating-grid aggregates

Roll up values across every row of a repeating grid. Available in all contexts.

Reference	Returns	What it does
$sum(fieldId)	number	Sum numeric values across repeating-grid rows
$count(fieldId)	number	Count non-empty rows for a field across the grid
$avg(fieldId)	number	Average numeric values across repeating-grid rows
$min(fieldId)	number	Smallest numeric value across repeating-grid rows
$max(fieldId)	number	Largest numeric value across repeating-grid rows

Built-ins

A curated set of standard JavaScript built-ins is available in all contexts (scripts, visibility, validation, and text expressions).

Reference	Returns	What it does
Math.round(value)	number	Math helpers like round, floor, ceil, min, and max
Number(value)	number	Coerce a value to a number
String(value)	string	Coerce a value to a string
Boolean(value)	boolean	Coerce a value to true or false
parseInt(value, 10)	number	Parse an integer from text
parseFloat(value)	number	Parse a decimal number from text
JSON.stringify(value)	string	Serialize or parse JSON values
Array.isArray(value)	boolean	Check if a value is an array
Object.keys(value)	string[]	Inspect object keys or entries
Date.now()	number	Use Date static helpers without constructing objects
isNaN(value)	boolean	Check whether a value is NaN
isFinite(value)	boolean	Check whether a value is finite
Infinity	number	Numeric infinity constant
NaN	number	Not-a-number constant

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See also: Scripts overview · Runtime Variables · Examples