Test and Comparison Functions

See also: Expression Language and Function Index

The functions in this section return a Boolean value of either 1 (true) or 0 (false). They are generally used to drive an action specified in one of the Conditional Functions.

Compare(…)

Compares two numbers.

Description	compare(value1, operator, value2) The Compare() function compares two numeric values value1 and value2 using the specified operator. Available operator values: = Equivalence < Less than <= Less than or equal to > Greater than >= Greater than or equal to Outputs 1 if the comparison is true, and 0 otherwise.
Examples	compare([bitrate], <, 320) Returns 1 when the bit rate is less than 320 (Kbps), and 0 otherwise. if(compare(math(now() - [date modified, 0]), >, 21), Expired, formatdate([date modified, 0], elapsed)) Outputs the age of files under 21 days old, or Expired for older files.

(Back to top)   (Function index)

IsEqual(…)

Compares two values in one of nine specified modes.

Description

isequal(value1, value2, mode) The IsEqual() function compares value1 with value2 using any mode from the list of modes below. Outputs 1 when the comparison succeeds according to the mode, and 0 otherwise. Although the mode is specified as the last argument, the comparison should be mentally read as: value1 mode value2. Available mode values: 0 Case-sensitive string compare for equality 1 Case-insensitive string compare for equality 2 Numeric compare for equality 3 Numeric less than 4 Numeric less than or equal to 5 Numeric greater than 6 Numeric greater than or equal to 7 Substring search (case sensitive) 8 Substring search (case insensitive) Argument mode is optional (defaults to 0).

Examples

isequal([artist], [album], 1) If the artist and album values are the same, the output will be 1, otherwise, the output will be 0. if(isequal([artist], [album], 1), Eponymous, [album]) The If() function basis its decision on the outcome of IsEqual(), so if the artist and album values are the same, the output will be Eponymous, otherwise, the output will be the value of album. if(isequal([artist], [album], 1), Eponymous/,, [album]/)) This example demonstrates the character escaping mentioned in the overview earlier. Here, we want the output to be either Eponymous, (note the inclusion of the comma) or the album value with a closing parenthesis. In order to achieve this, the comma, and the closing parenthesis, are escaped using a forward-slash character. This informs the expression evaluator that these characters are not part of the expression syntax and are to be treated literally. if(isequal([filename (path)], classical, 8), Classical, Not Classical) Because compare mode 8 has been specified, if the word classical appears anywhere in the case-insensitive file path, the expression will return Classical, and if not it will return Not Classical.

(Back to top)   (Function index)

IsEmpty(…)

Tests a value for emptiness.

Description

IsEmpty(value, mode) The IsEmpty() function tests the given value for emptiness. The value passed is typically an Media Center field, so that some action may be taken when the field is or is not empty. Returns 1 when the value is empty, otherwise 0. Available mode values: 0 String test (field must be empty to get a positive result). 1 Numerical test (field must be empty, or contain 0 to get a positive result) Argument mode is optional (defaults to 0). Note that Media Center does not discriminate between a 0 value and an empty value for fields of type Integer and Decimal - both 0 and empty are considered equivalent for these field types. This is useful for fields such as the integer field Disc #, where an empty or 0 value implies that Disc # contains no useful data, and should be generally ignored or absent in display output. Pay particular attention to the third example offered below, as it covers a caveat that comes with this particular function.

Examples

isempty([comment], 0) If the comment field is empty, IsEmpty() returns 1, otherwise 0. isempty([track #], 1) Performs a numerical test for data in the [track #] field. If the field is empty or 0, a 1 is returned, otherwise 0 is returned. ifelse(!isempty([disc #]), [disc #]) Outputs the value of the disc # field when it is not empty.

(Back to top)   (Function index)

IsRange(…)

Tests a value for inclusion within a given range.

Description

IsRange(value, range) The IsRange() function tests if a value falls within a given range of values. If the value falls within the given range, 1 is returned, otherwise 0 is returned. A range is specified in the form of low-high, where low and high are either letters or numbers. The lowest value comes first, the highest second. Both low and high must be the same kind (letters or numbers). The low and high values are inclusive. Some Example Ranges: 1-100 a-z c-d 23-7542

Examples

isrange([artist], a-c) Artist values of Abba or Blondie will result in a 1, but ZZ Top will return a 0. if(isrange([bitrate], 96-191), Poor Quality, High Quality) Returns Poor Quality for any file whose bit rate falls in the range of 96 to 191, and returns High Quality for all other bit rates. Additional Examples Using IsRange() in a Search List.

(Back to top)   (Function index)

IsMissing(…)

Tests to see if a file exists on the system.

Description

IsMissing(filepath) The IsMissing() function tests for the existence of a file in the file system. If the file is missing, the function returns 1, otherwise 0 is returned if the file exists. This function is useful for checking for missing files in a Library. IsMissing() treats special entries such as ripped Blu-ray or DVDs as single files, even though they physically exist in the file system as several files and directories. Note: Any view or list that uses IsMissing() will be slow, is Media Center must interrogate each referenced file in the file system. The larger the number of files being queried, the longer it will take to produce results. Use IsMissing() with care. Argument filename is optional (defaults to the current [filename]).

Examples

ismissing() If the referenced file was not found in the file system, 1 is returned; otherwise 0 is returned. ismissing(C:\Music\My Lost File.mp3) Checks for My Lost File.mp3 and returns 1 (positive) if the file does not exist, and 0 (negative) if the file does exist. if(ismissing(), File is missing, File exists) Outputs File is missing or File Exists depending on the result returned by IsMissing(). [=ismissing([filename])]=1 his example demonstrates how to construct an expression for use as a Media Center search query. If you place this in the search field in the top right corner of the program while viewing all of your library, it will filter the list, leaving only the missing files on view. If all files in library exist, this list will be empty. You could also create a view scheme and use this string in the Set rules for file display search to give you a view that you can visit periodically to check that your library is not missing any files.

(Back to top)   (Function index)

IsRemovable(…)

Tests to see if a file is stored on removable media.

Description	isremovable(filepath) The IsRemovable() function tests if a file resides on removable media and if so, returns 1, and if not, returns 0. The Media Center field [Removable] also provides the same value for a given file. Argument filepath is optional (defaults to [filename]).
Examples	isremovable() Checks if the current file is on removable storage, and if so, returns 1, otherwise returns 0.

(Back to top)

IsInPlayingNow(…)

Tests to see if a file is in the Playing Now playlist.

Description	isinplayingnow(filepath) The IsInPlayingNow() function tests if a file is in any zone's Playing Now list. Used as an expression category, pane or file list column allows distinguishing files that are in the Playing Now list. Argument filepath is optional (defaults to [filename]).
Examples	isinplayingnow() If the file in the Playing Now list, returns 1, otherwise returns 0. if(isinplayingnow(), Queued, Not queued) If the file in the Playing Now list, returns Queued, otherwise Not queued. Additional Examples How to use IsPlaying() and IsInPlayingNow()

(Back to top)

IsPlaying(…)

Tests to see if a file is in currently being played.

Description

isplaying(filepath) The IsPlaying() function tests if a file is playing in any zone. Used as an expression category, pane or file list column allows distinguishing files that are playing now. Argument filepath is optional (defaults to [filename]).

Examples

ifelse(isplaying(), <font color="ff0000">♪<//font>, isinplayingnow(), ♪) This expression in a file list expression column shows which files are in the Playing Now list and which are currently playing by outputting a musical note in the column. The musical note will be displayed in red for any currently playing file. Additional Examples How to use IsPlaying() and IsInPlayingNow() How to play an artist's full work when a genre is shuffling?

(Back to top)