LEFTPAD

Use the LEFTPAD function to left-pad the text with the specified character a given number of times.

Use

LEFTPAD( text, character, times )
Left pad the text with the given character a number of times.

Parameter	Required	Description
text	Yes	the text to pad
character	Yes	the character to use to left pad
times	Yes	the number of times to insert the character

Returns

Text

Examples

Formatting Numeric IDs (Adding Leading Zeros)

In many workflows, numeric IDs need to be presented in a standardized format for reports or external systems. You can use LEFTPAD in an Input Mapping formula to ensure a number is preceded by specific characters.

• Scenario: You want to display a system-generated run number as a four-digit string by adding three leading zeros.
• Formula: LEFTPAD(TEXT(@prop.RunNumber), "0", 3)
• Logic:
  • TEXT(@prop.RunNumber): Because LEFTPAD requires a Text data type, you must first convert the numeric run number to text.
  • "0": This is the character literal to be used for padding.
  • 3: This tells the system to insert the character three times.
  • Outcome: If the current @prop.RunNumber is 5, the formula will return "0005".

Visual Hierarchy in Summary Fields

You can use LEFTPAD to create visual structure or "indentation" when displaying data in a Content Block or a summary form. This helps differentiate between main items and sub-items.

• Scenario: You are building a form that displays a list of sub-tasks. To make the sub-tasks stand out from the main project title, you want to prefix them with two arrows (>>).
• Formula: LEFTPAD(@Trigger.out.SubTaskName, ">", 2)
• Logic:
  • @Trigger.out.SubTaskName: The text captured from the trigger step.
  • ">": The specific character to insert at the beginning of the text.
  • 2: The number of times the character is repeated.
  • Outcome: If the sub-task name is "Safety Audit", the result will be ">>Safety Audit".