The same formula engine — covered in depth on the Formula Engine page — does six different jobs across MergePoint. You write a formula the same way in every one of them; what changes is only what the formula controls. This page is a tour of each, with a realistic example.
1. Global Variables — workspace-wide computed values
A Global Variable can be defined as a formula that references other global variables — for example, a "Renewal Deadline" variable computed as 30 days after a "Contract Start Date" variable. Set it up once in Workspace Settings → Variables, and every form and workflow that uses that variable gets the computed value automatically, instead of every form re-deriving it independently. A formula variable can't reference itself, so there's no risk of a circular calculation.
2. Default Value — pre-filling a field
Save a respondent from typing something MergePoint can already work out. A "Total" field can default to {{quantity}} * {{unit_price}}, or a "Full Name" field can default to CONCAT({{first_name}}, " ", {{last_name}}). The value fills in the moment the fields it depends on have answers, and updates live if those answers change.
3. Visibility — showing or hiding a field
Only ask for information that's actually relevant. A "Co-signer Income" field can stay hidden until "Do you have a co-signer?" is answered Yes. The field appears and disappears live as the respondent answers, and a hidden field is never required at submission — nobody gets blocked by a question they can't see.
4. Conditional Disable — locking a field
Protect an answer once it shouldn't change anymore. A "Discount Code" field can lock as soon as a valid code has been applied, or a "Shipping Address" field can lock once an order moves to "Processing." The field goes read-only automatically, in real time, with no separate save step.
5. Data Table Conditional Formatting — highlighting rows and cells
Make the data in a table tell its own story at a glance. An "Amount" column can highlight red when a row's due date has passed, or a "Priority" column can color-code High / Medium / Low without a respondent having to read every cell. This is the same engine, evaluated per row against that row's own data.
6. Field Validation — formula-driven and pattern-driven
A field's Validation settings offer two related but distinct checks, both configured in the same panel:
- Formula validation runs through the shared formula engine — write a formula against the field's own value (for example,
value.length > 5) and MergePoint blocks submission with your custom message when it returns false. - Pattern (regex) validation is a simpler, separate option in the same panel for matching a fixed text shape — an email format, a ZIP code, an order-number prefix — without needing to write formula logic at all.
Reach for the regex option when you're matching a fixed text pattern, and the formula option when the rule depends on logic (length, comparisons, combining conditions) rather than shape.
Best practices
- Reach for a Global Variable formula when the same calculation needs to be consistent across multiple forms or workflows — don't recompute it separately on each form.
- Use Default Value for convenience, Visibility for relevance, and Conditional Disable for protecting state — they look similar but solve different problems.
- Prefer regex over a formula for simple shape-matching (emails, codes, formats) — save formula validation for rules that need real logic.
- Every surface here shares the same Ask AI and Explain affordances described on the Formula Engine page — you don't need to learn a new way to write formulas for each one.