Documentation Journey Optimizer Journey Optimizer Guide

Get started with Helper functions functions

Last update: Thu Dec 11 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Topics:
Personalization

CREATED FOR:

Experienced
Developer

Helper functions enable you to transform and manipulate data within your personalized content. Use them to perform calculations, format data, apply conditions, and execute various operations to create dynamic, tailored experiences for your customers.

These functions leverage the Journey Optimizer templating language. Learn about personalization syntax guidelines in this page.

➡️ Learn how to use helper functions in this video

Access helper functions

Helper functions are available from the personalization editor’s function menu:

Functions are organized into three categories for easy navigation:

Functions - Data manipulation and transformation operations
Helpers - Conditional logic and utility functions
Operators - Comparison and logical operators

To use a helper function:

Select a category to view its sub-categories and available functions
Click the > icon to expand sub-categories
Click the + icon next to a function to add it to your personalization code
Click the ... icon to view the function description or add it to your favorites. Learn more

NOTE

The functions and capabilities available in the personalization editor differ from the ones available in the Journey advanced expression editor. For example, the now() function is only available in journey expressions. Learn more

Functions functions-helper

Aggregation and Array Functions

Average

This function returns the arithmetic mean of all the selected values within the array

Count

This function returns the number of elements within the given array

Count Only Null

This function counts the number of null values in the list.

Count With Null

This function counts all the elements of the list including null values

Distinct

This function gets values from an array or a list with duplicate values removed

Distinct Count With Null

This function counts the number of different values including the null values

First item

This function returns the first item in an array or a list

First n in array

This function returns the first `N` items in an array, when sorted in ascending order based on the given numerical expression

This function is used to determine if an item is a member of an array or list

Includes

This function determines if an array or list contains a given item

Intersects

This function determines if two arrays or lists have at least one common member

Last n in array

This function returns the last `N` items in an array, when sorted in ascending order based on the given numerical expression

Maximum

This function returns the largest of all the selected values within an array

Minimum

This function returns the smallest of all the selected values within the array

Not in

This function determines if an item is not a member of an array or list

Subset of

This function determines if a specific array (array A) is a subset of another array (array B), i.e. if all elements in array A are elements of array B

Sum

This function returns the sum of all the selected values within the array

Superset of

This function determines if a specific array (array A) is a superset of another array (array B), i.e. if that array A contains all elements in array B

Date Time Functions date-functions

Add Days

This function adjusts a given date by a specified number of days, using positive values to increment and negative values to decrement.

Add Hours

This function adjusts a given date by a specified number of hours, using positive values to increment and negative values to decrement.

Add Minutes

This function adjusts a given date by a specified number of minutes, using positive values to increment and negative values to decrement.

Add Months

This function adjusts a given date by a specified number of months, using positive values to increment and negative values to decrement.

Add Seconds

This function adjusts a given date by a specified number of seconds, using positive values to increment and negative values to decrement.

Add Years

This function adjusts a given date by a specified number of years, using positive values to increment and negative values to decrement.

Age

This function retrieves the age from a given date.

Age In Days

This function calculates the age of a given date in days, i.e. the number of days elapsed between the given date and the current date, negative for future dates and positive for past dates.

Age In Months

This function calculates the age of a given date in months, i.e. the number of months elapsed between the given date and the current date , negative for future dates and positive for past dates.

Compare Dates

This function compares the first input date with the other. Returns 0 if date1 is equal to date2, -1 if date1 comes before date2 and 1 if date1 comes after date2.

Convert ZonedDateTime

This function converts a date-time to a given timezone.

Current time in milliseconds

This function retrieves current time in epoch milliseconds.

Date difference

This function retrieves the difference between two dates in number of days.

Day of month

This function returns the number representing the day of the month.

Day of week

This function retrieves the day of week.

Day of year

This function retrieves the day of year.

Diff In Seconds

This function returns the difference between two dates in terms of seconds.

Extract Hours

This function extracts the hour component from a given timestamp.

Extract Minutes

This function extracts the minute component from a given timestamp.

Extract Months

This function extracts the month component from a given timestamp.

Extract Seconds

This function extracts the second component from a given timestamp.

Format date

This function formats a date time value.

Format date with locale support

This function formats a date time value into its corresponding language sensitive representation, i.e in a desired locale.

Get CurrentZonedDateTime

This function returns the current date and time with time zone information.

Hours Difference

This function returns the difference between two dates in terms of hours.

Minutes Difference

This function returns the difference between two dates in terms of minutes.

Months Difference

This function returns the difference between two dates in terms of months.

Set Days

This function sets the day of the month for the given date-time.

Set Hours

This function sets the hour of the date-time.

To Date Time

This function converts string to date. It returns the epoch date as output for invalid input.

To UTC

This function converts a datetime to UTC.

Truncate to Start Of Day

This function modifies a given date-time by setting it to the start of the day with the time set to 00:00.

truncateToStartOfQuarter

This function truncates a date-time to the first day of its quarter (e.g., Jan 1, Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1) at 00:00.

truncateToStartOfWeek

This function modifies a given date-time by setting it to the start of the week(Monday at 00:00).

truncateToStartOfYear

This function modifies a given date-time by truncating it to the first day of the year (January 1st) at 00:00.

Week of year

This function returns the week of the year

Years Difference

This function returns the difference between two dates in terms of years.

Map Functions map-functions

Get

This function is used to retrieve the value of a map for a given key

Keys

This function is used to retrieve all the keys for a given map

Values

This function retrieves all the values of a given map

Math Functions math-functions

Absolute

This function formats any number into its language-sensitive representation.

Format number

This function formats any number into its language-sensitive representation.

Random

This function returns a random value between 0 and 1

Round down

This function rounds down a number

Round up

This function rounds up a number

To hex string

Converts any number into its hexadecimal string.

ToInt

Converts any of these types (number, double, int, long, float, short, byte, boolean, string) into an integer.

To percentage

This function converts a number to percentage

To precision

This function converts a number to required precision

To string

This function converts any number into its string representation.

Object Functions object-functions

Is not null

This function is used to determine if an object reference exists

Is null

This function is used to determine if an object reference does not exist

String Functions string-functions

Camel Case

This function is used to capitalize the first letter of each word of a string

Char code at

This function returns ASCII value of a character, like the charCodeAt function in JavaScript

Concat

This function is used to combine two strings into one

Contains

This function is used to determine if a string contains a specified substring

Does not contain

This function is used to determine if a string does not contain a specified substring

Does not end with

This function is used to determine if a string does not end with a specified substring

Does not start with

This function is used to determine if a string does not start with a specified substring

Encode 64

This function is used to encode a string

Ends with

This function is used to determine if a string ends with a specified substring

Equals

This function is used to determine if a string does not start with a specified substring, with case sensitivity

Equals Ignore Case

This function is used to determine if a string does not start with a specified substring, without case sensitivity

Extract Email Domain

This function is used to extract the domain of an email address

Format currency

This function converts any number into its corresponding language-sensitive currency representation depending on the locale passed as a string in the second argument

Get url host

This function is used to get url host.

Get url path

This function is used to get url path

Get url protocol

This function is used to get url protocol

Index Of

This function returns the position (in the first argument) of the first occurrence of the second parameter. Returns -1 if there is no match

IsEmpty

This function is used to check if a string or expression is empty.

Is Not Empty

This function returns true if the string in the parameter is not empty.

Last Index Of

This function returns the position (in the first argument) of the last occurrence of the second parameter. Returns -1 if there is no match.

Left trim

This function removes white spaces from beginning of a string

Length

This function is used to get the number of characters in a string or an expression

This function is used to determine if a string matches a specified pattern

Lower Case

This function converts a string to lower case letters

Mask

This function is used to replace a part of a string with "X" characters.

Matches

This function is used to determine if a string matches a specific regular expression

MD5

This function returns md5 hash of input string.

Not equal to

This function is used to determine if a string is not equal to the specified string

Not Equal With Ignore Case

This function compares two strings ignoring case.

Regular expression group

This function is used to extract specific information, based on the regular expression provided

Replace

This function replaces a given substring in a string with another substring

Replace all

This function replaces all substrings of a text that matches the "target" with the specified literal "replacement" string

Right trim

This function removes white spaces from end of a string

SHA256

This function calculates and returns the sha256 hash of a string.

Split

This function is used to split a string by a given character

Starts with

This function is used to determine if a string starts with a specified substring

String to date

This function converts a string value into a date-time value

String to integer

This function Converts a string value into an integer value.

String to number

This function is used to convert a string into number. It returns the same string as output for invalid input.

Sub string

This function returns the sub-string of the string expression between the begin index and the end index.

Title Case

This function is used to capitalize first letters of each word of a string

To Bool

This function Converts an argument value into a boolean value, depending on its type.

To Date Time

This function is used to convert string to date. It returns the epoch date as output for invalid input.

To Date Time only

This function converts an argument value into a date time only value. It returns the epoch date as output for invalid input.

Trim

This function removes white spaces from the beginning and from end of a string

Upper case

This function converts a string to upper case letters

Url decode

This function is used to decode a url encoded string.

Url encode

This function is used to url encode a string.

Helpers helper-helper

Helpers are detailed on this page.

Default fallback value

This function is used to render a variable with default

Each

This function is used to iterate over an array

Execution Metadata

This helper captures custom key–value metadata during message rendering so that it can be stored in the runtime execution metadata object

This function is used to define a conditional block - if the expression evaluation returns true, the block is rendered

Let

This function allows an expression to be stored as a variable to be used later in a query

Unless

This function is used to define a conditional block - if the expression evaluation returns false, the block is rendered

With

This function is used to change the evaluation token of template-part

Operators operators-helper

Arithmetic functions arithmetic-helper

Arithmetic functions are used to perform basic calculations on values.

Addition

This operator is used to find the sum of two argument expressions

Divide

This operator is used to find the quotient of two argument expressions

Multiplication

This operator is used to find the product of two argument expressions

Remainder

This operator is used to find the remainder after dividing the two argument expressions

Subtraction

This operator finds the difference between two expressions

Boolean functions boolean-functions

Boolean functions are used to perform boolean logic on different elements.

And

This operator creates a logical conjunction

This operator creates a logical disjunction

Comparison functions comparison-functions

Comparison functions are used to compare between different expressions and values, returning true or false accordingly.

Equals

This operation checks if values are equal

Greater than

This operator checks if first value is greater than the second value

Greater or equals to

This operator checks if first value is greater than or equal to the second value

Less than or equals to

This operator checks if first value is smaller than or equal to the second value

Not equals to

This operator checks if given expression not equal to give value

How-to video video

Learn how to transform personalization values using personalization helper functions and understand different use cases for helper functions.

https://video.tv.adobe.com/v/334244?quality=12

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