Functions, modifiers, and examples

array_diff

Computes the difference of arrays.

Syntax: array_diff($array1, $array2)

Type: Function

{$array1 = ['green', 'red', 'blue']}
{$array2 = ['green', 'yellow', 'red']}
{$diff = array_diff($array1, $array2)}
<pre>{json_encode($diff, 128)}</pre>

```
{
  "2": "blue"
}
```

array_flip

Exchanges all keys with their associated values in an array.

Syntax: array_flip($array)

Type: Function

{$fruits = ['d'=>'lemon','a'=>'orange','b'=>'banana','c'=>'apple']}
{$tmp = array_flip($fruits)}
<pre>{json_encode($fruits, 128)}</pre>

{
  "lemon": "d",
  "orange": "a",
  "banana": "b",
  "apple": "c"
}

array_intersect

Computes the intersection of arrays.

Syntax: array_intersect($array1, $array2)

Type: Function

{$array1 = ["green", "red", "blue"]}
{$array2 = ["green", "yellow", "red"]}
{$intersect = array_intersect($array1, $array2)}
<pre>{json_encode($intersect, 128)}</pre>

```
[
  "green",
  "red"
]
```

array_keys

Return all the keys or a subset of the keys of an array.

Syntax: array_keys($array)

Type: Function

{$fruits = ["d"=>"lemon","a"=>"orange","b"=>"banana","c"=>"apple"]}
{$keys = array_keys($fruits)}
<pre>{json_encode($keys, 128)}</pre>

```
{
  "d",
  "a",
  "b",
  "c"
}
```

array_key_exists

Checks if the given key or index exists in the array.

Syntax: array_key_exists('needle', $array)

Type: Function

{$fruits = ["d"="lemon","a"="orange","b"="banana","c"="apple"]}
{$check = key_exists('a', $fruits)}
<pre>{$check}</pre>

true

array_merge

Merge one or more arrays.

Syntax: array_merge(array ...$arrays): array

Type: Function

{$fruits = ["d" = "lemon", "a" = "orange", "b" = "banana", "c" = "apple"]}
{$veggies = ["e" = "carrot", "a" = "broccoli", "b" = "garlic", "potato"]}
{$both = array_merge($fruits, $veggies)}
{print_r($both)}

Array ( [d] = lemon [a] = broccoli [b] = garlic [c] = apple [e] = carrot [0] = potato )

array_pop

Pop the element off the end of array.

Syntax: array_pop($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$color = array_pop($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>
<pre>{$color}</pre>

```
[
  "red",
  "blue",
  "green"
]
purple
```

array_push

Inserts one or more elements to the end of an array.

Syntax: array_push($array,"value1","value2")

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$tmp = array_push($colors,"orange","yellow")}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>

[
  "red",
  "blue",
  "green",
  "purple",
  "orange",
  "yellow"
]

array_reverse

Return an array with elements in reverse order.

Syntax: array_reverse($array)

Type: Function

{$fruits = ["d"=>"lemon","a"=>"orange","b"=>"banana","c"=>"apple"]}
{$fruits_reversed = array_reverse($fruits)}
{$utils->jsonPrettyPrint($fruits_reversed)}

{
  "c": "apple",
  "b": "banana", 
  "a": "orange",
  "d": "lemon"
}

array_search

Searches the array for a given value and returns the first corresponding key if successful.

Syntax: array_search('needle', $array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$position = array_search('blue', $colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>
<pre>{$position}</pre>

[
    "red",
    "blue",
    "green",
    "purple"
]
1

array_shift

Shift an element off the beginning of array.

Syntax: array_shift($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$color = array_shift($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>
<pre>{$color}</pre>

[
    "blue",
    "green",
    "purple"
]
red

array_splice

Remove a portion of the array and replace it with something else.

Syntax: array_splice($array, offset)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green']}
{$color = array_splice($colors, 2)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>
<pre>{$color}</pre>

```
[
  "blue",
  "green"
]
red
```

array_slice

Returns selected parts of an array.

Syntax: array_slice($array,start,length,preserve)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$working_colors = array_slice($colors,1,2)}
<pre>{json_encode($working_colors, 128)}</pre>

```
[
  "blue",
  "green"
]
```

array_unshift

Prepend one or more elements to the beginning of an array.

Syntax: array_unshift($array

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{array_unshift($colors, "yellow")}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>

[
  "yellow",
  "red",
  "blue",
  "green",
  "purple"
]

array_unique

Removes duplicate values from an array.

Syntax: array_unique($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ["d"=>"green","a"=>"green","b"=>"yellow","c"=>"blue"]}
{$tmp = array_unique($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>

{
  "d": "green",
  "b": "yellow",
  "c": "blue"
}

array_values

Return all the values of an array.

Syntax: array_values($array)

Type: Function

{$fruits = ["d"=>"lemon","a"=>"orange","b"=>"banana","c"=>"apple"]}
{$fruits = array_values($fruits)}
<pre>{json_encode($fruits, 128)}</pre>

{
  "lemon",
  "orange",
  "banana",
  "apple"
}

asort

Sort an array and maintain index association.

Syntax: asort($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$tmp = asort($colors)}
{$colors = array_values($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>

{
  "blue",
  "green",
  "purple",
  "red"
}

arsort

Sort an array in reverse order and maintain index association.

Syntax: arsort($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$tmp = arsort($colors)}
{$colors = array_values($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>

{
  "red",
  "purple",
  "green",
  "blue"
}

base64_decode

Decodes data encoded with MIME base64.

Syntax: base64_decode(string $string, bool $strict = false): string|false

Type: Function

{base64_decode("TG9yZW0gaXBzdW0gZG9sb3Igc2l0IGFtZXQ=")}

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

base64_encode

Encodes data with MIME base64.

Type: Modifier

```
{"foo"|base64_encode}
```
Zm9v

count

Counts the number of items in an array.

Syntax: count($variable)

Type: Function or modifier

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
Function Syntax:<br>
The colors array contains {count($colors)} items.<br><br>
Modifier Syntax:<br>
The colors array contains {$colors|count} items.

Function Syntax:
The colors array contains 4 items.

Modifier Syntax:
The colors array contains 4 items.

count_characters

Counts the number of characters in a variable or text string. Use boolean parameter "true" to include whitespaces into the total count.

Syntax: {$variableTitle|count_characters:true}

Type: Modifier

{$message.subject='Welcome! Here is Your Special Offer!'}
{$message.subject|count_characters}<br>
{$message.subject|count_characters:true}

31
36

current

Return the current element in an array.

Syntax: current($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$working = current($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>
<pre>{$working}</pre>

[
  "red",
  "blue",
  "green",
  "purple"
]
red

date_format

Converts the date to a specified format: http://php.net/manual/en/function.date.php

More date_format info and examples.

Type: Modifier

{$smarty.now|date_format}<br>
{$smarty.now|date_format:'%D'}<br>
{$smarty.now|date_format:'%A, %B %e, %Y'}<br>
{$smarty.now|date_format:'%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S'}<br>
{$smarty.now|date_format:'Y-m-d\TH:i:sO'}

Oct 9, 2017
10/09/17
Monday, October 9, 2017
2017-10-09T18:55:57
2017-10-09T18:55:57+0000

default

When smarty variable equals false (e.g. is an empty string) or has no value (i.e. null), allows you the opportunity to show default text.

Type: Modifier

{$coupon.code|default:'welcome10'}<br>
{$coupon.code='abc'}<br>
{$coupon.code|default:'welcome10'}<br>

welcome10
abc

emailObfuscate

Used to obfuscate an email address.

Type: Modifier

{$contact.channels.email.address|emailObfuscate}

j***n@g***m

empty

Checks to see if a value is empty.

Syntax: empty($variable)

Type: Function

{$foo = 0}
{if empty($foo)}
Foo is empty
{else}
Value of foo is: {$foo}
{/if}

Foo is empty

end

Return the end element in an array.

Syntax: end($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$working = end($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>
<pre>{$working}</pre>

[
  "red",
  "blue",
  "green",
  "purple"
]
purple

escape

Encodes or escapes a string or variable. Possible values are html, htmlall,url, urlpathinfo, quotes, hex, hexentity, javascript, mail. Default is html.

More escape info and examples.

Type: Modifier

{"http://example.com test"|escape:'url'}

http%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%20test

explode

Converts a string to an array based on a specified delimiter.

Type: Modifier

{$test = ","|explode:"a,b,c"}
{$test|print_r}

Array
(
[0] => a
[1] => b
[2] => c
)
1

hash

Encode a string with a hashing algorithm.

More info on hashing modifiers.

Type: Modifier

```
{"test"|hash:"md5"}
```
098f6bcd4621d373cade4e832627b4f6

hash_equals

Checks whether two hash strings are equal.

Syntax: hash_equals(string $known_string, string $user_string): bool

Type: Function

```
{hash_equals('abc', 'abc')}
```
true

hash_hmac

Encode a string with a hashing algorithm using the HMAC method and a key.

Syntax: hash_hmac(string $algorithm, string $needle, string $key): string

Type: Function

{hash_hmac('sha256', "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet", "key")}

ba541febc97264bc53bdbc8042b4c7cfd6ac2c388f977868ae8ab566ed071d4b

implode

Join array elements with a specified connection string.

Syntax: implode(string $separator, array $array): string

Type: Function

```
{$test = implode(",", [a,b,c])}
{$test}
```
a,b,c

in_array

Checks to see if an item exists in an array.

More in_array info and examples.

Syntax: in_array($needle, $haystack)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{if in_array('red', $colors)}
Red is in the colors array.
{else}
Red is not in the colors array.
{/if}

Red is in the colors array.

intval

Get the integer value of a variable. Note, this will not round a number.

Syntax: intval("value")

Type: Function

{intval("102.33")}<br>
{intval("102.63")}

102
102

is_array

Checks to see if an array exists.

Syntax: is_array($variable)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{if is_array($colors)}
Colors is an array.
{else}
Colors is not an array.
{/if}

Colors is an array.

isset

Checks to see if a value exists.

Syntax: isset($variable)

Type: Function

{if isset($contact.first_name)}
First name exists.
{else}
First name does not exist.
{/if}

```
"first_name": "Fred"
```
First name exists.

json_decode

Takes a JSON encoded string and converts it into a PHP variable.

More info about json_decode.

Syntax: json_decode($variable)

Type: Function

{$enc = json_encode(["First"=>$contact.first_name,"Last"=>$contact.last_name,"Email"=>$contact.channels.email.address])}
enc: {$enc}
{$dec = json_decode($enc, true)}<br><br>
{foreach $dec as $key => $value}
{$key}: {$value}<br>
{/foreach}

enc: {"First":"Fred","Last":"Garvin","Email":"fredgarvin@example.com"}

First: Fred
Last: Garvin
Email: fredgarvin@example.com

json_encode

Returns a string containing the JSON representation of the supplied value.

More info about json_encode.

Syntax: json_encode(["key"=>value,"key"=>value])

Type: Function

{$enc = json_encode(["First"=>$contact.first_name,"Last"=>$contact.last_name,"Email"=>$contact.channels.email.address])}

enc: {$enc}

enc: {"First":"Fred","Last":"Garvin","Email":"fredgarvin@example.com"}

jsonPrettyPrint

Prints data from a data collection in JSON format.

Type: Function

<H1>Debug contact</H1>
{$utils->jsonPrettyPrint($contact)}

Debug contact

{
  "_id": "58d2fc99ac0c8117814d4e78",
  "channels": {
    "email": {
      "address": "fredgarvin@example.com",
      "subscribeStatus": "subscribed",
      "unsubscribedAt": ""
    }
  },
  "last_name": "Fred",
  "lastModified": "2017-10-03T00:11:14+0000",
  "lists": [],
  "createdAt": "2017-03-22T22:37:13+0000",
  "lj": [],
  "first_name": "Garvin",
  "id": "58d2fc99ac0c8117814d4e78"
}

key_exists

Checks if the given key or index exists in the array.

Syntax: key_exists('needle', $array)

Type: Function

{$fruits = ["d"=>"lemon","a"=>"orange","b"=>"banana","c"=>"apple"]}
{$check = key_exists('a', $fruits)}
<pre>{$check}</pre>

```
true
```

krsort

Sort an array by key in descending order.

Syntax: krsort(array &$array, int $flags = SORT_REGULAR): true

Type: Function

{$colors = [5 => 'red', 3 => 'blue', 0 => 'green', 1 => 'purple']}
{$tmp = krsort($colors)}
{$colors = array_values($colors)}
<pre>{print_r($colors)}</pre>

Array

(
    [0] = red
    [1] = blue
    [2] = purple
    [3] = green
)

ksort

Sort an array by key in ascending order.

Syntax: ksort(array &$array, int $flags = SORT_REGULAR): true

Type: Function

{$colors = [5 => 'red', 3 => 'blue', 0 => 'green', 1 => 'purple']}
{$tmp = ksort($colors)}
{$colors = array_values($colors)}
<pre>{print_r($colors)}</pre>

Array

(
    [0] = green
    [1] = purple
    [2] = blue
    [3] = red
)

md5

Encode a string with the md5 hashing algorithm.

Syntax: md5(string $value): string

Type: Function

```
{md5("Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet")}
```
fea80f2db003d4ebc4536023814aa885

Return the next element in an array.

Syntax: next($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$working = next($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>
<pre>{$working}</pre>

[
  "red",
  "blue",
  "green",
  "purple"
]
blue

nl2br

Converts "\n" line breaks to html <br /> tags in the given variable.

Type: Modifier

{$articleTitle = "Sun or rain expected\ntoday, dark tonight"}

{nl2br($articleTitle)}
Sun or rain expected<br>
today, dark tonight

number_format

Correctly formats numbers over 999 and optionally decimal digits using the rounding half up rule.

Type: Modifier

```
{'10000000'|number_format:0}
```
10,000,000

Return the prev element in an array.

Syntax: prev($array)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
{$working = next($colors)}
{$working = prev($colors)}
<pre>{json_encode($colors, 128)}</pre>
<pre>{$working}</pre>

[
  "red",
  "blue",
  "green",
  "purple"
]
red

print_r

Prints the contents of a data feed in a message.

Type: Modifier

<pre>
    {$contact.cart.cartitems|print_r}
</pre>

Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[productID] => 1324
[sku] => 51515
[category] => Albums
[name] => David Hasselhoff
[qty] => 1
[itemPrice] => 9.99
[amount] => 9.99
[album] => Night Rocker
)

)
1

rand

A math equation that generates a random number between two specified numbers.

More info about using the function to randomize content in a message.

Type: function

```
{math equation='rand(1,1000)'}
```
127

replace

Replaces a character in a string with a specified character.

Type: Modifier

{$test = "hi there"}
{$test|replace:' ':'_'}

hi_there

round

Rounds a number up or down.

Type: Modifier

```
{23.95|round}<br>
{23.23|round}
```
24
23

sha1

Encode a string with the sha1 hashing algorithm.

More info on hashing modifiers.

Type: Modifier

```
{"test"|hash:"sha1"}
```
a94a8fe5ccb19ba61c4c0873d391e987982fbbd3

sizeof

Counts the number of items in an array.

Syntax: sizeof($variable)

Type: Function

{$colors = ['red','blue','green','purple']}
The colors array contains {sizeof($colors)} items.<br><br>

The colors array contains 4 items.

stopMessage

Stops a message from sending.

{if 'condition'}
{stopMessage reason="Reason for stopping the message."}
{/if}

Reason for stopping the message.

Adding a reason for why a message stopped will help you locate issues and troubleshoot more quickly.

string_format

Formats a string. Use the syntax for sprintf() for the formatting.

Type: Modifier

{$number = 23.5787446}

{$number}<br>
{$number|string_format:'%.2f'}<br>
{$number|string_format:'%d'}

23.5787446
23.58
23

str_replace

Replaces a character in a string with a specified character.

Type: Function

{$test = 'hi there'}
{str_replace(' ', '_', $test)}

hi_there

strstr

Find the first occurrence of a string.

Syntax: strstr(string $haystack, string $needle, bool $before_needle = false): string|false

Type: Function

{strstr('Find the first occurrence of a string', 'first')}

first occurrence of a string

strtotime

Converts a date to a Unix timestamp, which is the number of seconds that have passed since 1970.

Type: Modifier

```
{'Oct 3, 2017'|strtotime}
```
1506988800

Rendering content based if today's date is between 2 dates.

{$jan01 = '2017-01-01 00:00:00'|strtotime}
{$dec31 = '2017-12-31 23:59:59'|strtotime}
{if $smarty.now >= $jan01 && $smarty.now <= $dec31}
Today is between Jan 01, 2017 and Dec 31, 2017
{else}
Today is NOT between Jan 01, 2017 and Dec 31, 2017
{/if}

substr

Returns a part of a string.

More info from W3schools.

Type: Modifier

{'Hello world'|substr:0:1}
<br>
{'Hello world'|substr:6:5}
<br>
{'Hello world'|substr:3}

H
world
lo world

time

Returns the current time in the number of seconds since the Unix Epoch (January 1 1970 00:00:00 GMT).

Type: Modifier

```
{time()}<br>
{time()|date_format}
```
1507139097
Oct 4, 2017

trim

Removes whitespace and other predefined characters from both sides of a string.

More info from W3schools.

Type: Modifier

```
{$foo = "Hello World"}
{$foo|trim:"Hed"}
```
llo Worl

truncate

This truncates a variable to a character length, the default is 80. As an optional second parameter, you can specify a string of text to display at the end if the variable was truncated. The characters in the string are included with the original truncation length. By default, truncate will attempt to cut off at a word boundary. If you want to cut off at the exact character length, pass the optional third parameter of TRUE.

More info on truncate from smarty.net.

Type: Modifier

{$articleTitle ='Two Sisters Reunite after Eighteen Years at Checkout Counter'}
{$articleTitle|truncate:30}<br>
{$articleTitle|truncate:30:"...":true}<br>
{$articleTitle|truncate:30:'...':true:true}<br>

Two Sisters Reunite after...
Two Sisters Reunite after E...
Two Sisters R...ckout Counter

urldecode

Decodes url encoding in the given string. Plus symbols ('+') are decoded to a space character.

Type: Function

{$lnk = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cordial.com%2Fproduct'}

{urldecode($lnk)}

http://www.cordial.com/product

urlencode

Encodes a URL string. Spaces are encoded as plus (+) signs.

Type: Function

{$lnk = 'http://www.cordial.com/product'}

{urlencode($lnk)}

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cordial.com%2Fproduct

How can we help?

Search

Table of contents

Functions, modifiers, and examples

array_diff

array_flip

array_intersect

array_keys

array_key_exists

array_merge

array_pop

array_push

array_reverse

array_search

array_shift

array_splice

array_slice

array_unshift

array_unique

array_values

asort

arsort

base64_decode

base64_encode

count

count_characters

current

date_format

default

emailObfuscate

empty

end

escape

explode

hash

hash_equals

hash_hmac

implode

in_array

intval

is_array

isset

json_decode

json_encode

jsonPrettyPrint

Debug contact

key_exists

krsort

ksort

md5

next

nl2br

number_format

prev

print_r

rand

replace

round

sha1

sizeof

stopMessage

string_format

str_replace

strstr

strtotime

substr

time

trim

truncate

urldecode

urlencode

<%= previousTitle %>

<%= nextTitle %>

In this article

<%= heading %>

<%= block.name %>

<%= heading %>

<% if (block.html_url) { %> <%= block.name %> <% } else { %> <%= block.name %> <% } %>

Have a question?

Categories