How to Auto-Advance Dates Based on Multiple Checkbox States in Notion

Reader's Question

Hi, I'm wondering why only the first condition is showing results (if "start" has a value, add one day). The subsequent compound conditions don't seem to work (if start and day1 both have values, add 2 days, and so on). Why aren't the compound conditions working?

My Answer

First, the best way to check whether a field is empty is to use the empty() function. When a field is empty, empty("Property XX") returns true. For example:

Using this feature, we can construct a formula like this to meet your needs:

if(
    prop("Start").empty()==true,"未启动".style("b","red"),

    lets(
    a,if(prop("Start").empty()!=true,1,0),
    b,if(prop("Day 1").empty()!=true,1,0),
    c,if(prop("Day 2").empty()!=true,2,0),
    d,if(prop("Day 4").empty()!=true,4,0),
    e,a+b+c+d,
    dateAdd(prop("Start"),e,"days")
)

)

Here's the result in action:

Formula Breakdown

The lets function defines the following variables internally:

a = if(Start is not empty, return 1, return 0)
b = if(Day 1 is not empty, return 1, return 0)
c = if(Day 2 is not empty, return 2, return 0)
d = if(Day 4 is not empty, return 4, return 0)
e = a + b + c + d (sum of all values above)

The last line:

dateAdd(prop("Start"), e, "days")

• Starts from the Start date
• Adds the value of e
• Unit is days

Reference Template

• Reference template link: https://leon21.notion.site/Notion-checkbox-1870e68aa04680c98925c3abe0bbc2fa

Related Reading

• Notion Formula Basics (Part 1): Understanding Formula Fundamentals Through Arithmetic Operations
• Notion Formula Basics (Part 2): Mastering Flexible Check-in Tracking and Date Interval Calculations
• Notion Formula Basics (Part 3): Complex Logic and Custom Progress Bars
• A Deep Dive into Notion Formula 2.0: 10+ New Features and Functions That Make Notion More Powerful