Using XOR() and NOT() functions in Airtable

  • Updated on Dec 14, 2023
  • Published on Jul 6, 2022
  • 1 minute(s) read

This article covers how to use XOR and NOT() functions to streamline your team's and organization's work.

Introduction 

Plan availability

All plan types 

Platform(s)

Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app 

Related reading

Using XOR() in Airtable 

Using X0R()

XOR returns a true value if an odd number of arguments are true. As an example, let's say that you want to make sure that all checkboxes across fields are checked, and output a message if one is missing.

The formula below evaluates for that by checking for an odd number of arguments using XOR, and showing a message if that is found.

IF(
   XOR(
      {Checkbox 1}, 
      {Checkbox 2}
   ), 
   "Missing Checkmark"
)

1500000115841XOR001.jpg

Note that this works because there are an even number of fields - if there were an odd number of fields (say, 3 of them), and you adjusted the formula to check the third field, the results would be incorrect.

IF(
   XOR(
      {Checkbox 1}, 
      {Checkbox 2},
      {Checkbox 3}
   ), 
   "Missing Checkmark"
)

360098990094XOR002.jpg

Incorrect result due to an odd number of fields In many cases, using other functions like AND() can prove more practical than XOR(), but it's helpful to be familiar with its functionality and uses.

Using NOT() in Airtable

Using NOT()

NOT() reverses the logical value of its argument. For example, 100 > 75 would evaluate as true, but if you wrote NOT(100 > 75), it would evaluate as false.