# Transforms

> Reshape a value as it’s inserted: change its case, trim it, turn it into a slug, and more.

A Transform reshapes a value just before SimpleFill inserts it. It can capitalize a name, turn a page title into a URL slug, move a date forward a week, or format it exactly how you like. Transforms work on [Smart Fields](https://simplefill.app/docs/smart-fields), [Fields](https://simplefill.app/docs/fields), and plain-text [snippets](https://simplefill.app/docs/snippets).

## How to use a Transform

Add a `|` (a pipe) and the Transform’s name after a value.

**Typed on a page**, after a shortcut:

```
;title|uppercase
```

As soon as you type the `|`, the shortcut dropdown lists the Transforms that fit that value, each with what it does. Pick one with the arrow keys, and **Enter** writes its full name for you. Press **Enter** without picking one to insert the value as it is.

**In a snippet**, inside the curly braces:

```
{{page.title | uppercase}}
```

**On a pill** in a rich snippet: click the pill, then **Add transform** under **Transforms**.

## Chain them

Add as many as you like. They run left to right, each one working on the result of the one before:

```
{{page.title | slugify | truncate(30)}}
```

`Getting Started with SimpleFill: Fill Any Form` becomes `getting-started-with-simplefil`, exactly 30 characters.

## Give them details

Some Transforms need a detail, like how many days to add. Put it in parentheses. Put text in quotes, and separate several details with commas:

```
{{date | addDays(7)}}
{{page.title | replaceAll("-", "/")}}
{{page.title | truncate(40)}}
```

When typing on a page, the last `)` can be left off: `;date|addDays(7` works too. Until the details are complete, with no quote left open or comma with nothing after it, SimpleFill inserts nothing and says what’s missing, so a half-typed Transform never fills in the wrong thing.

> [!TIP]
> When typing on a page, you only need enough of a Transform’s name to be unique: `;title|up` works just like `;title|uppercase`. If what you’ve typed could mean several, like `;date|add`, the dropdown lists them to choose from, and nothing is inserted until it’s clear which one you mean.

> [!WARNING]
> A typed shortcut can’t contain spaces, because Space is what expands it. So `;date|formatDate("D MMM YYYY")` can’t be typed. Use a pattern without spaces, like `;date|formatDate(DD/MM/YYYY)`, or put the Transform in a snippet, where spaces are fine.

## All Transforms

You can browse them all in the dashboard under **Transforms**, each with an example.

![The Transforms page, where each Transform shows an example, its usage, and the kinds of values it takes](https://simplefill.app/images/docs/dashboard-transforms.webp)

### Text

| Transform | What it does | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `uppercase` | Capital letters | `Ram Patra` → `RAM PATRA` |
| `lowercase` | Small letters | `Ram Patra` → `ram patra` |
| `titleCase` | Capitalizes each word | `ram patra` → `Ram Patra` |
| `sentenceCase` | Capitalizes each sentence | `THANKS FOR WRITING. TALK SOON!` → `Thanks for writing. Talk soon!` |
| `camelCase` | Joins words for code | `Customer first name` → `customerFirstName` |
| `snakeCase` | Joins words with underscores | `Customer first name` → `customer_first_name` |
| `slugify` | Makes a URL-friendly slug | `Ram Patra Apps` → `ram-patra-apps` |
| `trim` | Removes spaces at the start and end | `␣␣Ram Patra␣␣` → `Ram Patra` |
| `truncate(n)` | Cuts to at most *n* characters | `truncate(10)`: `SimpleFill extension` → `SimpleFill` |
| `replace("a", "b")` | Replaces the first match | `2026-08-20` → `2026/08-20` |
| `replaceAll("a", "b")` | Replaces every match | `2026-08-20` → `2026/08/20` |
| `count` | Counts characters, emoji included | `Hi 🙂` → `4` |
| `wordCount` | Counts words | `SimpleFill saves time` → `3` |
| `prettifyJson` | Lays out JSON neatly | `{"id":1}` → indented JSON |
| `minifyJson` | Squeezes JSON onto one line | indented JSON → `{"id":1}` |

### Format dates

| Transform | What it does | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `formatDate("pattern")` | Writes a date your way | `ddd, D MMM YYYY [at] h:mm A` → `Fri, 23 Oct 2026 at 3:30 PM` |
| `addMinutes(n)`, or `addMins(n)` | Adds minutes; negative goes back | `09:45` + 30 → `10:15` |
| `addHours(n)`, or `addHrs(n)` | Adds hours | `09:45` + 2 → `11:45` |
| `addDays(n)` | Adds days | `2026-10-23` + 7 → `2026-10-30` |
| `addBusinessDays(n)` | Adds weekdays, skipping weekends | Friday + 5 → next Friday |
| `addWeeks(n)` | Adds weeks | `2026-10-23` + 2 → `2026-11-06` |
| `addMonths(n)` | Adds months, keeping to the month’s end | `2026-01-31` + 1 → `2026-02-28` |
| `addYears(n)` | Adds years | `2026-10-23` + 1 → `2027-10-23` |
| `startOfMonth` | The first of the month | `2026-10-23` → `2026-10-01` |
| `endOfMonth` | The last day of the month | `2026-10-23` → `2026-10-31` |
| `utc` | Converts to a UTC timestamp | `2026-08-20T09:10:11.000Z` |

The patterns `formatDate` understands:

| Pattern | Gives you | Pattern | Gives you |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `YYYY` | `2026` | `dddd` | `Friday` |
| `YY` | `26` | `ddd` | `Fri` |
| `MMMM` | `October` | `HH` / `H` | `15` (24-hour) |
| `MMM` | `Oct` | `hh` / `h` | `03` / `3` (12-hour) |
| `MM` / `M` | `10` | `mm` | `30` (minutes) |
| `DD` / `D` | `03` / `3` | `ss` | `00` (seconds) |
| `A` | `PM` | `[text]` | `text`, exactly as written |

Month and day names follow your browser’s language.

A few things worth knowing about dates:

- **A date stays a date.** After `addDays`, `addMonths`, `startOfMonth`, and the like, `{{date | addDays(7)}}` is still written in your date format, just a week later. Use `formatDate` when you want a different look.
- **The value keeps its shape.** A date stays a date, a time stays a time (`23:45` + 30 minutes is `00:15`), and a date and time keeps its time.
- **Days and longer need a date; hours and minutes need a time.** `;time|addDays(1)` and `;date|addHours(2)` don’t run, rather than quietly dropping part of the value.
- **Dates are read as SimpleFill writes them**: `2026-10-23`, `09:45`, or `2026-10-23T09:45`, with or without a time zone like `Z` or `+05:30`. Text such as `Oct 23, 2026` isn’t read as a date, so nothing that merely looks like one, like `Ticket 42`, gets turned into one.

### Numbers

| Transform | What it does | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `round` | Rounds to the nearest whole number | `12.6` → `13` |
| `floor` | Rounds down | `12.6` → `12` |
| `ceil` | Rounds up | `12.1` → `13` |
| `abs` | Removes the minus sign | `-12` → `12` |

Numbers are read using the **Number format** in [Settings](https://simplefill.app/docs/settings), so `1.234,56` works if that’s how you write numbers.

### Encoding

| Transform | What it does | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `urlEncode` | Makes text safe inside a link | `Ram Patra` → `Ram%20Patra` |
| `urlDecode` | Turns it back | `Ram%20Patra` → `Ram Patra` |
| `base64Encode` | Encodes as Base64 | `Ram` → `UmFt` |
| `base64Decode` | Decodes Base64 | `UmFt` → `Ram` |

## When something doesn’t fit

Each Transform works on certain kinds of values. You can’t `uppercase` a number, for example. If a Transform can’t run, SimpleFill inserts the value as it was before that step and tells you what went wrong, so you never lose your text.

A Transform that’s still being typed is different. If its name could mean several, or its details are missing or wrong, a typed shortcut inserts nothing yet, and the dropdown shows what’s needed.

## Examples

**A search link.** `https://www.google.com/search?q={{clipboard | urlEncode}}` turns whatever you copied into a ready-made search link.

**A due date in words.** `Due {{date | addDays(14) | formatDate("dddd, D MMMM")}}` gives *Due Friday, 6 November*.

**A clean branch name.** `;title|slugify` on a GitHub issue gives a branch name like `fix-login-redirect-loop`.

**Names that look right.** Put `titleCase` on a customer-name Field, and it doesn’t matter how you type it.

Source: https://simplefill.app/docs/transforms