Moss Formulas Variables

Moss Formulas And Variables

Use formulas for one-off numeric expressions and variables for named values that should be reused or referenced.

Editor Entry

In the editor:

• =2+2 creates an unnamed executable formula.
• sum=2+2 creates a named executable variable.
• time=9am or window_1=9am-930am creates a named symbolic variable.

Variable names start with a letter and contain only letters, digits, _, or -. Symbolic values may contain punctuation and non-Latin text. A value is executable only when it is a supported numeric expression or contains a bound reference.

Persisted Markdown

The persisted grammar is:

{{source|display}}
{{source|display|key=value;key=value}}

source ends at the first |, display ends at the second |, and optional semicolon-separated metadata follows. Pipes are unsupported inside source or display; there is no escape form.

Moss may read a symbolic variable without an ID for compatibility, but new or rewritten symbolic variables should persist one. Anonymous executable formulas retain the two-field form and do not require persisted identity metadata.

Supported executable syntax is + - * / ( ), decimals, $, thousands commas, %, and numeric k/m/b suffixes. Functions and exponentiation are unsupported. Results use thousands separators and at most two decimal places; currency and percent characters affect parsing but do not decorate the result.

Identity And Linked Instances

Moss identifies a variable by (noteId, id).

• Copying and pasting a variable within the same note preserves its ID and creates another linked instance.
• Editing the name or value of any linked instance updates every instance with that ID in the note.
• Create an independent variable by entering a new name=value; Moss assigns a new ID.
• The same ID in another note is independent because the note ID differs.
• When directly duplicating a variable in the same note, preserve the ID only when the duplicate should remain linked. Generate a fresh UUID for a newly created independent variable.

Bound References

A bound reference is @(name#note-id#formula-id). It is executable and points to an exact variable identity.

{{28|28|id=b371c6db-70db-48f1-99e2-9ea1ef6f1151;name=h1_size}}
{{@(h1_size#9e64c3df-c1e2-4a4d-8c07-91528f422413#b371c6db-70db-48f1-99e2-9ea1ef6f1151)-6|22|id=c520e764-a784-48c5-81ca-f93ac6f4ad37;name=h2_size}}

Create a bound reference only when the real containing note ID and target formula ID are supplied by Moss context or existing persisted metadata. Never substitute example IDs, guess an ID from a path, or edit app-owned metadata. When exact IDs are unavailable, use the editor's variable typeahead or leave the relationship unbound.

Metadata

Supported metadata is:

Treat stale=1 as app-maintained state: preserve it unless the expression is deliberately rebuilt, and do not add it manually. Legacy format=... metadata is accepted but ignored; remove it when rewriting the pill.

Tables And Preservation

Formula pills may appear inside a one-line Markdown table row. Their internal pipes are formula syntax and do not become table separators.

• Preserve existing IDs, names, references, and stale state unless the task changes that relationship.
• Keep pills inline; do not use them for multiline calculations or chart data.
• Wrap literal examples in backticks so they do not become live pills.

Final Check

• Editor-entry syntax is not confused with persisted Markdown.
• Every new independent variable has a fresh UUID.
• Linked same-note instances share an ID and therefore update together.
• Bound references use real note and formula IDs.
• App-maintained stale state was preserved rather than invented.