Coalesce Task¶

Overview¶

The Coalesce Task returns the first non-empty value from a list of options. Use it to provide fallback values, handle missing data gracefully, and ensure your workflows always have usable values.

When to use this task:

• Provide default values for empty fields
• Handle missing form data
• Chain multiple data sources with priority
• Prevent workflow failures from null values
• Multi-source data consolidation
• Required field validation
• Fallback logic for integrations
• Data quality management

Key Features:

• Check multiple values in priority order
• Return first non-null/non-empty value
• Support for unlimited value checks
• Handles null, empty strings, and unresolved variables
• Always provide ultimate fallback
• Tracks which value was selected

Quick Start¶

1. Add Coalesce task
2. Configure values to check (priority order)
3. Set fallback default value
4. Save

Simple Example:

Value 1: {{task_49001_phone}}
Value 2: {{task_49001_mobile}}
Value 3: {{task_49001_work_phone}}
Fallback: Not Provided

Result: First phone number found, or "Not Provided" if all empty

Configuration¶

Value Priority List¶

Add values in order from highest to lowest priority:

Value 1: {{task_49001_primary_email}}
Value 2: {{task_49001_secondary_email}}
Value 3: {{task_15001_email}}
Fallback: no-reply@company.com

How it evaluates: 1. Check Value 1 - if not empty, return it 2. If Value 1 empty, check Value 2 - if not empty, return it 3. If Value 2 empty, check Value 3 - if not empty, return it 4. If all empty, return Fallback value

Fallback Value¶

Ultimate default if all values are empty:

Fallback: Unknown

Important: Always provide a meaningful fallback value.

Empty Detection¶

Coalesce treats these as empty: - null (actual null value) - "" (empty string) - Unresolved variables starting with {{ (e.g., {{task_99001_missing}})

Coalesce treats these as non-empty (valid values): - "0" (zero as string) - 0 (number zero) - "false" (string false) - false (boolean false) - Whitespace strings like " " (contains characters)

Output Fields¶

Real-World Examples¶

Example 1: Contact Phone Number Selection¶

Workflow: 1. Form Submission - Contact form 2. Coalesce - Get best phone number 3. Phone Formatter - Format to E.164 4. Match to Client - Find existing contact 5. SMS - Send confirmation

Get Best Phone:

Value 1: {{task_55001_mobile_phone}}
Value 2: {{task_55001_phone}}
Value 3: {{task_55001_work_phone}}
Value 4: {{task_55001_home_phone}}
Fallback: Not Provided

Format Phone:

Phone: {{task_19001_value}}
Country Code: US
Output: {{task_24001_formatted}}

Send SMS:

To: {{task_24001_formatted}}
Message: Thanks for your inquiry! We'll contact you at {{task_19001_value}} soon.

Why this works: - Checks mobile first (most common) - Falls through to other phone types - Won't send SMS if no phone provided (checks if value != "Not Provided")

Example 2: Multi-Source Email Priority¶

Workflow: 1. Webhook In - User data from multiple systems 2. Coalesce - Get best email 3. If Task - Validate email exists 4. Match to Client - Find existing contact 5. Email - Send welcome

Prioritize Email Sources:

Value 1: {{task_46001_verified_email}}
Value 2: {{task_46001_primary_email}}
Value 3: {{task_46001_account_email}}
Value 4: {{task_46001_billing_email}}
Value 5: {{task_46001_support_email}}
Fallback: needs-email@company.com

Priority reasoning: 1. Verified email - Highest confidence (confirmed by user) 2. Primary email - User's designated main email 3. Account email - Used for account creation 4. Billing email - Valid for payments 5. Support email - From support tickets 6. Fallback - Triggers internal flag for manual review

Validate Email:

Condition: {{task_19001_value}} != needs-email@company.com
True: Continue with email workflow
False: Add "Missing Email" tag + create task for sales team

Example 3: Company Name with Individual Fallback¶

Workflow: 1. Form Submission - Lead form 2. Coalesce - Get company name 3. If Task - Determine if B2B or B2C 4. Match to Client - Find existing client 5. Add appropriate tags

Get Company Name:

Value 1: {{task_55001_company_name}}
Value 2: {{task_55001_organization}}
Value 3: {{task_55001_business_name}}
Fallback: {{task_55001_first_name}} {{task_55001_last_name}}

Result Examples: - If form has company: "Acme Corp" - If individual: "John Smith" (from fallback using name fields)

Determine Type:

Condition: {{task_19001_key}} != Fallback
True: B2B lead (had company name) → Tag "B2B"
False: B2C lead (used name fallback) → Tag "B2C"

Why this works: - Tries multiple company field variations - Falls back to person's name if no company - Can detect which type based on key field - Ensures client record always has a name

Example 4: Address Data Consolidation¶

Workflow: 1. Webhook In - Customer data from API 2. Coalesce - Get street address 3. Coalesce - Get city 4. Coalesce - Get postal code
5. Coalesce - Get country 6. Formatter - Build complete address

Get Street Address:

Value 1: {{task_46001_shipping_address}}
Value 2: {{task_46001_billing_address}}
Value 3: {{task_46001_mailing_address}}
Value 4: {{task_46001_physical_address}}
Fallback: Address Not Provided

Get City:

Value 1: {{task_46001_shipping_city}}
Value 2: {{task_46001_billing_city}}
Value 3: {{task_46001_mailing_city}}
Fallback: Unknown City

Get Postal Code:

Value 1: {{task_46001_shipping_postal}}
Value 2: {{task_46001_billing_postal}}
Value 3: {{task_46001_mailing_postal}}
Fallback: 00000

Get Country:

Value 1: {{task_46001_shipping_country}}
Value 2: {{task_46001_billing_country}}
Value 3: {{task_46001_account_country}}
Fallback: United States

Build Complete Address:

Format: Concatenate
Components:
  {{task_19001_value}} (street)
  {{task_19002_value}} (city)
  {{task_19003_value}} (postal)
  {{task_19004_value}} (country)
Separator: , 

Result: "123 Main St, Springfield, 12345, United States"

Best Practices¶

Value Ordering¶

1. Most reliable first - Verified or validated data sources
2. User input next - Direct form submissions from users
3. System data - Calculated or derived values
4. Sensible fallback - Always provide meaningful default

Example priority:

Value 1: {{task_55001_verified_phone}}    ← User confirmed
Value 2: {{task_55001_entered_phone}}     ← User entered
Value 3: {{task_15001_existing_phone}}    ← From CRM record
Fallback: (000) 000-0000                  ← Obvious placeholder

Fallback Values¶

1. Descriptive - Use "Not Provided" instead of "N/A"
2. Type-appropriate - Numbers: 0, Text: "Unknown", Boolean: false
3. Process-safe - Won't break downstream tasks
4. Never truly blank - Always have ultimate fallback

Good fallbacks: - Phone: "Not Provided" or "000-000-0000" - Email: "no-email@company.com" - Name: "Unknown Contact" - Amount: 0.00

Bad fallbacks: - Empty string "" (defeats purpose) - null (may cause errors) - "TBD" (unclear what it means)

Use Cases¶

Good uses: - Phone number selection (mobile vs. landline vs. work) - Email address priority (multiple sources) - Name field fallbacks (first name, full name, username) - Address data sourcing (shipping vs. billing) - Required field handling - Multi-system data consolidation

Not needed for: - Single data source (nothing to coalesce) - Boolean fields (already true/false) - Fields where empty is valid answer

Combining with If Task¶

Check the coalesce result:

Coalesce Task → {{task_19001_value}}
If Task → {{task_19001_value}} = "Not Provided"
  True: Flag for manual follow-up
  False: Continue automated workflow

Or check which source was used:

If Task → {{task_19001_key}} = "Fallback"
  True: Low data quality → assign to data team
  False: Good data → continue automation

Troubleshooting¶

Always Returns Fallback¶

Issue: Never using provided values, always defaults to fallback

Causes: - All source values are actually empty/null - Variables not resolving correctly - Wrong variable references

Debug: Add Note task to inspect values

Note: Checking coalesce values:
Value 1: [{{task_55001_field1}}]
Value 2: [{{task_55001_field2}}]
Value 3: [{{task_55001_field3}}]
Coalesce result: [{{task_19001_value}}]
Coalesce key: [{{task_19001_key}}]

Solution: Check form field names, verify data submission

Wrong Value Selected¶

Issue: Using Value 2 when Value 1 has data

Causes: - Value 1 contains empty string "" - Value 1 variable doesn't exist (returns {{...}} pattern) - Value 1 is null

Solution: Verify data source, check for null vs empty string

Whitespace Issues¶

Issue: Value with only spaces " " not treated as empty

Note: Coalesce does NOT trim whitespace - " " is considered non-empty

Solution: Use Formatter task to trim before coalesce

Formatter → Trim: {{task_55001_field}}
Coalesce → Value 1: {{task_20001_formatted}}

Zero Treated as Empty¶

Issue: Number 0 or string "0" skipped

Good news: Coalesce correctly treats 0 as valid (non-empty)

If seeing issues: Verify variable is actually 0 not empty string

Frequently Asked Questions¶

How many values can I check?¶

Unlimited. Add as many Value fields as needed.

Can I use calculated values?¶

Yes, any task output variable works.

Is order important?¶

Yes! Always check highest priority first. First non-empty value wins.

What if I don't want a fallback?¶

You must provide a fallback. Use empty indicators like "Empty" or "N/A".

Can I nest Coalesce tasks?¶

Yes, use one Coalesce output as input to another:

Coalesce 1 → Best phone: {{task_19001_value}}
Coalesce 2 → Value 1: {{task_19001_value}}, Value 2: (555) 000-0000

Does it work with numbers?¶

Yes, but 0 is a valid number (not empty). If you need to treat 0 as empty, use If Task logic instead.

Can I use it for dates?¶

Yes, works with any data type including dates.

How do I know which value was selected?¶

Check {{task_19001_key}} - returns "Value 1", "Value 2", etc., or "Fallback"

Related Tasks¶

• If Task - Check coalesced value conditions
• Formatter - Clean data before coalescing
• Variable - Store coalesced value for later use
• Merge Data - Combine multiple data sources
• Phone Formatter - Format coalesced phone numbers
• Match to Client - Use coalesced contact data