[HOLD til outta beta] Full story : Report title displays raw template formula instead of resolved values

[m-natarajan]

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Version Number:
Reproducible in staging?: Needs Reproduction
Reproducible in production?: Needs Reproduction
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail:
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers):
Logs: https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/4856
Expensify/Expensify Issue URL:
Issue reported by: @puneet
Slack conversation (hyperlinked to channel name): #Migrate

Action Performed:

1. Set Default report title formula as per requirement in a workspace
2. Create an expense in the workspace chat
3. Observe the report title

Expected Result:

The title should be displayed as per the formula set

Actual Result:

Title displayed as {report:submit:from|frontPart}'s Expenses #{report:id}

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

Select the officially supported platforms where the issue was reproduced:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari
• MacOS: Desktop

Platforms Tested:

On which of our officially supported platforms was this issue tested:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari
• MacOS: Desktop

Screenshots/Videos

Add any screenshot/video evidence

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[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @mallenexpensify (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[abzokhattab]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Report titles display raw template formulas like {report:submit:from|frontPart}'s Expenses #{report:id} instead of resolved values like john.doe's Expenses

What is the root cause of that problem?

The root cause is in the populateOptimisticReportFormula function in ReportUtils. This function is responsible for processing template formulas and replacing placeholders with actual values, but it was missing several key template replacements:

1. {report:submit:from|frontPart} - should resolve to the front part of the submitter's email
2. {report:id} - should resolve to the actual report ID
3. {report:submit:from} - should resolve to the submitter's display name
4. {report:submit:from:firstname} - should resolve to the submitter's first name
5. {report:submit:from:lastname} - should resolve to the submitter's last name
6. {report:submit:from:fullname} - should resolve to the submitter's full name
7. {report:submit:from:email} - should resolve to the submitter's email
8. {report:submit:from:email|frontPart} - should resolve to the front part of the submitter's email

The function had a catch-all regex /\{report:(.+)\}/gi that was removing any unmatched {report:...} placeholders, which is why the raw template was being displayed instead of the resolved values.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We should add the missing template replacements to the populateOptimisticReportFormula function. Specifically, we need to add regex replacements for:

final formula

    const result = formula
        // We don't translate because the server response is always in English
        .replaceAll(/\{report:type\}/gi, 'Expense Report')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:startdate\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:total\}/gi, report.total !== undefined ? convertToDisplayString(Math.abs(report.total), report.currency).toString() : '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:currency\}/gi, report.currency ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:policyname\}/gi, policy?.name ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:workspacename\}/gi, policy?.name ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:created\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_DATE_TIME_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:created:yyyy-MM-dd\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:status\}/gi, report.statusNum !== undefined ? getHumanReadableStatus(report.statusNum) : '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:id\}/gi, report.reportID ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:submit:from\}/gi, getCurrentUserDisplayNameOrEmail() ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:submit:from:firstname\}/gi, currentUserPersonalDetails?.firstName ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:submit:from:lastname\}/gi, currentUserPersonalDetails?.lastName ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:submit:from:fullname\}/gi, getCurrentUserDisplayNameOrEmail() ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:submit:from:email\}/gi, currentUserEmail ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:submit:from:email\|frontPart\}/gi, (currentUserEmail ? currentUserEmail.split('@').at(0) : '') ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:submit:from\|frontPart\}/gi, (currentUserEmail ? currentUserEmail.split('@').at(0) : '') ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{user:email\}/gi, currentUserEmail ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{user:email\|frontPart\}/gi, (currentUserEmail ? currentUserEmail.split('@').at(0) : '') ?? '')
        .replaceAll(/\{report:(.+)\}/gi, ''); // optional: this can be removed

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

NA

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

NA

[dmkt9]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Title displayed as {report:submit:from|frontPart}'s Expenses #{report:id}

What is the root cause of that problem?

Because the placeholders in the formula don’t match any of the earlier regex patterns and only match the final regex replaceAll(/\{report:(.+)\}/gi, ''), the resulting value becomes an empty string (''). As a result, the function returns the original formula input:

App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts

Lines 5990 to 6008 in 32cf88b

	function populateOptimisticReportFormula(formula: string, report: OptimisticExpenseReport, policy: OnyxEntry<Policy>): string {
	const createdDate = report.lastVisibleActionCreated ? new Date(report.lastVisibleActionCreated) : undefined;
	const result = formula
	// We don't translate because the server response is always in English
	.replaceAll(/\{report:type\}/gi, 'Expense Report')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:startdate\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:total\}/gi, report.total !== undefined ? convertToDisplayString(Math.abs(report.total), report.currency).toString() : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:currency\}/gi, report.currency ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:policyname\}/gi, policy?.name ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:workspacename\}/gi, policy?.name ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:created\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_DATE_TIME_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:created:yyyy-MM-dd\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:status\}/gi, report.statusNum !== undefined ? getHumanReadableStatus(report.statusNum) : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{user:email\}/gi, currentUserEmail ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{user:email\|frontPart\}/gi, (currentUserEmail ? currentUserEmail.split('@').at(0) : '') ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:(.+)\}/gi, '');
	return result.trim().length ? result : formula;
	}

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We should validate all supported placeholders at here and add additional handling to the populateOptimisticReportFormula function to prevent this issue from recurring in the future.

App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts

Lines 5990 to 6008 in 32cf88b

	function populateOptimisticReportFormula(formula: string, report: OptimisticExpenseReport, policy: OnyxEntry<Policy>): string {
	const createdDate = report.lastVisibleActionCreated ? new Date(report.lastVisibleActionCreated) : undefined;
	const result = formula
	// We don't translate because the server response is always in English
	.replaceAll(/\{report:type\}/gi, 'Expense Report')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:startdate\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:total\}/gi, report.total !== undefined ? convertToDisplayString(Math.abs(report.total), report.currency).toString() : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:currency\}/gi, report.currency ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:policyname\}/gi, policy?.name ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:workspacename\}/gi, policy?.name ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:created\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_DATE_TIME_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:created:yyyy-MM-dd\}/gi, createdDate ? format(createdDate, CONST.DATE.FNS_FORMAT_STRING) : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:status\}/gi, report.statusNum !== undefined ? getHumanReadableStatus(report.statusNum) : '')
	.replaceAll(/\{user:email\}/gi, currentUserEmail ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{user:email\|frontPart\}/gi, (currentUserEmail ? currentUserEmail.split('@').at(0) : '') ?? '')
	.replaceAll(/\{report:(.+)\}/gi, '');
	return result.trim().length ? result : formula;
	}

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

Add test coverage for populateOptimisticReportFormula.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

NA

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[neil-marcellini]

This should be on HOLD for the custom report names project.

• [Tracking] Optimistic report title formula computation #59689

[mohammadjafarinejad]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

• Full story : Report title displays raw template formula instead of resolved values.

What is the root cause of that problem?

• We are using populateOptimisticReportFormula() to generate a default report name when creating a report.

App/src/libs/ReportUtils.ts

Line 6020 in fab7cf8

function populateOptimisticReportFormula(formula: string, report: OptimisticExpenseReport, policy: OnyxEntry<Policy>): string {

• However, this function does not support all formulas and function modifiers.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

• In Issue #59689 and PR #69147, we are implementing a new system for optimistic formula handling that supports all formulas.

• Once that feature is fully implemented, if populateOptimisticReportFormula() is updated as part of the implementation, this issue will be resolved.

• Otherwise, we have two possible solutions:

  Option A – Use compute() from lib/Formula.ts

  • This creates a dependency cycle (between ReportUtils.ts and Formula.ts). It can be fixed in the PR. There are multiple ways to fix it.

  function populateOptimisticReportFormula(formula: string, report: OptimisticExpenseReport, policy: OnyxEntry<Policy>): string {
    try {
      const context = {report, policy};
      return computeFormula(formula, context);
    } catch (error) {
      Log.warn("Failed to process optimistic report names", {error});
      return formula;
    }
  }

  Option B – Manual Implementation

  • Update the function directly or reuse parts of Formula utilities to support all formulas and modifiers.

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

• N/A

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

• N/A

Test branch: test/ortf-59689

[melvin-bot]

@mallenexpensify Uh oh! This issue is overdue by 2 days. Don't forget to update your issues!