or - Notion Formula Reference

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Learn how to use the Boolean "or" operator in Notion formulas.

The or operator returns true if either one of its operands is true. It accepts Boolean operands.
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Boolean or Boolean
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or(Boolean, Boolean)
Good to know: Notion is picky, so ||, OR, and Or won’t work here. Only the case-sensitive or will be accepted.
You can also use the function version, or().
Example Formulas
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true or false // Output: true
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​
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false or true // Output: true
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​
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false or false // Output: false
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​
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10 > 20 or "Cat" == "Cat" // Output: true
The or operator can also be chained together multiple times:
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10 > 20 or "Cat" == "Dog" or true // Output: true
Example Database
This example database records the results of several Rock, Paper, Scissors matches. The Winner formula declares the winner of each match.
View and Duplicate Database
or
College Info Geek on Notion
“Winner” Property Formula
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// Compressed
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(prop("P1 Throw") == prop("P2 Throw")) ? "Tie" : ((prop("P1 Throw") == "Rock" and prop("P2 Throw") == "Scissors" or prop("P1 Throw") == "Paper" and prop("P2 Throw") == "Rock" or prop("P1 Throw") == "Scissors" and prop("P2 Throw") == "Paper") ? prop("Player 1") : prop("Player 2"))
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​
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// Expanded
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(prop("P1 Throw") == prop("P2 Throw")) ? "Tie" : 
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    (  (prop("P1 Throw") == "Rock" and prop("P2 Throw") == "Scissors" or 
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        prop("P1 Throw") == "Paper" and prop("P2 Throw") == "Rock" or 
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        prop("P1 Throw") == "Scissors" and prop("P2 Throw") == "Paper") ? 
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    prop("Player 1") : 
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    prop("Player 2"))
The formula consists of a nested if-then statement (written with the conditional operators ? and :). It first checks to see if the players threw the same choice, and returns “Tie” if so. If not, it uses the or and and operators to determine the winner.
Since the win/lose value of a throw is determined by the other throw, we use a series of three statements to compare Player 1’s throw against Player 2’s.
Good to know: This example also shows how or has a lower operator precedence than and.
Other formula components used in this example:
if
equal
and
About the Author
​
 My name is Thomas Frank, and I'm a Notion-certified writer, YouTuber, and template creator. I've been using Notion since 2018 to organize my personal life and to run my business and YouTube channel. In addition to this formula reference, I've created a free Notion course for beginners and several productivity-focused Notion templates. If you'd like to connect, follow me on Twitter.

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Example Formulas

Example Database

View and Duplicate Database

“Winner” Property Formula