Learn how to return a null (or empty) value from a Notion formula.
Unlike JavaScript, Notion formulas do not have a null data type. However, it is possible to make a formula return a null/empty value using some easy workarounds.
To return a null/empty string, use a pair of double quotes "":
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""
To return a null/empty number, use the following formula (credit to aNotioneer on Twitter for this number workaround):
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toNumber("")
Likewise, you can return a null/empty date object using this formula:
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fromTimestamp(toNumber(""))
There is no possible null/empty state for Booleans/Checkboxes. However, you can convert Booleans to strings with format in order to create a setup where true/false/empty is possible:
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// Assume "Checkbox" is a Boolean/Checkbox property.
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// Invalid; will throw a Type Mismatch error:
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if(1>2,prop("Checkbox"),"")
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// Valid. Will output "true", "false", or an empty value.
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if(1>2,format(prop("Checkbox")),"")
Example Database
This example database demonstrates how outputting null/empty values from several formulas allows us to calculate a per-genre average rating inside a Movies database.