> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xano.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Conditional
Conditional statements are used to determine what functions to run based on the outcome of an expression, or a set of expressions.
**Hint**
For simple comparisons with multiple options, consider using [Switch](/the-function-stack/functions/data-manipulation/switch) instead.
## Conditional vs Switch — which one should you use?
When deciding between using an If/Then statement and a Switch statement, it's important to consider the complexity and clarity of the logic you're implementing. An If/Then statement is ideal for situations where you have several conditions that require different actions. It provides straightforward logic for evaluating true or false scenarios.
On the other hand, a Switch statement is better suited for cases with multiple possible values for a single variable. It makes your function stacks cleaner and more organized by avoiding deep nesting of conditions when the logic involves fixed values. Use If/Then for more advanced conditions and Switch for handling multiple specific scenarios with more concise readability.
You can add multiple conditions to a single function stack if you want to check multiple values.
### Using the Expression Builder
Each conditional has four different components.
**Conditional Type**
The conditional type determines how this condition is weighted in the final return. You can choose between **AND** and **OR. AND** conditionals require the present conditional and any others before it to be satisfied, such as "where the date is before today **AND** the user is an admin". **OR** conditionals do not require any other conditionals to be satisfied, such as "if the user is an admin **OR** if the user is a manager".
**Left Value**
This is the first value you're using in the conditional. In a database query, this is usually going to be a column that you want to check against.
**Operators**
Please note that operators may differ based on where you are building the expression. Database queries will have different operators available than regular conditional statements. Learn More
* **Equals (==)** - an exact match
* **Not Equals (!=)** - does not equal
* **Equals with type matching (===)** - an exact value match and an exact type match
* Ex. Variable **var\_1** has a value of 123, with a type of text. You set up a conditional statement to check if **var\_1 === 123**, but your value in the conditional statement is of type integer. This would return false, because the types do not match.
* **Not equals with type matching (!==)** - does not equal value or type, similar to ===
* **Greater than (>)** - the value on the left is greater than the value on the right
* **Greater than or equals (≥)** - the value on the left is greater than or equals to the value on the right.
* **Less than (\<)** - the value on the left is less than the value on the right.
* **Less than or equals (≤)** - the value on the left is less than or equals to the value on the right.
* **LIKE** - Used for comparing text. Like is case-insensitive and compares if a text string is like another text string. It can be thought of as equals for text but upper case and lower case does not matter.
* **NOT LIKE** - Used for comparing text. Not Like is case-insensitive and compares if a text string is not like another. It is like not equals for text but upper case and lower case does not matter.
* **INCLUDES** - Used for comparing text. Includes is a flexible operator and is case-insensitive. It is able to determine if there is a partial match in a text string.
* **DOES NOT INCLUDE** - Used for comparing text. Does not include determines if a text string is not included in another text string.
* **IN** - If a single value is found in an array (list). Start with the single value on the left side and the right side should contain the array.
* **NOT IN** - If a single value is not found in an array (list). The single value should be on the left side and the array on the right side.
* **REGEX MATCHES** - [Regular Expression](https://regex101.com/) used for finding patterns in text.
* **REGEX DOES NOT MATCH** - [Regular Expression](https://regex101.com/) used for finding a pattern that does not match in text.
* **OVERLAPS** - Used for comparing two arrays. Overlaps determines if any values in one array are present in the second array.
* **DOES NOT OVERLAP** - Used for comparing two arrays. Does not overlaps determines if no values in the first array are present in the second array.
* **CONTAINS** - Contains is an advanced filter used for JSON and arrays. It looks for an exact schema match.
* **DOES NOT CONTAIN** - Does not contain is the opposite of contains. It determines if there is not an exact schema match.
#### Right Value
The right value is whatever you are checking against the left value. This could be a hardcoded value, a variable, or even a database field from the same record.
If the condition(s) evaluate as **true**, it will run the steps in the Then block.
If the condition(s) evaluate as **false**, it will run the steps in the Else block.
You can also leave either of these blocks empty if you only want to utilize one of them.
Click 
to add an Else If path to your conditional statement. The process for defining the condition(s) it checks is exactly the same as before.