Is there a code I can use to input the "time in list" to a Butler report?
Asked by Rachel Bloem:

I'm hoping to include the amount of time a card has been in a list on a report made through Butler. "Time in list" is an option to sort a list by so I know Trello has that information. Is there a code I could use to input the "time in list" to a Butler report?

Thanks!

Rachel


Answers:
author: Vongsawat
body: There are a bunch of "time in list" variables you have access to which you can find [here](https://help.trello.com/article/1157-variables), scroll down to "Card time in list" section.  

Essentially it is {carddaysinlist}. You can replace days with hours/minutes. And/or replace list with previouslist. And/or add round to the end of the command to round the value to the nearest whole number.  

You can insert that in to your report (or anywhere in a butler command) and it'll replace it with the value for you.  

Cheers.

comments: author: Rachel Bloem
body: The list of variables you linked too was so helpful! Thanks! I tried the {carddaysinlist} and nothing is pulling up in the report. Any chance you know if there is something else I need to add. See below for the pattern section of the rule:

\[{cardname}\]({cardlink}) ({carddaysinlist}) ({cardmemberusernames})\\n\\n


author: Vongsawat
body: Ahhh, I've never done reports before, so hadn't looked at this [page](https://help.trello.com/article/1192-creating-reports-with-butler)  

Of note:   
\> There are certain variables that cannot return data in a Butler report \[...\] Variables that return any card's time in list data, such as {carddaysinlist} or {carddaysinpreviouslist}.  

One way to get around this could be to use either a rule or card button to essentially save the value in to an accessible [custom-field](https://help.trello.com/article/1160-custom-field-variables) before hand.  

The command would probably be: Remove checklist Iterate, Collect all cards in to links in checklist Iterate, For each card linked from an item in checklist Iterate, Set custom field tempTime to {carddaysinlist}.  
Edit: Changed Collect in to links, not linked items. Or else every single card will end up with an attachment which will be annoying to discover! oops.  

(Or you can manually remove the temp Iterate checklist if you don't want it just lying around. I don't *think* you can get rid of it at the end of the command because you'd be looping.. but on second thought I don't actually know hmm)  

Anyways, wrap all that up in either a Rule that only triggers if you label a specific card that you're using to iterate through all this. Or a Card Button that is hardcoded to Find said specific card (or create one).  

Then in your Board Button, have the report use {{%tempTime}} instead of {carddaysinlist}.  

Miiight need some extra rules to either remind you to do all this before hitting a board-button-generated report. Or if its a schedule-generated report, might need to schedule another rule that triggers a little earlier, which triggers the Rule outlined above.


author: Susan Saemi S.
body: [@Vongsawat](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3989989) , any idea why those variables such as {carddaysinlist} or {carddaysinpreviouslist} doesn't work on Butler reports? Maybe that's so we have to pay for an upgrade so we get Custom Fields, or pay for report power-ups?

Just wondered if that was purposefully made, or if can I have hope and wait for some bug fix. :/

=== post edit: just saw the answer at the official page \^\^"

Excluded variables:

There are certain variables that cannot return data in a Butler report either due to the context that is required for the variable to return valid data, or due to the demand made on Trello's API to request the data. Below are some examples of each respectively:

* Variables that require a specific trigger, such as {mentionedtext} requiring a trigger of "when a person is mentioned..".
* Variables that return any card's time in list data, such as {carddaysinlist} or {carddaysinpreviouslist}.