# Make Data Mapping Examples: 12 Functions to Copy

> How mapping works in Make, from form answers to sheet columns, plus 12 copy-ready functions: ifempty, if, lower, trim, replace, parseNumber and more.

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-data-mapping-examples · Updated 2026-10-20 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

Quick answer

Mapping in Make means clicking a field from an earlier module into a field of a later one, so each run fills in the real values: a form's **Value** into a sheet's **Name (A)**, a [webhook](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/webhook)'s **email** into Gmail's **To**. When a value needs cleaning first, you wrap it in a function such as `trim()`, `lower()` or `ifempty()`. The free [first Make scenario lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-google-forms-to-google-sheets) maps form answers to sheet columns one by one.

Last updated October 20, 2026

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By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 20, 2026 · Updated October 20, 2026 · 3 min read

Make · Data mapping · Functions

## How does mapping work in Make?

Click a field in a module, and the mapping panel opens with every output of the modules before it. Click a value, and it drops in as a pill.

In the lesson each Google Sheets column gets one form answer: click the **Name (A)** field, then, under the matching question, click **Value**. Each pill is a placeholder; at run time it becomes that response's answer. You can mix pills and typed text in one field, like a subject line of `New request: ` followed by the name pill. The idea is called [field mapping](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/field-mapping).

## What do the numbers in a pill mean?

The number is the module's position in the scenario. `1.name` is the name field from module 1. If you delete and re-add a module, its number changes and old pills that pointed at it go empty, so re-map after rebuilding.

## Twelve mapping functions for office data

Make functions use semicolons between arguments. Replace the field names with your own pills.

| Need | Function |
| --- | --- |
| Use a default when empty | `{{ifempty(1.phone; "not given")}}` |
| Pick text by a condition | `{{if(1.urgency = "Urgent"; "URGENT: "; "")}}` |
| Lowercase an email | `{{lower(1.email)}}` |
| Remove stray spaces | `{{trim(1.name)}}` |
| First name only | `{{first(split(1.name; " "))}}` |
| Replace text | `{{replace(1.reason; "appt"; "appointment")}}` |
| Text to number | `{{parseNumber(1.total; ".")}}` |
| Number to money text | `{{formatNumber(1.total; 2; "."; ",")}}` |
| Round a number | `{{round(1.hours * 4) / 4}}` (nearest quarter hour) |
| Shorten long text | `{{substring(1.notes; 0; 200)}}` |
| Count characters | `{{length(1.message)}}` |
| Today's date | `{{formatDate(now; "YYYY-MM-DD")}}` |

Date functions have their own page: [Make formatDate Examples](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-formatdate-examples).

## How do I map webhook data?

Webhook fields appear in the mapping panel after Make has seen one test request. In the [webhooks lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-webhook-website-form-google-sheets), Make detects **name**, **email** and **reason**, and you map them into **Name (A)**, **Email (B)** and **Reason (D)**. Phone (C) stays empty because the form has no phone field.

## How do I map into a filter?

The same way. In the [Filters and Routers lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-router-and-filters), the filter's condition is the form answer **How urgent is this?** > **Value**, and the comparison value is the typed word Urgent. Functions work in filters too, so `lower()` on both sides makes the match ignore capitals.

## Try it free, step by step

**Your First Make.com Scenario: Google Forms to Google Sheets**. Build your first Make.com scenario: every new Google Forms response becomes a new row in Google Sheets. Trigger, connection, mapping, Run once and a schedule. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Make, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts.

[Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/make-first-scenario)

[Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-google-forms-to-google-sheets)

## Common mapping mistakes

- **Mapping a label instead of the value.** Form questions can show both. Map **Value**.
- **Typing a field name instead of clicking it.** Typed `email` is the word "email", not the data.
- **Commas instead of semicolons.** `ifempty(1.phone, "none")` is not valid in Make.
- **Old pills after rebuilding a module.** Re-map anything that points at the replaced module.

## Key takeaways

- Map by clicking fields in the mapping panel; each pill becomes the real value at run time.
- The number in a pill is the module's position, so rebuilding a module can break old pills.
- ifempty, trim, lower and parseNumber fix most messy office data.
- Make functions take semicolons between arguments.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is mapping in Make?**

Mapping connects an output field of one module to an input field of a later module, so the scenario passes real data along on every run.

**How do I combine two fields in Make?**

Put both pills in the same field with any text between them, such as the first-name pill, a space and the last-name pill.

**How do I handle empty values in Make?**

Wrap the pill in ifempty(value; default) to use a default, or add a filter with Exists before the module that needs the value.

**Which free course teaches Make mapping?**

[Make & Zapier Jump Start](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/make-zapier-jump-start), starting with the first scenario.

## Free lessons in this post

- [Your First Make.com Scenario: Google Forms to Google Sheets](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-google-forms-to-google-sheets): Build your first Make.com scenario: every new Google Forms response becomes a new row in Google Sheets. Trigger, connection, mapping, Run once and a schedule.
- [Webhooks: Connect a Website Form to Make.com](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-webhook-website-form-google-sheets): Start a Make scenario with a Custom webhook, paste its URL into your website form's webhook setting, send a test so Make learns the fields, and save every request to…
- [Filters and Routers in Make.com: Send Urgent Requests One Way, Routine Ones Another](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-router-and-filters): Add a router to your Make scenario, email the front desk about urgent requests with a filter, and send everything else to Google Sheets with a fallback route.

## Related terms

Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.

[Webhook](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/webhook) · [Bundle (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-bundle) · [Credits (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-credits) · [Instant trigger](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/instant-trigger) · [Module (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-module) · [Operation (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-operation) · [Router (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-router) · [Webhook signature](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/webhook-signature)

[The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)

## Keep reading

- [Make Router and Filter Examples: Send Data Two Ways](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-router-filter-examples): How a Make router and filters split one scenario into routes: urgent vs routine, a fallback route, route order and five filter setups you can copy.
- [Make Google Sheets Modules: Add a Row vs Search Rows](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-google-sheets-modules): Which Make Google Sheets module to use: Add a Row, Search Rows, Update a Row or Watch New Rows, how to pick the sheet and how headers map.
- [Make Custom Webhook: Set Up, Test and Map a Form](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-custom-webhook-setup): Set up a Make Custom webhook: create and name it, paste the URL into a website form, let Make detect the fields, then map them to Google Sheets.

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