# Helper Methods

The abstract appender also has various cool methods that you can use when building appenders:

## Properties Methods

| Method                                         | Description                                           |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| `struct getProperties()`                       | Get the entire properties struct.                     |
| `void setProperties(struct properties)`        | Override all properties with a new properties struct. |
| `any getProperty(string property)`             | Get a property.                                       |
| `void setProperty(string property, any value)` | Set a property.                                       |
| `boolean propertyExists(string property)`      | Checks if a property exists.                          |

## Utility Methods

| Method                                      | Description                                               |
| ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| `boolean isInitialized()`                   | Returns true if the appender has been initialized.        |
| `string getName()`                          | Get the name of the appender                              |
| `string getHash()`                          | Get the appender's unique hash id                         |
| `string severityToString(numeric severity)` | Transforms a severity integer to it's human readable form |

## Layout Methods

| Method                      | Description                                                     |
| --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `any getCustomLayout()`     | Get the custom layout object if defined.                        |
| `boolean hasCustomLayout()` | Checks if the custom layout object is defined in this appender. |