I think that are new functions from Ignition 8.3.
Did you miss the bit about the Automation Professionals Integration Toolkit being a module you need to install to get this functionality?
Expression language additions for 8.3 have not been announced.
Phil would not answer questions about 8.1 software with 8.3 solutions.
Indeed. You just need to install my (free) Integration Toolkit module.
You can expect it to work in the future v8.3, too.