Remove empty lines from a preformatted CSV - excel

Question

im generating a CSV from an XLS file with VBA, after that I am filtering the CSV with Batch. My filter looks like this:
for %%a in (*.csv) do (
for /f "usebackq tokens=1-10 delims=, eol=^" %%1 in ("%%a") do (
if %%4 EQU Req_Category ECHO %%1,%%2,%%3,%%4,%%5,%%6,%%7,%%8,%%9 >> "%%a"_JIRA.csv
if %%4 EQU Requirement ECHO %%1,%%2,%%3,%%4,%%5,%%6,%%7,%%8,%%9 >> "%%a"_JIRA.csv
)
)
This works fine if the CSV File has no empty lines.
In rare occasions the XLS -> CSV converting generates empty lines or CRs in the CSV.
SW_Fn-289,4.1.1.1,Controling Hardware PCB,Heading,,,,,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-291,4.1.1.1.0-1,"
Date : 07.03.1777
The SystemDesignSpecification is stored in SVN path
http://sblablablabla.xlsm
",Requirement,Lab1 (B-Sample),,Released,Accepted,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-4281,4.1.1.1.0-2,"
Date : 123.123.123
Path : https://apath.com
",Requirement,R1,,New,New,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-166,4.2,Compliance Requirements,Heading,,,,,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-286,4.2.1,Resource Usage,Heading,,,,,IgnoreTesting,
Every line in the CSV should start with an ID: SW_Fn-Example.
Does every one have an idea how can bring the info on one line with a batch function?
I need to get the file to look like this (before filtering):
SW_Fn-289,4.1.1.1,Controling Hardware PCB,Heading,,,,,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-291,4.1.1.1.0-1,"Date : 07.03.1777 TheSystemDesignSpecificationisstored in SVN path http://sblablablabla.xlsm",Requirement,Lab1 (B-Sample),,Released,Accepted,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-4281,4.1.1.1.0-2," Date : 123.123.123 Path : https://apath.com",Requirement,R1,,New,New,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-166,4.2,Compliance Requirements,Heading,,,,,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-286,4.2.1,Resource Usage,Heading,,,,,IgnoreTesting,
There shouldnt be a line that does not start with SW_Fn-blabla. If a line starts with something else, then it should be a part of the previous line that has an Sw_Fn-blabla.
Then my filter will work to produce this:
SW_Fn-291,4.1.1.1.0-1,"Date : 07.03.1777 TheSystemDesignSpecificationisstored in SVN path http://sblablablabla.xlsm",Requirement,Lab1 (B-Sample),,Released,Accepted,IgnoreTesting,
SW_Fn-4281,4.1.1.1.0-2," Date : 123.123.123 Path : https://apath.com",Requirement,R1,,New,New,IgnoreTesting,
Thanks in advance

Answer 1

try this:
#echo off
for %%a in (*.csv) do (
for /f "delims=" %%b in (%%a) do (
for /f "tokens=4 delims=," %%c in ("%%b") do (
if "%%c"=="Requirement" echo %%b >>%%~na_JIRA%%~xa
if "%%c"=="Req_Category" echo %%b >>%%~na_JIRA%%~xa
)
)
)
read and handle each line complete to overcome the consecutive-delimiter-issue mentioned by Magoo (use another for to check Token4, but don't bother to disassemble and reassemble the complete line)

Answer 2

Aak! don't use numerics for the metavariable (%%1) - it's highly unreliable. Use an alphabetic character.
Batch treats a string of delimiters as a single delimiter and you have nominated commas and spaces as delimiters, so
SW_Fn-166,4.2,Compliance Requirements,Heading,,,,,IgnoreTesting,
would appear as
SW_Fn-166,4.2,Compliance,Requirements,Heading,IgnoreTesting,,,,
You haven't shown what you expect as output. Do you only want the lines that begin SW_Fn- or do you want all lines that don't start SW-Fn appended to the last line that did?
#ECHO Off
SETLOCAL
SET "sourcedir=U:\sourcedir"
SET "destdir=U:\destdir"
SET "filename1=%sourcedir%\q36475816.csv"
SET "outfile=%destdir%\outfile.txt"
SET "line="
(
FOR /f "usebackqdelims=" %%a IN ("%filename1%") DO (
SET "newpart=%%a"
IF DEFINED line CALL :test
IF DEFINED line CALL SET "line=%%line%% %%a"
IF NOT DEFINED line SET "line=%%a"
)
IF DEFINED line ECHO(%line%
)>"%outfile%"
GOTO :EOF
:: Test new data " Accumulate data into line or output & start a new line
:test
SET "newpart=%newpart:"=x%"
IF NOT "%newpart:~0,6%"=="SW_Fn-" goto :eof
echo(%line%
SET "line="
GOTO :eof
You would need to change the settings of sourcedir and destdir to suit your circumstances.
I used a file named q36475816.csv containing your data for my testing.
Produces the file defined as %outfile%
Note that your posted data contains unbalanced quotes in the Fn-4281 item. It's always better to use actual data rather than "somewhere close".
Read each line. If we've already accumulated part of a line, check whether the first few characters are the target. If they are, output the line as constructed and clear line.
If line is clear after this operation, set it to the line read (which must startwith the target, otherwise accumulate the line.
In the :test procedure, remove quotes before testing so that it doesn't break the syntax. Obviously, if the first few characters contains a quote, it doesn't fit the target so the test will correctly detect "no fit"

Answer 3

Your file is actually valid CSV format. Quoted CSV fields may contain any of the following:
comma
quote literal, escaped as ""
newline (either LF or CRLF)
You don't have commas or quotes within your fields, but you do have newlines that are giving your code serious problems.
But that is only one potential problem. Another issue is FOR /F treats consecutive delimiters as a single delimiter, so if any of your desired keeper lines have any empty fields, then your output will be completely wrong.
Batch is inherently far from ideal for any kind of text processing, but for CSV it is especially bad for all but the most simplest problems. If you really want to use batch, you could use ParseCSV.bat to properly parse your CSV and read it using FOR /F in a reliable manner. But there are better options.
PowerShell has an Import-Csv cmdlet. I'm not sure of its capabilities, but if it supports newlines within fields, then you could develop a really slick solution with that.
Another option is my JREPL.BAT regular expression text processor. The following code looks nasty, but it will very efficiently produce your desired output in one step:
jrepl "((?:[\s\S]*?,){3}(?:(Req_Category,|Requirement,)|.*?,)(?:.*?,){4}.*?),[^,\n]*\n?" "$2?$1.replace(/\r\n/g,' ')+'\r\n':''" /m /j /f input.csv /o output.csv
You would need to use CALL JREPL if you put the command within another batch script.
My JREPL solution relies on the fact that none of your input fields contain quoted commas. If it did contain quoted commas, then a JREPL solution would be even more complicated.
This solution works by using the /M multiline option so that I can match across line-breaks.
The search matches each 10 field collection (your 10th field seems to be always empty), regardless of line breaks. $1 contains the first 9 fields (without the trailing comma). $2 contains the 4th field if and only if it matches "Req_Category" or "Requirement". The replacement javascript expression tests if $2 is defined, and if it is, then the whole search expression is replaced with $1 after all newlines have been replaced by spaces, and then a newline is appended. IF $2 is not defined then the whole search expression is replaced with an empty string. Simple in concept, but kind of nasty to develop ;-)
A slight simplification allows you to preserve the original fields containing newlines, and still do the filtering you desire.:
jrepl "((?:[\s\S]*?,){3}(?:(Req_Category,|Requirement,)|.*?,)(?:.*?,){4}.*?),[^,\n]*\n?" "$2?$1+'\r\n':''" /m /j /f input.csv /o output.csv