Captain Morgan ------ Insane Journeys -------- A-
I have easily gotten the left and right side parts using Left() and Right() functions.
I want to use a function in excel (not vba) that will allow me to get the middle phrase in this sentence (The dashes are really excessive spaces). can I accomplish this with a Mid() function?
This is just 1 item on a list of 80 different things in 1 column that needs to be turned into 3 columns. Every item has different character lengths. So the length counts cannot be manually entered.
I agree with Text to Columns but the image in the other answer only has one space per row while OP has some spaces that are redundant and some that are not. For this I’d suggest a modified approach:
Replace all pairs of spaces with a character unlikely to be encountered – I’d suggest a pipe.
Apply Text to Columns with pipe as delimiter.
Apply TRIM to the middle column to remove any remaining redundant spaces (eg =TRIM(B1) copied down and then that column pasted as values over the source).
But to answer can I accomplish this with a Mid() function? I think yes though not cost effective for a mere 80 entries when there is a viable alternative.
Try to use "Text to columns" from Data Tab. It has option to split data to different columns using various criteria.
All you need to do is select data you want to split to columns and select criteria you need.
In your case it can be either Space or Other:. When you select Other: you can add your own criteria like "space dot space" or anything you need.
For more detailed information you can enter this link.
Related
I have a list of item numbers (100K) like this:
Some of the items have format like SAG571A-244-4 (thousands) which need to be filtered so I can delete them and only keep the items that have ONE hyphen per SKU. How can I isolate the items that have two instances of "-" in it's SKU? I'm open to solutions within Excel or using VBA as well.
Native text filters don't seem to be capable of this. I'm stumped.
As per John Coleman's comment, "*-*-*" can be used to isolate strings that have at least two dashes in them.
I would add that if you're entering them as a custom text filter, you should lose the double quotes (so just *-*-*) as otherwise the field seems to interpret the quotes literally.
Seems to work for me.
If you want just an excel formula to verify this and give you a result of the number of hyphens (0, 1, or 2+), here is one:
=IF(ISERROR(SEARCH("-",A1)),"0",IF(ISERROR(SEARCH("-",A1,IFERROR(SEARCH("-",A1)+1,LEN(A1)))),"1","2+"))
Replace A1 with your relevant column, then fill down. This is kind of a terrible way to do this performance wise, but you avoid using VBA and possibly xlsm files.
The code first checks to see if there is one hyphen, then if there is it checks to see if there is another hyphen after the position the first one was found. Looking for multiple hyphens in this manner is cumbersome and I don't recommend it.
Does any of you know if exist any function to split the double brake line to column? I do know how to split by spaces like: =SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(B2;CHAR(13);"");CHAR(10);"|"), but I want something like the image bellow:
The solution is depend on your string. If you have only one separation as shown, you can use following equations.
for the 1st part
=LEFT(SUBSTITUTE(A1,CHAR(10),",",1),FIND(",",SUBSTITUTE(A1,CHAR(10),",",1),1)-1)
for the 2nd part
=MID(SUBSTITUTE(A1,CHAR(10),",",1),FIND(",",SUBSTITUTE(A1,CHAR(10),",",1),1)+1,10000)
This is independent from the number of consecutive char(10) characters between text.
Just use two different formulas, there are many ways you could go about it. Say something like =LEFT(A1,FIND(CHAR(10),A1)) for the first column and =RIGHT(A1,LEN(A1)-SEARCH(CHAR(10),A1)) for the second one.
I have a single column of text in Excel that is to be used for translating into foreign languages. The text is automatically generated from an InDesign File. I would like to clean it up for the translator by removing rows that simply contain a number ("20", 34.5" etc), or if they contain a measurement "5mm", "3.5 µm", etc. I've found many posts (see link below) on how to remove a row with specific string, but none that use search strings, such as those I typically use with GREP searches: "\d+" and "\d.\d µm"
How would I do this? I am on Mac iOS if that helps.
Note that I would need to delete the row if the cell only contains a number or a measurement, not if the number is contained within a phrase, sentence, or paragraph, etc.
https://stackoverflow.com/a/30569969
It may not be what you are looking for, but how about just sorting the column and remove the rows starting with numbers? It is a manual approach but from what I understand this translation process only happens from time to time. Am I right?
I see two possible issues in your question:
How to work with regular expressions in Excel?
How to delete rows in a loop?
Let me start with the second question: when you want to create a for-loop in order to remove items from a list, you MUST start at the end and go back to the beginning (it's a beginner's trick, but a lot of people trip over it.
About the first question: this is a very useful post about this subject, it's too large to even give a summary here.
I would like to ask for your help with the formulation of a formula in Excel in order to compare the total number of search results upon using different sets of separator characters.
As I have multiple columns with content, as in the example below, I thought it would be possible to Count the search results in some way and do this for each column separately ( I would actually prefer to treat each column separately).
A
1 L-516-S-221-S-223
2 H-140.STR3
3 ST0 XP 23-9
4 etc.......
Preferably, I would like to use a varying a set of separator characters in order to determine the impact on the number of search results based on this set of separator characters. Logically, with an increasing number of separators more results will be returned (depending on separators included in the cell values of course).
The set of characters that I would like to experiment with is: “-_ .,;: “
Hopefully this makes sense and someone is able to help me out. Thank you.
Kind regards,
P
In your example - on its own will detect all three instances but for an overview you might construct a grid (say B1:H1 of your separators, including a space rather than an empty cell) and ColumnA each column in turn (maybe via links) then a formula in B2 such as:
=--ISNUMBER(FIND(B$1,$A2))
copied across to ColumnH and down to suit.
Alternative formula (for different question):
=IF(LEN($A2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE($A2,B$1,""))>0,LEN($A2)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE($A2,B$1,""))+1,0)
Assumes, for example, no trailing spaces and separators are always separated. Results are not necessarily cumulative.
I am working on an excel document for fuel cards at the minute and my current issue is to write in a formula for validating number plates based on UK standard plates (two letters followed by two numbers then three letters i.e. BK08JWZ). At this point in time we are not considering personal plates in this just to keep things simple.
Ideally I need excel to look at the text in the box and confirm it to an agreed layout but I am struggling to find the right formula. The plates are in column 'I' and I have already added in another column after titled 'approved plates' in column 'J'but this can be deleted if it's not needed.
Results wise, I can do this one of two ways, to either get the excel document to highlight and number plates that do not match the DVLA standard , or have a column next to the number plate column that registers a boolean response to the recognition i.e. If it is valid (true) or if not (false).
Either way the plate needs to be able to be seen as it was currently, so if there is something wrong with it, it needs to be visible, not throw up an error message.
Any help would be very welcome.
All the information on UK standard number plates are on this site:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359317/INF104_160914.pdf
I would do it like this:
1) create a lookup sheet with data from the booklet. One column for allowed "memory tag" identiffiers (first two letters), one column for the allowed "age identiffiers" (first two numbers), and one column for allowed random letters (last three letters, full alphabet except I and Q)
2) strip spaces from the number plate for comparison
3) Use MID(numberplate,1,2), MID(numberplate,3,2) and MID(numberplate,5,3) to compare to each lookup list repectively (using INDEX()>0).
4) when all 3 parts are found in lookup lists the number plate is valid.
Try researching Regular Expressions or RegEx. This is a powerful programming tool to determine whether strings match specific patterns. You can use RegEx expressions to extract the pattern, replace the pattern or test for the pattern. Very efficient but not for the faint-hearted although there is plenty of help on-line. Try this article for starters.
The following RegEx may be what you need..
(?^[A-Z]{2}[0-9]{2}[A-Z]{3}$)|(?^[A-Z][0-9]{1,3}[A-Z]{3}$)|(?^[A-Z]{3}[0-9]{1,3}[A-Z]$)|(?^[0-9]{1,4}[A-Z]{1,2}$)|(?^[0-9]{1,3}[A-Z]{1,3}$)|(?^[A-Z]{1,2}[0-9]{1,4}$)|(?^[A-Z]{1,3}[0-9]{1,3}$)
This was copied from this article which gives a very full explanation using DVLA rules.
EDIT:
To use RegEx within Excel. In the IDE, Tools menu, select References and add the Microsoft VBScript Regular Expressions 5.5 reference.
With acknowlegement to user3616725s helpful observation.