KeepChar() returns a string consisting of any of the characters in the first string that match the characters in the second string. This function is case-sensitive.
Syntax:
KeepChar(text, keep_chars)
Return data type: string
Arguments
Argument
Description
text
The original string.
keep_chars
A string containing the characters in text to be kept. This argument is case-sensitive.
Example: Chart expressions
Example
Result
KeepChar ( 'a1b2c3','123' )
Returns 123
KeepChar
( 'a1b2c3','1234' )
Returns 123
KeepChar
( 'a1b22c3','1234' )
Returns 1223
KeepChar( 'a1b2c3','312' )
Returns 123
Example - KeepChar fundamentals
Overview
Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new tab.
The load script contains:
A dataset which is loaded into a data table called Example.
The following fields in the data table:
InputText which contains the original text string to be processed.
CharsToKeep which contains the list of characters to retain from the original text string after processing.
Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:
InputText
CharsToKeep
Create the following calculated dimension:
=KeepChar(InputText, CharsToKeep), to calculate the characters in InputText that match the characters in CharsToKeep.
Results table
InputText
CharsToKeep
KeepChar(InputText, CharsToKeep)
a1b2c3
123
123
a^b^c
abc
abc
A^b^c
abc
bc
The KeepChar(InputText, CharsToKeep) column returns only those characters in InputText that exactly match the characters in CharsToKeep. For example, the third row returns bc as those are the only characters in InputText that match the characters in CharsToKeep. The uppercase character A is not returned as the items in CharsToKeep are only lowercase.
The following code shows how to use the function in a load script.
Example - KeepChar scenario to parse unstructured text
Overview
This example uses the function to parse unstructured text (letters, numbers, and symbol characters) and deliver a structured output that retains only numerical characters.
Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new tab.
The load script contains:
A dataset which is loaded into a data table called Example.
The following fields in the data table:
InputText which contains the original text string to be processed.
CharsToKeep which contains the list of characters to retain from the original text string after processing.
Load script
Example:
Load * inline [
InputText, InputCategory, CharsToKeep
'The numeric code for input processing is 123-456|789.', 'Code', '0123456789'
'Delivery of batch number: 333*456789.', 'Batch', '0123456789'
'Find the goods received in bay 16a', 'Bay', '0123456789'
];
Results
Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:
InputText
CharsToKeep
Create the following calculated dimension:
=KeepChar(InputText, CharsToKeep), to calculate the characters in InputText that match the characters in CharsToKeep.
Results table
InputText
CharsToKeep
KeepChar(InputText, CharsToKeep)
Delivery of batch number: 333*456789
0123456789
333456789
Find the goods received in bay 16a
0123456789
16
The numeric code for input processing is 123-456|789
0123456789
123456789
Compare the output of the KeepChar function to the original InputText string values that loaded in the script. The KeepChar function has successfully removed all non-numeric characters from the input text.
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