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Use Stringreplacer to remove data contained in brackets? e.g. "Akermaat (A9 Alkmaar - Amsterdam)"

  • November 1, 2016
  • 5 replies
  • 256 views
E

Hi all,

I'm trying to remove some unwanted data using StringReplacer.

 

I'd like to remove all data contained within brackets and also remove the brackets themselves.

What I have:

Alblasserdam (A15 Sliedrecht – Ridderkerk)

 

Bospoort (A4 Schiphol - Den Haag)

 

What I want:

 

Alblasserdam

 

Bospoort

 

 

Can I use StringReplacer for this?

Thanks,

Ed

Best answer by takashi

Hi @edttom, yes, I think the StringReplacer with this setting does the trick.

  • Text to Find: \\s*\\(.*?\\)
  • Replacement Text: <not set>
  • Use Regular Expressions: yes
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5 replies

takashi
Celebrity
  • takashiCelebrity
  • Best Answer
  • November 1, 2016

Hi @edttom, yes, I think the StringReplacer with this setting does the trick.

  • Text to Find: \\s*\\(.*?\\)
  • Replacement Text: <not set>
  • Use Regular Expressions: yes
Why not inspect features with Visual/Data Preview and Feature/Record Information before writing them into a destination dataset?
E
  • edttom
  • Author
  • November 1, 2016

Many thanks for the fast response @takashi , it worked!

 

However, I'm curious as to what "\\s*\\(.*?\\)" does. Can you clarify or point me to some documentation explaining this query?

Thanks

takashi
Celebrity
  • takashiCelebrity
  • November 1, 2016

Many thanks for the fast response @takashi , it worked!

 

However, I'm curious as to what "\\s*\\(.*?\\)" does. Can you clarify or point me to some documentation explaining this query?

Thanks

The help doc on the StringSearcher and the StringRepalcer contains short description about regular expressions. Then, see also these links to learn more.

 

Why not inspect features with Visual/Data Preview and Feature/Record Information before writing them into a destination dataset?
takashi
Celebrity
  • takashiCelebrity
  • November 1, 2016

Many thanks for the fast response @takashi , it worked!

 

However, I'm curious as to what "\\s*\\(.*?\\)" does. Can you clarify or point me to some documentation explaining this query?

Thanks

Addition.

 

  • \\s* 0 or more whitespaces
  • \\( an opening round bracket
  • .*? 0 or more any characters (? indicates that "matches the minimum length" in this case)
  • \\) a closing round bracket
Why not inspect features with Visual/Data Preview and Feature/Record Information before writing them into a destination dataset?
arekpierchala
Contributor
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  • arekpierchalaContributor
  • Contributor
  • November 2, 2016

Many thanks for the fast response @takashi , it worked!

 

However, I'm curious as to what "\\s*\\(.*?\\)" does. Can you clarify or point me to some documentation explaining this query?

Thanks

Takashi gave you most elegant solution.

 

It is Regular Expresion.

 

Watch how it works e.g. at http://rubular.com/ or directly in FME when open properties of 'Text to Match' if 'Use Regular Expression' is maked to 'yes'

 

 

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