Remove zeros from middle of string - vba

Question

I have a list of serial numbers with a prefix, and then a few numbers. All serial numbers are 8 characters, so depending on the prefix and amount of zeros, different amounts of leading zeros are added between the prefix and numbers. (ex. ALT00001, CAT00564, AAR19470, M0000003, MISC7859, MISC0025)
How can I remove all leading zeros from the Serial Numbers, but keep any zeros that are part of the actual number?
I would love to create a macro that does this, as I would have to run this code on multiple workbooks countless times a day.

Answer 1

With data in column A, in B1 enter:
=LEFT(A1,3) & --RIGHT(A1,5)
and copy downwards.
EDIT#1:
Based on the updated examples, we must find the position of the first numeral in the string and parse based on that.
In C1 enter:
=MIN(FIND({"0","1","2","3","4","5","6","7","8","9"},UPPER(A1)&"0123456789"))
and copy downwards. (this give the position of the first numeral)
Now in B1 enter:
=LEFT(A1,C1-1) & --RIGHT(A1,8-C1+1)
or:
=LEFT(A1,C1-1) & --RIGHT(A1,9-C1)
(if you don't want the "helper" column, combine the formulas)
EDIT#2:
Here is some code:
Sub Deb()
Dim Kolumn As String, rng As Range, cell As Range, s As String, L As Long
Dim i As Long
Kolumn = "A"
Set rng = Intersect(Columns(Kolumn).EntireColumn, ActiveSheet.UsedRange).Offset(1, 0).Cells
For Each cell In rng
s = cell.Value
If s = "" Then Exit Sub
L = Len(s)
For i = 1 To L
If IsNumeric(Mid(s, i, 1)) Then
GoTo Process
End If
Next i
MsgBox "bad data " & s
Exit Sub
Process:
cell.Value = Left(s, i + -1) & CLng(Mid(s, i))
Next cell
End Sub
EDIT#3:
Macros are very easy to install and use:
ALT-F11 brings up the VBE window
ALT-I
ALT-M opens a fresh module
paste the stuff in and close the VBE window
If you save the workbook, the macro will be saved with it.
If you are using a version of Excel later then 2003, you must save
the file as .xlsm rather than .xlsx
To remove the macro:
bring up the VBE window as above
clear the code out
close the VBE window
To use the macro from the Excel window:
Select the worksheet you want the macro to run on
ALT-F8
Select the macro
Touch RUN
To learn more about macros in general, see:
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/getstarted.htm
and
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee814735(v=office.14).aspx
Macros must be enabled for this to work!
EDIT#4:
This code check for errors:
Sub Deb_2()
Dim Kolumn As String, rng As Range, cell As Range, s As String, L As Long
Dim i As Long
Kolumn = "A"
Set rng = Intersect(Columns(Kolumn).EntireColumn, ActiveSheet.UsedRange).Offset(1, 0).Cells
For Each cell In rng
s = cell.Value
If s = "" Then Exit Sub
L = Len(s)
For i = 1 To L
If IsNumeric(Mid(s, i, 1)) Then
GoTo Process
End If
Next i
MsgBox "bad data " & s
Exit Sub
Process:
If IsNumeric(Mid(s, i)) Then
cell.Value = Left(s, i + -1) & CLng(Mid(s, i))
End If
Next cell
End Sub

Answer 2

I have two approaches, one is using excel array formula to find the numerical value in the text string, and the other is using excel power query to transform the data in 4 simple steps.
Approach 1 - Array Formula
The following formula will firstly convert the text string to array, eg. ALT00001 will become {"A";"L";"T";"0";"0";"0";"0";"1"}, then examine each character in the array if it is a numerical value like this {FALSE;FALSE;FALSE;TRUE;TRUE;TRUE;TRUE;TRUE}, and lastly sum up all the TRUE results. This will give you the total number of numerical values in the text string.
{=SUM(--ISNUMBER(--MID(A1,ROW(INDIRECT("1:"&LEN(A1))),1)))}
Please note this is an array formula so you need to press CSE (Ctrl+Shift+Enter) upon finishing editing the formula.
In my workings, I entered the array formula in Cell B1, then in Cell C1 I entered the following formula to get the result.
=LEFT(A1,8-B1)&--RIGHT(A1,B1)
You can combine these two formulas but it will look awkwardly long and not so easy to interpret by others. If you do combine, you need to press CSE to make it work as it incorporates an array.
Approach 2 - Power Query
Although #Deb did not ask for a solution using Power Query (PQ), I still want to share an alternative way of solving the issue efficiently, given that the above formula-based solution is not so straight forward and somehow complicated.
PQ is able to transform data from multiple worksheets and have ample built-in functions that is quite user friendly. Please note you need to have Excel 2010 or later versions to be able to use PQ.
So here are the steps using PQ:
1) Load the data range to PQ Editor, one way of doing that is to highlight the data range and use From Table in the Data tab as shown below:
2) Once loaded, the PQ Editor will be opened in a new window. The next step is to separate the value into Text string and Numerical string. A quick way of doing that is to use the Split Column (By Non-digit to Digit) in the Transform tab of the PQ Editor as shown below.
3) Now we have the text in the first column and the number in the second column. Next step is to clear the "0" in front of the values in the number column. One way of doing that is to change the Data Type from Text to Whole Number, and then change it back to Text (I will explain why you need to change it back to Text in the next step).
4) Next step is to combine the two columns to get the desired result. One way of doing that is to add a custom column and use & to combine the values from the two columns as shown below.
=[Column1.1]&[Column1.2] the way of using & is same as in an excel formula
As mentioned in my last step, we need to change the number value back to text, the reason is that PQ Editor does not allow combining a text value with a numerical value, it will lead to the following error.
5) The last step will vary depends on your preference. What I did is to remove other columns and load the Result column to the current worksheet where your original data sits.
Unfortunately PQ could not over write source data. However in my opinion it is better to keep your source data somewhere safe without being overwritten, and export your edited/transformed data to a new place and work on it instead.
Here are the codes behind the scene but all steps are performed using the built-in functions which you can google the know-how of each of them easily.
let
Source = Excel.CurrentWorkbook(){[Name="Table1"]}[Content],
#"Split Column by Character Transition" = Table.SplitColumn(Source, "Column1", Splitter.SplitTextByCharacterTransition((c) => not List.Contains({"0".."9"}, c), {"0".."9"}), {"Column1.1", "Column1.2"}),
#"Changed Type1" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Split Column by Character Transition",{{"Column1.2", Int64.Type}}),
#"Changed Type2" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Changed Type1",{{"Column1.2", type text}}),
#"Added Custom" = Table.AddColumn(#"Changed Type2", "Result", each [Column1.1]&[Column1.2]),
#"Removed Other Columns" = Table.SelectColumns(#"Added Custom",{"Result"})
in
#"Removed Other Columns"
Cheers :)