How to select only numbers from a text field - sql

How can I pull only the number from a field and put that value into its own field?
For example, if a field1 contains a value of "Name(1234U)".
I need an SQL or VBA way to scan that field and pull the number out. So field2 will equal "1234".
Any ideas?

It is possible that this or a variation may suit:
SELECT t.Field1, Mid([Field1],InStr([field1],"(")+1,4) AS Stripped
FROM TheTable As t
For example:
UPDATE TheTable AS t SET [field2] = Mid([Field1],InStr([field1],"(")+1,4);
EDIT re comment
If the field ends u), that is, alpha bracket, you can say:
UPDATE TheTable AS t SET [field2] =
Mid([Field1],InStr([field1],"(")+1,Len(Mid([Field1],InStr([field1],"(")))-3)

The following VBA function might do the trick:
Option Compare Database
Option Explicit
Public Function RegexReplaceAll( _
OriginalText As Variant, _
Pattern As String, _
ReplaceWith As String) As Variant
Dim rtn As Variant
Dim objRegExp As Object ' RegExp
rtn = Null
If Not IsNull(OriginalText) Then
Set objRegExp = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp") ' New RegExp
objRegExp.Pattern = Pattern
objRegExp.Global = True
rtn = objRegExp.Replace(OriginalText, ReplaceWith)
Set objRegExp = Nothing
End If
RegexReplaceAll = rtn
End Function
Example using the regular expression pattern
[^0-9]+
which matches one or more non-digit characters
RegexReplaceAll("Name(1234U)","[^0-9]+","")
returns
1234
edit:
To use this in a query run from within the Access application itself, try something like
SELECT Field1, RegexReplaceAll(Field1,"[^0-9]+","") AS JustNumbers
FROM Table1;

Create a VBA function, call it as a field in your query and pass it the original field (like select GetNumerals(field1) from table...). The VBA function will loop through each letter in the field and return only the numeric values. It could look something like this:
Public Function GetNumerals(str As String) As String
Dim i As Integer
For i = 1 To Len(str)
If IsNumeric(Mid(str, i, 1)) Then
GetNumerals = GetNumerals & Mid(str, i, 1)
End If
Next i
End Function

Related

Access SQL > Select "Height" out of some text

I've got an Access Database filled with some product-informations.
unfortunately data like height, width etc. isn't in a separated column.
So I was wondering how I could use some SQL so I can filter/split those values.
For example it looks like this:
Table: SHP_PRODUCT
Field: SHORT_DSC
Value: Candle "Country", Height 120mm, Diameter 50mm, red
Result should be: "120mm"
Note: The height doesn't always have the same position like "It's the second word". Also I can't guarantee it's comma-separated.
How about using RegEx?
Public Function extractHeight(ByVal val as String) As String
Dim regEx As New VBScript_RegExp_55.RegExp
Dim regExMatches As Object
regEx.Pattern = "Height\s[\d*\,*\.*]+[a-z]{0,1}m"
regEx.Global = False
Set regExMatches = regEx.Execute(val)
If regExMatches.Count > 0 Then
extractHeight = Replace(regExMatches(0), "Height ", "")
Else
extractHeight = ""
End If
End Function
Use in query as aforementioned
The regex pattern Height\s[\d*\,*\.*]+[a-z]{0,1}m matches for a string that begins with "Height", followed by a space, then a number of whatever length with '.' or ',', then a string such as cm, mm, m.
Make sure to add Microsoft VBScript Regular Expressions 5.5 to References in the VBA edtior (Extras - References)
You can create small function to retrieve this:
Public Function ExtractHeight(ByVal Value As String) As String
Dim Parts As Variant
Parts = Split(Value, "Height")
If UBound(Parts) > LBound(Parts) Then
ExtractHeight = Replace(Trim(Split(Parts)(1), " ")(0)), "m,", "m")
End If
End Function
Then use that in your query:
Height: ExtractHeight([SHORT_DSC])

Remove consecutive "x" characters from the beginning of a field with Access query

I have a column called Name in a table called Team. When the Name values begin with one or more consecutive "x" characters, I want those excluded, but keep any "x" which occurs later in the same string.
I have used ...
SELECT REPLACE(Name, 'x', '') FROM table
But that doesn't give me the result I want because it changes xJammy Pricx to Jammy Pric, and xP-X Corp to P- Corp. I want to erase only the leading x characters.
For these sample values ...
xxxJames
xxxxxxxVikkie
XXXJohnny
xJakie
xJammy Pricx
xP-X Corp
Result should be ...
James
Vikkie
Johnny
Jakie
Jammy Pricx
P-X Corp
I don't see how to do what you want with plain Access SQL and standard VBA functions which can be used in a query. So I think you will need a custom function for your query. And in that case, a regular expression approach would be easy.
SELECT RegExpReplace([Name], '^[Xx]*', '')
FROM Team;
In the pattern, ^[Xx]*, ^ matches the start of the string, [Xx] matches one X or x character, and * means zero or more matches of the previous character (X or x).
Add this function to a standard module. If it's a new module, do not name the module RegExpReplace; modRegExpReplace would be OK.
Public Function RegExpReplace(ByVal varSource As Variant, _
ByVal strPattern As String, _
ByVal strReplace As String) As Variant
'version 2016-07-17
Static re As Object
Dim varOut As Variant
If re Is Nothing Then
Set re = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")
re.Global = True
re.IgnoreCase = False
End If
re.Pattern = strPattern
varOut = Null
If Not IsNull(varSource) Then
varOut = re.Replace(varSource, strReplace)
End If
RegExpReplace = varOut
End Function

Read all unique values from cells in a range and create a comma separated string from them?

I have written the following function to read all unique values from cells in a range and create a comma separated string from them? Is there a better, simpler way to do this?
Private Sub CsvUniqueValues(r As Excel.Range)
Dim c As Excel.Range
Dim s As String = ""
For Each c In r.Cells
If ExcelApp.WorksheetFunction.CountIf(r, c.Value) = 1 Then
s = s & ","
End If
Next
If s.Length > 0 Then
s = s.Substring(0, s.Length - 1)
End If
End Sub
You could use LINQ to get a list of only the unique values, like this:
Dim uniqueValues As IEnumerable = r.Cells.Where(Function(x) ExcelApp.WorksheetFunction.CountIf(r, x.Value) = 1))
Then, you could use LINQ to convert all of those unique values to strings:
Dim uniqueStrings As IEnumerable(Of String) = uniqueValues.Select(Of String)(Function(x) x.ToString())
Then you can use LINQ to convert the resulting list to an array:
Dim uniqueArray() As String = uniqueStrings.ToArray()
Then, you could use the String.Join method to combine them into a single CSV string:
Dim csv As String = String.Join(",", uniqueArray)
You could, of course, do all of this in a single command, like this:
Dim csv As String = String.Join(",",
r.Cells.Where(Function(x) ExcelApp.WorksheetFunction.CountIf(r, x.Value) = 1))
.Select(Of String)(Function(x) x.ToString())
.ToArray())
The question, though, is whether or not you would call that "easier". LINQ is useful because it makes code easier to to read and write, but when it's taken too far, it can become less readable, thereby defeating the purpose of using it. At the very least, to make your code more clear, I would move the first part into a named function so it's more self-documenting:
Public Function GetUniqueCellValuesAsString(r As Excel.Range) As IEnumerable(Of String)
Return r.Cells.Where(
Function(x) ExcelApp.WorksheetFunction.CountIf(r, x.Value) = 1))
.Select(Of String)(Function(x) x.ToString())
End Function
Then you could just build the CSV string like this:
Dim csv As String = String.Join(",", GetUniqueCellValuesAsString(r).ToArray())
I would make use of the collection object. Since collections can only contain unique values, trying to add all of your input data to a collection will result in an array of unique values. The following modification lets CsvUniqueValues return a comma separated string from the values in any given range.
'Test function and return result in MsgBox
Sub ReturnUnique()
MsgBox CsvUniqueValues(Selection)
End Sub
'Function will return csv-string from input range
Function CsvUniqueValues(r As Range) As String
Dim Cell As Range
Dim i As Integer
Dim DistCol As New Collection
Dim s As String
'Add all distinct values to collection
On Error Resume Next
For Each Cell In r
DistCol.Add Cell.Value, Cell.Value
Next Cell
On Error GoTo 0
'Write collection to comma seperated list
For i = 1 To DistCol.Count
s = s & DistCol.Item(i) & "; "
Next i
s = Left(s, Len(s) - 2)
CsvUniqueValues = s
End Function

VBA string interpolation syntax

What is the VBA string interpolation syntax? Does it exist?
I would to to use Excel VBA to format a string.
I have a variable foo that I want to put in a string for a range.
Dim row as Long
row = 1
myString = "$row:$row"
I would like the $row in the string to be interpolated as "1"
You could also build a custom Format function.
Public Function Format(ParamArray arr() As Variant) As String
Dim i As Long
Dim temp As String
temp = CStr(arr(0))
For i = 1 To UBound(arr)
temp = Replace(temp, "{" & i - 1 & "}", CStr(arr(i)))
Next
Format = temp
End Function
The usage is similar to C# except that you can't directly reference variables in the string. E.g. Format("This will {not} work") but Format("This {0} work", "will").
Public Sub Test()
Dim s As String
s = "Hello"
Debug.Print Format("{0}, {1}!", s, "World")
End Sub
Prints out Hello, World! to the Immediate Window.
This works well enough, I believe.
Dim row as Long
Dim s as String
row = 1
s = "$" & row & ":$" & row
Unless you want something similar to Python's or C#'s {} notation, this is the standard way of doing it.
Using Key\Value Pairs
Another alternative to mimic String interpolation is to pass in key\value pairs as a ParamArray and replace the keys accordingly.
One note is that an error should be raised if there are not an even number of elements.
' Returns a string that replaced special keys with its associated pair value.
Public Function Inject(ByVal source As String, ParamArray keyValuePairs() As Variant) As String
If (UBound(keyValuePairs) - LBound(keyValuePairs) + 1) Mod 2 <> 0 Then
Err.Raise 5, "Inject", "Invalid parameters: expecting key/value pairs, but received an odd number of arguments."
End If
Inject = source
' Replace {key} with the pairing value.
Dim index As Long
For index = LBound(keyValuePairs) To UBound(keyValuePairs) Step 2
Inject = Replace(Inject, "{" & keyValuePairs(index) & "}", keyValuePairs(index + 1), , , vbTextCompare)
Next index
End Function
Simple Example
Here is a simple example that shows how to implement it.
Private Sub testingInject()
Const name As String = "Robert"
Const age As String = 31
Debug.Print Inject("Hello, {name}! You are {age} years old!", "name", name, "age", age)
'~> Hello, Robert! You are 31 years old!
End Sub
Although this may add a few extra strings, in my opinion, this makes it much easier to read long strings.
See the same simple example using concatenation:
Debug.Print "Hello, " & name & "! You are " & age & " years old!"
Using Scripting.Dicitionary
Really, a Scripting.Dictionary would be perfect for this since they are nothing but key/value pairs. It would be a simple adjustment to my code above, just take in a Dictionary as the parameter and make sure the keys match.
Public Function Inject(ByVal source As String, ByVal data As Scripting.Dictionary) As String
Inject = source
Dim key As Variant
For Each key In data.Keys
Inject = Replace(Inject, "{" & key & "}", data(key))
Next key
End Function
Dictionary example
And the example of using it for dictionaries:
Private Sub testingInject()
Dim person As New Scripting.Dictionary
person("name") = "Robert"
person("age") = 31
Debug.Print Inject("Hello, {name}! You are {age} years old!", person)
'~> Hello, Robert! You are 31 years old!
End Sub
Additional Considerations
Collections sound like they would be nice as well, but there is no way of accessing the keys. It would probably get messier that way.
If using the Dictionary method you might create a simple factory function for easily creating Dictionaries. You can find an example of that on my Github Library Page.
To mimic function overloading to give you all the different ways you could create a main Inject function and run a select statement within that.
Here is all the code needed to do that if need be:
Public Function Inject(ByVal source As String, ParamArray data() As Variant) As String
Dim firstElement As Variant
assign firstElement, data(LBound(data))
Inject = InjectCharacters(source)
Select Case True
Case TypeName(firstElement) = "Dictionary"
Inject = InjectDictionary(Inject, firstElement)
Case InStr(source, "{0}") > 0
Inject = injectIndexes(Inject, CVar(data))
Case (UBound(data) - LBound(data) + 1) Mod 2 = 0
Inject = InjectKeyValuePairs(Inject, CVar(data))
Case Else
Err.Raise 5, "Inject", "Invalid parameters: expecting key/value pairs or Dictionary or an {0} element."
End Select
End Function
Private Function injectIndexes(ByVal source As String, ByVal data As Variant)
injectIndexes = source
Dim index As Long
For index = LBound(data) To UBound(data)
injectIndexes = Replace(injectIndexes, "{" & index & "}", data(index))
Next index
End Function
Private Function InjectKeyValuePairs(ByVal source As String, ByVal keyValuePairs As Variant)
InjectKeyValuePairs = source
Dim index As Long
For index = LBound(keyValuePairs) To UBound(keyValuePairs) Step 2
InjectKeyValuePairs = Replace(InjectKeyValuePairs, "{" & keyValuePairs(index) & "}", keyValuePairs(index + 1))
Next index
End Function
Private Function InjectDictionary(ByVal source As String, ByVal data As Scripting.Dictionary) As String
InjectDictionary = source
Dim key As Variant
For Each key In data.Keys
InjectDictionary = Replace(InjectDictionary, "{" & key & "}", data(key))
Next key
End Function
' QUICK TOOL TO EITHER SET OR LET DEPENDING ON IF ELEMENT IS AN OBJECT
Private Function assign(ByRef variable As Variant, ByVal value As Variant)
If IsObject(value) Then
Set variable = value
Else
Let variable = value
End If
End Function
End Function
Private Function InjectCharacters(ByVal source As String) As String
InjectCharacters = source
Dim keyValuePairs As Variant
keyValuePairs = Array("n", vbNewLine, "t", vbTab, "r", vbCr, "f", vbLf)
If (UBound(keyValuePairs) - LBound(keyValuePairs) + 1) Mod 2 <> 0 Then
Err.Raise 5, "Inject", "Invalid variable: expecting key/value pairs, but received an odd number of arguments."
End If
Dim RegEx As Object
Set RegEx = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")
RegEx.Global = True
' Replace is ran twice since it is possible for back to back patterns.
Dim index As Long
For index = LBound(keyValuePairs) To UBound(keyValuePairs) Step 2
RegEx.Pattern = "((?:^|[^\\])(?:\\{2})*)(?:\\" & keyValuePairs(index) & ")+"
InjectCharacters = RegEx.Replace(InjectCharacters, "$1" & keyValuePairs(index + 1))
InjectCharacters = RegEx.Replace(InjectCharacters, "$1" & keyValuePairs(index + 1))
Next index
End Function
I have a library function SPrintF() which should do what you need.
It replaces occurrences of %s in the supplied string with an extensible number of parameters, using VBA's ParamArray() feature.
Usage:
SPrintF("%s:%s", 1, 1) => "1:1"
SPrintF("Property %s added at %s on %s", "88 High St, Clapham", Time, Date) => ""Property 88 High St, Clapham added at 11:30:27 on 25/07/2019"
Function SprintF(strInput As String, ParamArray varSubstitutions() As Variant) As String
'Formatted string print: replaces all occurrences of %s in input with substitutions
Dim i As Long
Dim s As String
s = strInput
For i = 0 To UBound(varSubstitutions)
s = Replace(s, "%s", varSubstitutions(i), , 1)
Next
SprintF = s
End Function
Just to add as a footnote, the idea for this was inspired by the C language printf function.
I use a similar code to that of #natancodes except that I use regex to replace the occurances and allow the user to specifiy description for the placeholders. This is useful when you have a big table (like in Access) with many strings or translations so that you still know what each number means.
Function Format(ByVal Source As String, ParamArray Replacements() As Variant) As String
Dim Replacement As Variant
Dim i As Long
For i = 0 To UBound(Replacements)
Dim rx As New RegExp
With rx
.Pattern = "{" & i & "(?::(.+?))?}"
.IgnoreCase = True
.Global = True
End With
Select Case VarType(Replacements(i))
Case vbObject
If Replacements(i) Is Nothing Then
Dim Matches As MatchCollection
Set Matches = rx.Execute(Source)
If Matches.Count = 1 Then
Dim Items As SubMatches: Set Items = Matches(0).SubMatches
Dim Default As String: Default = Items(0)
Source = rx.Replace(Source, Default)
End If
End If
Case vbString
Source = rx.Replace(Source, CStr(Replacements(i)))
End Select
Next
Format = Source
End Function
Sub TestFormat()
Debug.Print Format("{0:Hi}, {1:space}!", Nothing, "World")
End Sub

Get the value between the brackets

I have a column with some stuff that looks like the following string: V2397(+60)
How do I get the value between the brackets? In this case the +60.
The number (and character) before the brackets is not something standardized and neither the number between the brackets (it can be 100, 10 -10 or even 0...).
VBA code:
cellValue = "V2397(+60)"
openingParen = instr(cellValue, "(")
closingParen = instr(cellValue, ")")
enclosedValue = mid(cellValue, openingParen+1, closingParen-openingParen-1)
Obviously cellValue should be read from the cell.
Alternatively, if cell A1 has one of these values, then the following formula can be used to extrcat the enclosed value to a different cell:
=Mid(A1, Find("(", A1)+1, Find(")",A1)-Find("(",A1)-1)
I would use a regular expression for this as it easily handles
a no match case
multiple matches in one string if required
more complex matches if your parsing needs evolve
The Test sub runs three sample string tests
The code below uses a UDF which you could call directly in Excel as well, ie = GetParen(A10)
Function GetParen(strIn As String) As String
Dim objRegex As Object
Dim objRegMC As Object
Set objRegex = CreateObject("vbscript.regexp")
With objRegex
.Pattern = "\((.+?)\)"
If .Test(strIn) Then
Set objRegMC = .Execute(strIn)
GetParen = objRegMC(0).submatches(0)
Else
GetParen = "No match"
End If
End With
Set objRegex = Nothing
End Function
Sub Test()
MsgBox GetParen("V2397(+60)")
MsgBox GetParen("Not me")
MsgBox GetParen(ActiveSheet.Range("A1"))
End Sub
Use InStr to get the index of the open bracket character and of the close bracket character; then use Mid to retrieve the desired substring.
Using InStr$ and Mid$ will perform better, if the parameters are not variants.
Thanks to Andrew Cooper for his answer.
For anyone interested I refactored into a function...
Private Function GetEnclosedValue(query As String, openingParen As String, closingParen As String) As String
Dim pos1 As Long
Dim pos2 As Long
pos1 = InStr(query, openingParen)
pos2 = InStr(query, closingParen)
GetEnclosedValue = Mid(query, (pos1 + 1), (pos2 - pos1) - 1)
End Function
To use
value = GetEnclosedValue("V2397(+60)", "(", ")" )