REG_EX Match formula vs REG_EX Parse tool

adamp

I've got a fairly simple regex statement and I'm intending to use it to filter some data. I want to separate rows based on whether or not a text field contains two numbers followed by an apostrophe (e.g., 40')

I'm using the regular expression \d{2}' and it test just fine. It also works when I put it into the RegEx Parse tool... I can see a new variable with the expected values from the original string.

But, when I put that same regular expression into a formula on a filter tool it only returns nulls: (REGEX_Match([Material Description],"\d{2}'")

Can someone enlighten me about what's going on here and if/how I might get this working as a formula in the filter tool to avoid adding additional tools to my workflow?

PaulN

Hi @adamp,

The reason of the behaviour, as shown in @Nate1 example, is because your regex will only capture patterns like "10'" but not "10' DELUXE DOORS". You could see your expression as "^\d{2}'$" if you prefer. If you expect characters before or after, you will need to use the following expression :

REGEX_Match([test], ".*\d{2}'.*")

Note that as REGEX_Match() already returns a boolean, there is no need of a operator like "=" or "!=".

Thanks and thanks to @Nate1,

Paul Noirel

Sr Customer Support Engineer, Alteryx