Can multiple functions be combined in 1 Formula or Multi-Field Formula?

Question

Hi,

Apologies if this question has been asked many times before but I tried googling and was not able to find an answer.  Also, I am new to Alteryx so I may be asking a dumb question.

I am trying to use 2 RegExReplace functions and 1 Trim function on 5 fields (Same fields for each function) in one Multi-Field Formula.  Is it possible to combine these functions or do I have to use the Multi-Field Formula tool 3 times?  I'm not sure if my 2 RegExs can be combined into one so that's why I have 2 separate.

Here is a data sample:

DateDistributorSalesRepCustNameCustCity2/7/17    ACME                Joe Schmoe ?Smith LLCNew      York

2/7/17Parts    Company      Dave    Smith   Engineers Inc. -Albany

And here is the outcome I need:

DateDistributorSalesRepCustNameCustCity2/7/17ACMEJoe SchmoeSmith LLCNew York

2/7/17Parts CompanyDave SmithEngineers Inc Albany

I tried using the Multi-Field Formula but I have not had any success:

Method 1: Did not remove white extra white spaces between words (Maybe my RegEx is wrong??)

// Removes all special chars
REGEX_Replace([_CurrentField_], "[^\w\s]", "") +

// Removes leading and trailing white space
Trim([_CurrentField_]) +

// Replaces extra whitespace between words with 1 space
REGEX_Replace([_CurrentField_], "\s{2,}", " ")

Method 2: Using || made all of my columns contain nothing but 0's

// Removes all special chars
REGEX_Replace([_CurrentField_], "[^\w\s]", "") ||

// Removes leading and trailing white space
Trim([_CurrentField_]) ||

// Replaces extra whitespace between words with 1 space
REGEX_Replace([_CurrentField_], "\s{2,}", " ")

Method 3: Using && had the same outcome as method 2, all columns contain 0's

// Removes all special chars
REGEX_Replace([_CurrentField_], "[^\w\s]", "") &&

// Removes leading and trailing white space
Trim([_CurrentField_]) &&

// Replaces extra whitespace between words with 1 space
REGEX_Replace([_CurrentField_], "\s{2,}", " ")

JoeM · Accepted Answer

Well done! All you wrote was right on but just wasn't able to get it organized correctly within the multi-field formula. Rather that using "+" to add multiple functions together, you can nest them within each other. In the solution, you will find your exact logic re-arranged in the multi-field formula.

Consider an example where I want to add 2+2 and multiply the result by 4. We can write it  "4(2+2)".  Now for a string that I want to Uppercase and trim, I would write: "uppercase(trim(field))".

Also, this job is a snap with the Data Cleanse Tool! Check out the attached solution. I hope this helps!