There are a handful of ways to search for a particular string within a data field. If you want to perform a query, identifying records with a particular string field within a data field:
Use the Filter tool: the result will be two streams - those records that meet your filter criteria and those that do not.
On the Functions Tab, expand the string tree and select FINDSTRING(String, Target)
Replace the `String` parameter with the field name
Replace the `Target` parameter with the value you are looking to identify
Finish the expression with !=-1 which will separate the true values from the false ones.
Example - If you are trying to identify all of the customers with Joe in a data field [Name] :
FINDSTRING([Name], "Joe")!=-1
The records that meet this criteria will be output from the True anchor ([Name] contains the value "Joe"). All other records will be output from the False anchor.
This function can also be used in the Formula tool; if for example you want to populate a different data column based on the [Name] field, you can use the FINDSTRING in an IF statement. Example: You would like to classify your data in a new field based on the instance of customers with Joe in a data field [Name] :
IF (FINDSTRING([Name], "Joe") != -1) THEN "JOE Customer" ELSE "Other" ENDIF
This will populate a new data field with "JOE Customer" if the field "Name" contains "Joe" otherwise it will populate that field with the value "Other"
In the Formula tool, add a new field by selecting + Add Column, or choose an existing field to update.
Make sure the appropriate Field Type and Size is also specified
On the Functions Tab, expand the Conditional Tree and select IF c THEN t ELSE f ENDIF
On the Functions Tab, expand the String tree and select FINDSTRING(String, Target) to replace c
Replace `String` with the field name
Replace `Target` with the string you are looking to identify
Finish this part of the expression with !=-1 which will separate the true values from the false ones
Replace "t" with the desired value to populate the new field if the condition is met: "JOE Customer"
Replace "f" with the desired value to populate the new field if the condition is not met: "Other"
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