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Find Replace Tool

Use Find Replace to find a string in 1 column of a dataset and look up and replace it with another string. You can also use Find Replace to append columns to a row.

Tip

This tool has a One Tool Example. Visit Access Sample Workflows to learn how to access this and many other examples directly in Designer Cloud.

Tool Components

Find Replace Tool Anchors.png

Figure: Find Replace tool with 2 anchors.

The Find Replace tool has 2 anchors:

  • Input anchor: Contains the data to be replaced.

  • Output anchor: The output anchor displays the results of the Find Replace tool.

Configure the Tool

The Find Replace tool configuration has 2 sections: Find and Replace.

Find Section

  1. Search Criteria: Choose the search criteria:

    • Contains: This search function searches for the instance of the column value in any part of the column. The entire column does not have to contain only what is being searched for.

    • Starts With: Searches for the instance of the column value at the beginning of the column. The entire column does not have to only contain what is being searched for.

    • Exactly Equal To: Searches for the instance of the column value contained within the entire column. The instance has to be there in its entirety to be replaced with the new value.

  2. Column to Search: Select the column in the table with data that you want to replace.

  3. Select optional search conditions:

    • Case Sensitive: This option includes the case in the search.

    • Match Whole Word Only: Strings are only matched if there are leading and trailing spaces. For strings at the beginning or end of a cell, there must be a space at the other end.

Replace Section

You can choose to replace data using these options:

  • Replace Found Text:

    1. Choose this option to replace the found text with what you've entered in the Lookup Table Replace Value column.

    2. Optionally select Replace All Matched Items. Only use this if you selected Contains from the Search Criteria option.

  • Append Columns from Lookup Table:

    1. Choose this option to create a column populated with the Lookup Table data whenever the selected Find Values data is found within the specified Replace Values.

    2. Check the columns you want to create.

Replace Section

You can choose to replace data using these options:

  • Replace Found Text with 'Replace Values':

    1. Choose this option to replace the found text with the text in the Replace Value column (from the R input anchor).

    2. Optionally select Replace All Matched Items. Only use this if you selected Contains from the Search Criteria option.

  • Append Columns from Lookup Table:

    1. Choose this option to create a column populated with the Lookup Table data whenever the selected Find Values data is found within the specified Replace Values.

    2. Check the columns you want to create.

In this section: