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Formatter - Separate using any punctuation

  • May 3, 2022
  • 5 replies
  • 618 views

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Is it possible to divide in Formatter using any available punctuation (eg . , : ; “ ‘ etc)? I’d like to be able to extract the physical address from an address string, and there are occasionally different dividers used.

Best answer by Danvers

Hi @mannyv86

If you have a paid Zapier account (ie not a Free account) then the AI by Zapier app might work here. AI by Zapier can parse text and break it into separate pieces using AI rather than a specific set of parameters. It’s a lot more powerful than the Formatter, but obviously we can’t guarantee that it will get exactly what you need every time. That said, it has definitely surprised me with how much it can do! 

Here’s a help guide that explains how AI by Zapier works. Another caveat is that it is still in Beta, so it may be update or improved in the future. 

If it does work for you, I’d love to hear how you got on. As it’s a new app, I haven’t heard from many users who use it and it’d be great to hear how you found the set up process, what you’re using it for and/or what else you think you could use it for :) 

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5 replies

Troy Tessalone
Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
Forum|alt.badge.img+14
  • Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • May 3, 2022

Hi @mannyv86 

Good question.

With Formatter > Text > Split, you can specify the separator:

 


Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Author
  • Beginner
  • May 3, 2022

I’m looking to use multiple separators, ie split the text on all the separators listed. It appears that ‘Split’ only allows for one separator at a time.


Troy Tessalone
Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
Forum|alt.badge.img+14
  • Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • May 3, 2022

@mannyv86 

In that case, you’d likely have to use a Code step.

The JavaScript .split() method supports regex.

Related help topic:

 


Danvers
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  • Zapier Staff
  • Answer
  • May 5, 2022

Hi @mannyv86

If you have a paid Zapier account (ie not a Free account) then the AI by Zapier app might work here. AI by Zapier can parse text and break it into separate pieces using AI rather than a specific set of parameters. It’s a lot more powerful than the Formatter, but obviously we can’t guarantee that it will get exactly what you need every time. That said, it has definitely surprised me with how much it can do! 

Here’s a help guide that explains how AI by Zapier works. Another caveat is that it is still in Beta, so it may be update or improved in the future. 

If it does work for you, I’d love to hear how you got on. As it’s a new app, I haven’t heard from many users who use it and it’d be great to hear how you found the set up process, what you’re using it for and/or what else you think you could use it for :) 


Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Author
  • Beginner
  • May 5, 2022

Hi Danvers,

Wow, worked beautifully on the first try! Was able to extract the street address, city, state and zip code with very little setup. Had no idea about AI by Zapier, thank you for the suggestion.