Tables "is empty" filter not excluding some empty rows

Hey ​@bridgman,

I think it’s probably because these fields have invisible characters like space or something else that may not be visible but Zapier doesn’t count them as empty. 

You may want to remove either by trimming whitespace or replacing it with an empty field using a Zap. Hope it helps!
 

Hello ​@bridgman 
This can happen if the field isn’t truly empty. Sometimes spaces or hidden characters cause the filter to think there’s a value.

You could try adding Formatter by Zapier to trim or normalize the field, then point your Filter step at the formatted output instead of the raw Tables field. For existing rows you may need to update them once so the field is actually blank.

Helpful links below.

https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/8496221983373-How-to-use-Formatter-by-Zapier
 

https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/8496275450253-How-to-use-filters-in-Zaps
 

https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/12187034914445-Tables-by-Zapier-overview
 

Thank you for the reply - but it doesn’t answer my question.

There obviously is some data there, but manually deleting the “empty” value from a few thousand records already in the table is something I’d like to avoid.

I’d also like to figure out what the invisible character is, so I can figure out how it got there with an eye towards preventing it from happening in the future. 

Hi ​@bridgman 

Help links for using Tables: https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/categories/13398036609933-Tables

Try this approach...

1. Add a Filter that checks if the field does not have a digit
   1. Use separate conditions for each of the 10 digits
2. Bulk select the records
3. Bulk edit the records to clear out the value

Hey ​@bridgman,

I didn’t say to manually delete them but rather use a Zap.

You may want to remove either by trimming whitespace or replacing it with an empty field using a Zap

Other workaround I see is by using formula or AI field . You can use it to format your data correctly and then filter by those fields. 

To your question of how it got there, it really depends how you are populating this data and you should find the root cause of the issue from there. Hope it helps!

Again, thank you - but I’m trying to figure out where the garbage is coming from, so I can fix it. I know how to band-aid the problem.

An addition, if possible, how to clean up the existing table without exporting the data, cleaning it, and re-importing. (Which it may well come to, but it’s not worth doing that if the underlying issue isn’t fixed.)

Hey ​@bridgman,

For that you will have to give more context because it’s harder to find the root cause without knowing all the details. Please post screenshots of Data In, Data Out as well as how each Zap step is configured for us to have more context. 

If you are filling the tables using a Zap, you may want to check the logic there to spot any issues there. If you are importing CSV’s, then the issue probably in the source file itself. So it really depends where the issue lies without knowing the whole context. I would suggest doing some trial and error to find out the root cause.

For cleaning up the table automatically, I would suggest making a Zap for the same. Zapier tables actions doesn’t count for tasks so you don’t have to worry about that. Hope it helps!

PS: If you need more active help, I’m happy to connect through my Zapier Solution Partner page if you’d like to reach out here- https://zapier.com/partnerdirectory/automation-jinn