> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.fabricplan.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.fabricplan.com/planning-sheets/how-tos/infobridge/data-transformations/text-functions.md). # Text functions Text functions in Infobridge help you prepare text fields for reporting, analysis, and writeback. Use **Extract** to create a new text column from an existing column by position, length, first characters, last characters, or delimiter. Use **Format** to change casing, remove leading or trailing spaces, or add a prefix or suffix. You can find the text functions on the **Transform** tab in the **Text** group. ### Extract text The **Extract** transformation creates a new column by extracting characters from a selected text column. You can extract characters by range, length, first characters, last characters, or delimiter. #### Extract a range of text Use **Range** to extract characters from a specific starting position for a fixed number of characters. The following example uses the **Postal Code** column, which contains values such as `79907Central`, where the first five characters represent the postal code.

1. On the **Transform** tab, in the **Text** group, select **Extract**. 2. In the **Extract** dialog, configure the extraction: 1. In **Target column**, select **Postal Code**. 2. In **Extract Type**, select **Range**. 3. In **Starting Index**, enter `1`. 4. In **Number of Characters**, enter `5`.

3. Select **Apply**.

A new **Postal Code Range** column is created with the extracted five-character postal code values. #### Extract text length Use **Length** to return the number of characters in a text value. The following example uses the **Product Category** column and adds the length of each value as a new column.

1. On the **Transform** tab, in the **Text** group, select **Extract**. 2. In the **Extract** dialog, configure the extraction: 1. In **Target column**, select **Product Category**. 2. In **Extract Type**, select **Length**.

3. Select **Apply**.

A new **Product Category Length** column is created with the character count for each value. #### Extract the first or last characters Use **First Characters** or **Last Characters** to extract a specified number of characters from the beginning or end of a text value. The following example extracts the first five characters from the **Postal Code** column. The same workflow applies when extracting the last characters, except that you select **Last Characters** as the **Extract Type**.

3. Select **Apply**.

A new **Postal Code First Characters** column is created with the first five characters from each postal code value. #### Extract text before a delimiter Use **Text Before Delimiters** to extract the text that appears before a specific delimiter. The following example uses the **Product Category** column, which contains values such as `Furniture-Bookcases`. The extraction returns the text before the hyphen (`-`).

3. Select **Apply**.

A new **Product Category Before Delimiter** column is created. The column contains the text before the hyphen, such as `Furniture`. #### Extract text after a delimiter Use **Text After Delimiters** to extract the text that appears after a specific delimiter. The following example uses the **Product Category** column, which contains values such as `Furniture-Bookcases`. The extraction returns the text after the hyphen (`-`).

3. Select **Apply**.

A new **Product Category After Delimiter** column is created. The column contains the text after the hyphen, such as `Bookcases` or `Chairs`. ### Format text Use the **Format** transformation to modify text values in one or more columns. You can convert text case, trim leading or trailing spaces, or add prefixes and suffixes. 1. On the **Transform** tab, in the **Text** group, select **Format**. 2. In the **Format** dialog, select **Formatting Type** to view the available options.

#### Convert text to uppercase or lowercase Use **Uppercase** or **Lowercase** to convert text values in one or more selected columns. The following example converts the **Region** and **Segment** columns to uppercase. The same workflow applies when converting text to lowercase, except that you select **Lowercase** as the **Formatting Type**.

1. On the **Transform** tab, in the **Text** group, select **Format**. 2. In the **Format** dialog, configure the formatting: 1. In **Target column**, select **Region** and **Segment**. 2. In **Formatting Type**, select **Uppercase**.

3. Select **Apply**.

The values in the **Region** and **Segment** columns are converted to uppercase. #### Trim spaces Use **Trim** to remove leading and trailing spaces from text values. The following example uses the **Product Classification** column to clean the product identifiers.

1. On the **Transform** tab, in the **Text** group, select **Format**. 2. In the **Format** dialog, configure the formatting: 1. In **Target column**, select **Product Classification**. 2. In **Formatting Type**, select **Trim**.

3. Select **Apply**.

Leading and trailing spaces are removed from the **Product Classification** values. #### Add a prefix or suffix Use **Add prefix** or **Add suffix** to add a fixed text value before or after each value in a selected column. The following example demonstrates how to add a prefix to the **Product Classification** column. The same workflow applies when adding a suffix, except that you specify a suffix value instead of a prefix.

3. Select **Apply**.

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