TRIM Function

Removes leading and trailing whitespace from a string. Spacing between words is not removed.

If a string begins or ends with spaces, tabs, or other non-visible characters, they are removed by this function.
The TRIM function does not remove whitespace between non-whitespace values, such as spaces between words. To remove that type of whitespace, use REMOVEWHITESPACE. See REMOVEWHITESPACE Function.
The TRIM function can be used with the TRIMQUOTES function, which removes leading and trailing single- and double-quotes. For more information, see TRIMQUOTES Function.

Wrangle vs. SQL: This function is part of Wrangle, a proprietary data transformation language. Wrangle is not SQL. For more information, see Wrangle Language.

Basic Usage

Column reference example:

trim(MyName)

Output: Returns the values of the MyName column value with whitespace removed from the beginning and the end.

String literal example:

trim(' Hello, World ')

Output: Returns the string:Hello, World.

Syntax and Arguments

trim(column_string)

Argument	Required?	Data Type	Description
column_string	Y	string	Name of the column or string literal to be applied to the function

For more information on syntax standards, see Language Documentation Syntax Notes.

column_string

Name of the column or string constant to be trimmed.

Missing string or column values generate missing string results.
String constants must be quoted ('Hello, World').
Multiple columns and wildcards are not supported.

Usage Notes:

Required?	Data Type	Example Value
Yes	String literal or column reference	myColumn

Examples

Tip

For additional examples, see Common Tasks.

Example - Trimming leading and trailing whitespace

In this example, whitespace values are identified according to this table. The ASCII value column identifies that ASCII character value that represents the character.

The ASCII character set is a standard method for representing keyboard and special characters on the computer. For more information on ASCII, see http://www.asciitable.com/.

Value	Definition	ASCII value
(space)	spacebar	Char(32)
(tab)	tab character	Char(9)
(cr)	carriage return	Char(13)
(nl)	newline	Char(10)

Source:

In the following example dataset, input values are represented in the mystring. The values in the table above are represented in the string values below.

mystring
Here's my string.
(space)(space)Here's my string.(space)(space)
(tab)Here's my string.(tab)
(cr)Here's my string.(cr)
(nl)Here's my string.(nl)
(space)(space)(tab)Here's my string.(tab)(space)(space)
(space)(space)(tab)(cr)Here's my string.(cr)(tab)(space)(space)
(space)(space)(tab)(nl)(cr)Here's my string.(cr)(nl)(tab)(space)(space)

Input:

When the above CSV data is imported into the Transformer page, it is represented as the following:

mystring
Here's my string.
(space)(space)Here's my string.(space)(space)
"(tab)Here's my string.(tab)"
"(cr)Here's my string.(cr)"
"(nl)Here's my string.(nl)"
"(space)(space)(tab)Here's my string.(tab)(space)(space)"
"(space)(space)(tab)(cr)Here's my string.(cr)(tab)(space)(space)"
"(space)(space)(tab)(nl)(cr)Here's my string.(cr)(nl)(tab)(space)(space)"

Transformation:

You might notice the quote marks around most of the imported values.

Note

If an imported string value contains tab, carriage return, or newline values, it is bracketed by double quotes.

The first step is to remove the quote marks. You can select one of the quote marks in the data grid and then select the appropriate Replace suggestion card. The transform should look like the following:

Transformation Name	`Replace text or pattern`
Parameter: Column	mystring
Parameter: Find	`"`
Parameter: Replace with	''
Parameter: Match all occurrences	true

Now, you can apply the trim function:

Transformation Name	`New formula`
Parameter: Formula type	Single row formula
Parameter: Formula	trim(mystring)
Parameter: New column name	'trim_mystring'

Results:

In the generated trim_mystring column, you can see the cleaned strings:

mystring	trim_mystring
Here's my string.	Here's my string.
(space)(space)Here's my string.(space)(space)	Here's my string.
"(tab)Here's my string.(tab)"	Here's my string.
"(cr)Here's my string.(cr)"	Here's my string.
"(nl)Here's my string.(nl)"	Here's my string.
"(space)(space)(tab)Here's my string.(tab)(space)(space)"	Here's my string.
"(space)(space)(tab)(cr)Here's my string.(cr)(tab)(space)(space)"	Here's my string.
"(space)(space)(tab)(nl)(cr)Here's my string.(cr)(nl)(tab)(space)(space)"	Here's my string.

Tip

If any bracketing double quotes are removed, then tab, carriage return, and newline values are trimmed by the TRIM function.

Example - String cleanup functions together

This example demonstrates functions that can be used to clean up strings.

Functions:

Item	Description
TRIM Function	Removes leading and trailing whitespace from a string. Spacing between words is not removed.
REMOVEWHITESPACE Function	Removes all whitespace from a string, including leading and trailing whitespace and all whitespace within the string.
REMOVESYMBOLS Function	Removes all characters from a string that are not letters, numbers, accented Latin characters, or whitespace.