Zoho DataPrep offers options to identify and extract a subset of the data from a column. You can extract very specific portions of the column data using the extract transform.
Start and end index
Start index - Extract the value starting from the start index. The default start index is 1.
End index - Extract the value till the end index.
Start index and length
Start index - Extract the value starting from the start index. The default start index is 1.
Length - Extract the value from the start index to the given length.
Matching text or pattern
Text or pattern to match - Extract the value that matches with the given text or pattern.
Starting text or pattern - Extract the value starting from the given text or pattern.
Ending text or pattern - Extract the value ending before the given text or pattern.
Note
: If you are not familiar with pattern matching in DataPrep, read about it
here
.
Number
Extract the numbers from the text in the column.
Regex
Regex pattern - Enter the regex of the value which you want to extract.
First 'n' characters
Number of characters to extract - Specify the number of characters to extract from the start of the value.
Last 'n' characters
Number of characters to extract - Specify the number of characters to extract from the end of the value.
Valid values
Extract the valid values from the column.
Invalid values
Extract the invalid values from the column.
Email
Extract the username, domain, or both from an email column.
URL
Extract the domain of the URL, port, path used, the query parameters and more.
1. Right-click the text column and select the
Extract
option from the context menu.
2. Give a name under the
Base column name
field to update the new column name.
3. Choose one of the
Extract options
and provide the inputs required to extract specific portion of the value from the selected column.
4. You can also choose to store the extracted value in a 'column' or as a 'list' using the
Store output as
option.
Ignore case
: Ignore case when matching text or pattern.
Number of matches to extract
: Specify the number of matches to be extracted as columns. The default number is 1.
5.
You can apply this transform to multiple columns at the same time. Select the columns using the

icon under the
Columns to apply
section.
To apply filters
If you want to apply some filters along with this transform, you can use the filters functionality.
1. Click the
Filters
tab.
2. Click the

icon and add the required columns in the
Filters
section. You can also reorder the filters using the drag and drop method.
3. For every column added, you can select one of the following options from the drop-down:
-
Actual: This option lets you filter rows based on the actual values in the column. Click
here
to know more.
-
Data quality: This option lets you filter rows based on the quality of data in the column. Click
here
to know more.
-
Patterns: This option helps you filter rows based on the data patterns in the selected column. Click
here
to know more.
-
Seasonal: This option helps you filter rows based on the seasonal parameters such as quarter, month, week, etc. Click
here
to know more.
-
Outliers: This option allows you to filter rows based on the outliers present in the data of the selected column. Click
here
to know more.
Note: The filter options are displayed based on the datatype of the column added for the filter.
4. When you add more than one filter to the
Filters
section, the logical operators, AND or OR appear next to the filters. You can click to toggle the logical operator between AND and OR.
-
Using the logical operators, you can combine the conditions and apply logic to determine the rule of precedence. The final expression is displayed in the
Criteria expression
box. You can click
Edit
to alter the default expression using logical operators and parenthesis to specify the precedence or the sequential order as to which condition should be evaluated first. Click
Save
after making the required changes.
-
For example, In the expression, ((1 OR 2) AND (3 OR 4)) , at first the condition ( 1 OR 2 ) will be executed and the condition ( 3 OR 4 ) will be executed next. Thirdly, since, the AND operator is used, the filter will be applied when both the conditions are true.
5. You can further drill down to choose specific values based on the filter option selected for each filter, in the next section.

For example, in the above screenshot, the
Data quality
option is selected for the All columns filter in the Filters
section. Based on the selection, further options to filter specific values are displayed in the All columns (Data quality)
section.
6. You can choose to include or exclude the selected items in the last section.
7. If you want to remove all the filters for some reason, you can use the Clear
button.
8. A live preview of the filter transform is shown as you make changes.
9. Click the Apply
button to apply the transform along with the filters.
SEE ALSO