Q101020: How to Parse One Field Into Two or Three Separate Fields

Article: Q101020
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): 2.5x 3.00 | 1.02 2.00 2.5x
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbcode
Last Modified: 25-AUG-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0 
- Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, version 2.5x 
- Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 1.02, 2.0, 2.5x 
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SUMMARY
=======

The procedure below describes how to parse the contents of one field into two or
three separate fields. For demonstration purposes, the CONTACT field in the
TUTORIAL\CUSTOMER.DBF database, which contains 500 records, is used as an
example. The CONTACT field contains both the first and last names of the contact
person.

MORE INFORMATION
================

IMPORTANT: Prior to issuing commands that will alter the structure of the
original database, we recommend that a second or backup copy of the database be
created. For this example, use the following commands. (Note that this sample
subdirectory structure is a generic one that may not match the one installed on
your computer.)


     SET DEFAULT TO C:\<FoxPro_directory>\TUTORIAL
     USE Customer
     COPY TO cust2
     USE cust2


Parsing Data in the CONTACT Field
---------------------------------

To parse the data in the CONTACT field, do the following:

1. Modify the structure of the database by adding two fields, named FIRST and
  LAST in this example, that are of sufficient width to contain the desired
  data without truncating it.

2. Copy the first name in the current record's CONTACT field (up to the space ['
  '] between the actual first and last name) into the field named FIRST by
  issuing the following command:


        REPLACE first WITH SUBSTR(contact,1,AT(' ',contact)-1)


3. Copy the current record's CONTACT field last name (from the occurrence of the
  last space to the right) by issuing the following command:


        REPLACE last WITH SUBSTR(contact,RAT(' ',ALLTRIM(contact))+1)


Parsing One Field Into Two Fields
---------------------------------

To parse the CONTACT field from all the records in the database into the
corresponding record's FIRST and LAST fields, issue the following commands with
the scope of ALL included:


     REPLACE ALL first WITH SUBSTR(contact,1,AT(' ',contact)-1)
     REPLACE ALL last WITH SUBSTR(contact,RAT(' ',ALLTRIM(contact))+1)


Parsing One Field Into Three Fields
-----------------------------------

To parse one field with the following format "Lname, Fname Mname" into three
fields, use the following code sample. The REPLACE command could also be used in
the following example.


     GO TOP
     SCAN
        SCATTER MEMVAR
        IF ATC(",",m.name) > 0    && checks to see if there is a comma
           *                            between the last and first name
           m.lname = LEFT(m.name,ATC(",",m.name)-1)
        ELSE
           m.lname = LEFT(m.name,ATC(" ",m.name)-1)
        ENDIF

        * gets the first name
        m.fname = SUBSTR(m.name,ATC(" ",m.name)+1,;
           (ATC(" ",m.name,2)-(ATC(" ",m.name)+1)))

        *gets the middle name or initial
        m.mname = ALLTRIM(SUBSTR(m.name,ATC(" ",m.name,2)+1))

        GATHER MEMVAR
     ENDSCAN


REFERENCES
==========

For more information about the ALLTRIM(), AT(), ATC(), RAT(), and SUBSTR()
functions, see the FoxPro version 1.02 and version 2.0 "Commands &
Functions" manuals and the FoxPro 2.5 "Language Reference" manual.
(c) Microsoft Corporation 1977, All Rights Reserved.
Contributions by Perry Newton, Microsoft Corporation


Additional query words: VFoxWin FoxDos FoxWin 2.50 2.50a 2.50b

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Keywords          : kbcode 
Technology        : kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbFoxproSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbFoxPro200DOS kbVFP300
Version           : 2.5x 3.00 | 1.02 2.00 2.5x

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