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Character Replace

The Character Replace processor replaces individual characters. This enables the standardization or normalization of characters matching a Reference Data map.

Use

Inconsistent characters such as accented letters or variants on symbols (such as open and closed quotes) can mask otherwise similar data. Use the Character Replace processor to replace all instances of the character in the Reference Data map with its replacement character.

In some cases, Character Replace may be used for simple character-to-character transliteration, by mapping characters from one writing system to another.

Configuration

Inputs

Any String or String Array type attributes where you wish to replace characters. Number and Date attributes are not valid inputs.

Note that if you input an Array attribute, the transformation will apply to all array elements, and an Array attribute will be output.

Options

Option	Type	Purpose	Default Value
Ignore Case	Yes / No	To enable the replacement of both upper and lower case forms of characters (where they exist)	No
Transform Map Reference Data	Reference Data	Maps a character to its replacement character	*Standardize Accented Characters

Outputs

Data attributes

Data attribute	Type	Purpose	Value
[Attribute Name].CharReplace	Derived	A new String or Array attribute with the replaced characters.	The original attribute value, after character replacement

Flags

None

Publication to Dashboard

None

Execution

Execution Mode	Supported
Batch	Yes
Real time Monitoring	Yes
Real time Response	Yes

Results Browsing

The Character Replace processor presents no summary statistics on its processing.

In the Data view, the input attributes are shown with the new attribute, containing the character-substituted string, to their right.

Output Filters

None

Example

In this example the Character Replace processor is used to standardize accented letters in a First name attribute.

Transformation Map Reference Data:

Lookup	Map	Comment
É	E	E acute
È	E	E grave
ô	o	o circumflex

Ignore case = Yes

Results:

Note: upper case É is transformed to E and lower case é is transformed to e.