Jan 03 2022 11:35 AM
i have a data list with irregular spacing between each character. is there an easy way to clean this up?
for example: " C o u l d w e w i t h i n k t h e o c e a n f i l l , "
Jan 03 2022 11:42 AM
Given how letters work to make up words, that could become
Could wewi think theo ceanfi ll?
In another word,
cleaningitupwouldinvolveaccesstoadictionaryaswellasrulestoremoveextraneousspaces.
Jan 03 2022 02:42 PM
Jan 03 2022 03:25 PM
It wouldn't be a formula; would be a VBA routine (or macro).
But " " is itself a character, and how will you differentiate between that, (" "), and " " and " " -- without the aforementioned dictionary to let you know that you've finished a word, the desired word, the word that was intended in the original randomly spaced sequences of letters and spaces, given that some words contain words, and some endings of words can combine with beginnings of others to make up new words.....
The point: mechanically removing spaces--especially when your original premise was that the spacing is irregular between characters--requires some artificial intelligence to recognize not only words but also meaning (from the context of the words that precede and follow any given sequence of letters that might, or might not, constitute a word)....
Your request might appear to be a simple one--and is, for a human being--but, like driving, is far more than a mechanical task.
Jan 04 2022 05:19 AM
Jan 04 2022 05:25 AM