Reference > Functions reference > Text functions > Filter
 

Filter

Returns from textToFilter only those characters specified in filterText, in the order they were originally entered in textToFilter.

Format 

Filter ( textToFilter ; filterText )

Parameters 

textToFilter - any text expression or text field

filterText - the characters to preserve in the specified text

Data type returned 

text

Originated in 

FileMaker Pro 7.0

Description 

If filterText doesn't have any characters, an empty string is returned. The Filter function is case sensitive.

Example 1 

Filter ( "(408)555-1212" ; "0123456789" ) returns 4085551212.

Filter ( "AaBb" ; "AB" ) returns AB.

Example 2 

The following example removes all text from the provided data, then formats the remaining numbers in the preferred phone number formatting:

Let (
   phone = filter ( theField ; "0123456789" ) ;
   "(" & Left ( phone ; 3 ) & ")" & Middle ( phone ; 4 ; 3 ) & "-" &
   Middle ( phone ; 7 ; 4 )
)

If theField contains Work: 408.555.1212 this calculation returns (408)555-1212.

Related topics 

Functions reference (category list)

Functions reference (alphabetical list)

About formulas

About functions

Defining calculation fields

Using operators in formulas