String Manipulation

[arbeeone]

Hi,
I'm trying to manipulate a string of up to 40 characters in length which is basically a free-form entry although there are some basic 'standards' for data entry.
I have the feeling I'm missing something very simple, but I want to be able to identify the first alpha character (i.e. A-Z only) in the string after a specific sequence of characters - which may or may not be there.
I can use a combination of IF, SEARCH, MID and REPLACE to get to approximately where the first character should be, but there is an added complication that it might be a hyphen, with or without a space before and after it. I can use additional logic to search for and omit the hyphen and spaces, but it's getting very complicated!
So, is there a simple means of merely testing for the first alpha character from a known point in a string?

Many thanks.

rb

 

[PHV]

Have a look here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/script56/html/vsobjRegExp.asp

Hope This Helps, PH.
Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884 or FAQ181-2886

 

[xlbo]

test the ASC() value of each character

eg

for i = 1 to len(theString)
theVal = Asc(mid(theString,i,1))
next i

Capital letters are in the range 65-90 (inc)
lowercase letters are in the range 97-122 (inc)

Rgds, Geoff

We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colours but they all live in the same box.

Please read FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question