I need to extract a product code from a field, but the data is inconsistent because it has other information in it. A typical field is below:

Partial payment (E21486) for OCR Accounting Level 2 Cert/Dip (OC05LE0A009P) from Angie Smith (0212345)

The product code that I am attempting to extract is the code in the second set of brackets - (OC05LE0A009P) - this will always be in a set of brackets. The fact that the names of the product and the student are always different lengths means that I cannot extract the data using the MID function.

I have tried Microsoft’s website and a couple of other places seeking VBA or perhaps even SQL code, to no avail.

I would be very grateful for any help received.

Kind regards,


Roly

Well, it seems you have three sets of data in parentheses (what you call brackets): E21486, OC05LE0A009P, and 0212345. Isolating the middle one via just looking for () will be hard because you have others.

Questions: Will the product code always have 12 digits? Will it always start with OC0, etc.? Will it always be the second set of codes in ()? Will the sentence you gave as an example always look like that or can the sentence be anything in any order?


Greg Serrano
Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Division

Yeah, you want to parse this with regular expression scripting.

If you always have a string that looks like the one above, only the names of the products or student names are different as you say, then you would push the data into an array and then pull out your product code like this:

strData = "Partial payment (E21486) for OCR Accounting Level 2 Cert/Dip (OC05LE0A009P) from Angie Smith (0212345)"

ProductArray = Split(strData, "(")
   strProdCode = ProductArray(2)
   NewArray = Split(strProdCode, ")")
   strProdCode = NewArray(0)

strProdCode would yeild "OC05LE0A009P"

   This is assuming it was always the second set of parens in your strings.

I am sure SerranoG has a more elegant solution. But assuming I could get at the string in each record, and each string had this format, that is how I would do it.




mmcdonal

I believe I would use InStr() to fin the location of the first "(" (iParen1), and the ")" that follows it (iParen2).
If the distance between them was not the right number of characters, strip off the part that has been looked atand do the whole thing again with this now-shorter string.
But if the size is right, then extract the data with

Try this:

Be care with the Split! If you don't have enough sets of the search values you'll get "Subscript out of range".

The syntax of the split is a bit tricky. Help gives you:

  Split(field,delimiter)

Which makes you think you have to put it into an array. But if you add the index you can pick whatever you want and assign it to a variable:

  Split(Field,Delimiter)(Index)

The internal Split in the code sample gives you everything after the second "(", index (2). The external Split takes that value and drops off the ")" and everything after it.

Randall J Weers
Membership Vice President
Pacific NorthWest Access Developers Group
http://www.pnwadg.org