Regular Expression pattern string help needed

goblin

Active Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2003
Messages
469
I've exposed the VBA regular expression mechanism as a function in Excel and I'm trying to match/break up some data. The data looks like this:

0301-123456 Some name 111111-1111 1,202,591.00 .5 .5 5 Counterparty name
0301-234567 Another name 222222-2222 1,230,000.00 30.04.2013 1.0 .5 8 Counterparty name2
0301-345678 Any name you want 333333-3333 1,230,000.00 29.04.2013 30.04.2013 1.0 .5 8 Counterparty nam3
0301-456789 No digits in names I think 444444-4444 750,000.00 01.10.2012 .0 .5 1 Counterparty name4
0301-567890 NameNameName 555555-5555 750,000.00 31.12.2013 1.0 .5 5 Counterparty name5
0301-678901 This is my name 666666-6666 14,176,426.00 02.01.2015 .0 .5 1 Counterparty name6

The data can be described as:
1. The lines will always start with ddd-dddd
2. Then comes a name
3. ID code for the name on the form dddddd-dddd
4. Amount is next, formatted as #,##0.00
5. Optional column that contains a date, formated as dd.mm.yyyy. If 5 is populated 6 is populated as well
6. Optional column that contains a date, formated as dd.mm.yyyy. Can be populated without having data in column 5
7. Fraction, formatted as #.0 (e.g. 1.0 or .5)
8. Fraction. Same as 7
9. Integer. Can be two digits
10. Another name and can contain essentially anything

I've almost matched this but I cannot turn off greedy matching on columns 5 and 6. I.e. if column 5 is empty but column 6 is not, my pattern matching always puts the date from column 6 into column 5.

My pattern string is:
^(\d*-\d*)+\s(.*)\s(\d*-\d*)+\s(\S*)\s(\d\d\S*\s|)(\d\d\S*\s|)\s?(\d?\.\d+)\s(\d?\.\d+)\s(\d+)\s(.*)$

Basically, I'm matching like this:
1. Match the digit group for 1 and 3. Anything in between goes as group 2.
2. Match the amount in 4 as anything non-space
3. Match EITHER anything starting with two digits or skip it, still reserving a group for this.
4. Again, match EITHER anything starting with two digits or nothing, reserving another group for this
5. Optional space, because if both Date columns are missing I only have one space between 4 and 7
6. Match 7-9 aggressively
7. Rest goes into last group

If anyone wants to take a crack at this I would be very thankful. The VBA code you need is below. To use the code in Excel, put the test data above in cells A2-A7, put the pattern string in Cell A1, select cells B2-K2, put in the formula "=RegExpGroup(A2;$A$1)", and CTRL-SHIFT-ENTER the formula. Copy down to break up all the strings:

Code:
Function RegExpGroup(FindIn As String, FindWhat As String, Optional bGlobal As Boolean = True) As Variant
    ' Needs reference "Microsoft VBScript Regular Expressions 5.5
    Dim re As RegExp, i As Integer, j As Integer, tmp
    Application.Volatile False
    
    RegExpGroup = Array(CVErr(xlErrNA))
    Set re = New RegExp
    re.Global = bGlobal
    re.Pattern = FindWhat
    If re.test(FindIn) Then
        With re.Execute(FindIn)
            ReDim rslt(0 To .count - 1)
            For i = 0 To .count - 1
                With .Item(i).SubMatches
                    tmp = Array()
                    ReDim tmp(0 To .count - 1)
                    For j = 0 To .count - 1
                        tmp(j) = .Item(j)
                    Next j
                    rslt(i) = tmp
                End With
            Next i
            RegExpGroup = rslt
        End With
    End If
End Function
 

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0301-123456 Some name 111111-1111 1,202,591.00 .5 .5 5 Counterparty name
0301-234567 Another name 222222-2222 1,230,000.00 30.04.2013 1.0 .5 8 Counterparty name2
0301-345678 Any name you want 333333-3333 1,230,000.00 29.04.2013 30.04.2013 1.0 .5 8 Counterparty nam3
0301-456789 No digits in names I think 444444-4444 750,000.00 01.10.2012 .0 .5 1 Counterparty name4
0301-567890 NameNameName 555555-5555 750,000.00 31.12.2013 1.0 .5 5 Counterparty name5
0301-678901 This is my name 666666-6666 14,176,426.00 02.01.2015 .0 .5 1 Counterparty name6

The data can be described as:
1. The lines will always start with ddd-dddd

Hi goblin

All your examples start with dddd-dddddd, I assumed it was a mistake in your post.

I wrote this example as a udf, to make it easy to test. Worked ok with your examples. In B2:

=ParseRecord($A2,COLUMNS($B1:B1))

Copy down and across


<table border="1" cellpadding="1" style="background:#FFF; border-collapse:collapse;border-width:2px;border-color:#CCCCCC;font-family:Arial,Arial; font-size:10pt" ><tr><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF " > </th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >A</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >B</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >C</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >D</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >E</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >F</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >G</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >H</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >I</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >J</th><th style="border-width:1px;border-color:#888888;background:#9CF; text-align:center" >K</th></tr><tr><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;background:#9CF; text-align:center; " ><b>1</b></td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:right;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; "> </td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 1</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 2</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 3</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 4</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 6</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 7</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 8</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 9</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Field 10</td></tr><tr><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;background:#9CF; text-align:center; " ><b>2</b></td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-123456 Some name 111111-1111 1,202,<br>591.00 .5 .5 5 Counterparty name</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-123456</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Some name</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">111111-1111</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">1,202,591.00</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; "> </td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; "> </td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Counterparty name</td></tr><tr><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;background:#9CF; text-align:center; " ><b>3</b></td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-234567 Another name 222222-2222 1,2<br>30,000.00 30.04.2013 1.0 .5 8 Counterpar<br>ty name2</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-234567</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Another name</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">222222-2222</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">1,230,000.00</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; "> </td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">30.04.2013</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">1.0</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">8</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Counterparty name2</td></tr><tr><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;background:#9CF; text-align:center; " ><b>4</b></td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-345678 Any name you want 333333-333<br>3 1,230,000.00 29.04.2013 30.04.2013 1.0<br> .5 8 Counterparty n</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-345678</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Any name you want</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">333333-3333</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">1,230,000.00</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">29.04.2013</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">30.04.2013</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">1.0</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">8</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Counterparty nam3</td></tr><tr><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;background:#9CF; text-align:center; " ><b>5</b></td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-456789 No digits in names I think 4<br>44444-4444 750,000.00 01.10.2012 .0 .5 1<br> Counterparty name4</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-456789</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">No digits in names I think</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">444444-4444</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">750,000.00</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; "> </td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">01.10.2012</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.0</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">1</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Counterparty name4</td></tr><tr><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;background:#9CF; text-align:center; " ><b>6</b></td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-567890 NameNameName 555555-5555 750<br>,000.00 31.12.2013 1.0 .5 5 Counterparty<br> name5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-567890</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">NameNameName</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">555555-5555</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">750,000.00</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; "> </td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">31.12.2013</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">1.0</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Counterparty name5</td></tr><tr><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;background:#9CF; text-align:center; " ><b>7</b></td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-678901 This is my name 666666-6666 <br>14,176,426.00 02.01.2015 .0 .5 1 Counter<br>party name6</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">0301-678901</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">This is my name</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">666666-6666</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">14,176,426.00</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; "> </td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">02.01.2015</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.0</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">.5</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">1</td><td style="border-width:1px;border-color:#000000; padding-left:0.5em; padding-top:0.4em; padding-right:0.5em; padding-bottom:0.25em;text-align:left;border-width: 1px;border-color:#888888; ">Counterparty name6</td></tr><tr><td colspan=12 style="background:#9CF; padding-left:1em" > [Book1]Sheet2</td></tr></table>
 
Upvote 0
Sorry, I forgot the code :)


Code:
Function ParseRecord(s As String, i As Long) As String

With New RegExp
    .Pattern = "^(\d{4}-\d{6})\s(.+?)\s(\d{6}-\d{4})\s([0-9,.]+)\s(?:(?:(\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{4})\s)?(\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{4})\s)?(\d*\.\d+)\s(\d*\.\d+)\s(\d{1,2})\s(.*)$"
    If .Test(s) Then ParseRecord = .Execute(s)(0).SubMatches(i - 1)
End With
End Function
 
Upvote 0
Sorry, I forgot the code :)


Code:
Function ParseRecord(s As String, i As Long) As String

With New RegExp
    .Pattern = "^(\d{4}-\d{6})\s(.+?)\s(\d{6}-\d{4})\s([0-9,.]+)\s(?:(?:(\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{4})\s)?(\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{4})\s)?(\d*\.\d+)\s(\d*\.\d+)\s(\d{1,2})\s(.*)$"
    If .Test(s) Then ParseRecord = .Execute(s)(0).SubMatches(i - 1)
End With
End Function

Good Lord! (y)(y)(y)
 
Upvote 0
[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Wow, that is one cool implementation!! :pray: Much simpler doing away with the array formula.

The pattern is something as well, even if I dont understand why it isnt greedy like mine.

Looks like I'll spend the weekend pondering the logic of (?:(?:( ))\s) and why that is non-greedy.

Cheers and thanks a bunch[/FONT]
 
Upvote 0
Ingenious. Just figured out how you did it. I counted the parentheses incorrectly and so lost track of your logic.
 
Upvote 0
Note:
see here for an interesting use of ? to turn off "greedy" matching:
JScript Regular Expression Syntax

(I haven't confirmed it works but I noticed it while try to figure out what the heck was going on with pgc's (?:pattern) in his function ;)
 
Upvote 0
Hi

I'm glad it helped.

Remarks:

The udf/function can be made more efficient with 2 modifications

1 - we can use a Static variable to avoid creating the regex each time the function is called. In that case don't forget to press the Reset button each time you want to test a new pattern

2 - since regex's are heavy artillery instead of invoking the 2 methods .Test() and .Execute() we can only use the .Execute()

This would be a better way to write the code for a real application:


Code:
Function ParseRecord(s As String, i As Long) As String
Static RegEx As RegExp

If RegEx Is Nothing Then
    Set RegEx = New RegExp
    RegEx.Pattern = ...
End If
    

With RegEx.Execute(s)
    If .Count <> 0 Then ParseRecord = .Item(0).SubMatches(i - 1)
End With
End Function
 
Upvote 0

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