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Format Tool ⭐️
Updated over a week ago

Overview

The Format Tool in Savant allows you to dynamically modify your data and schema within your tables. It is particularly useful for:

  • Specifying column names when they are not present.

  • Dynamically changing data types.

  • Hiding and renaming columns.

This tool provides flexibility in working with data that might have inconsistent formatting or schema issues, making it easier to prepare your data for analysis.

Example

Example 1: Setting Column Names

Imagine you have an Excel spreadsheet where the table headers are located in the second row. Using the Format Tool, you can specify that the column names should be taken from the second row.

Original Table:

A

B

C

1

2

Name

Age

Date

3

John

23

2023-01-01

4

Alice

30

2023-02-15

After using the Format Tool to specify that the column names should be taken from the second row:

Transformed Table:

Name

Age

Date

John

23

2023-01-01

Alice

30

2023-02-15

Example 2: Changing Data Types and Renaming Columns

Consider a dataset where some columns contain date values but are not formatted as dates. With the Format Tool, you can dynamically change the data type of these columns to "Date". Additionally, you can rename these columns for better clarity.

Configuration

Replace Field Names from Row

  1. Select the checkbox "Replace field names from row".

  2. Specify the row number that contains the headers in the newly available "Row" box.

Configure Format Steps

  1. In the "Format Steps" section, click "Add Step".

  2. Follow the prompts to configure the step:

    • For fields that: Select "Contain", "End with", or "Starts with".

    • Enter text: Specify the text that the field names should contain, end with, or start with.

    • Select action: Choose one of the following:

      • Change Type: Change the data type to one of Savant's supported data types (Boolean, Date, DateTime, Integer, Number, or Text).

      • Hide: Hide the specified columns.

      • Rename: Rename the specified columns.

Detailed Configuration Options

When configuring format steps, you have multiple options to tailor the formatting to your needs:

  • Change Type:

    • Select this option to change the data type of columns that match your criteria.

    • Available data types include Boolean, Date, DateTime, Integer, Number, or Text.

  • Hide:

    • Select this option to hide columns that match your criteria.

    • Hidden columns will not be displayed in the resulting dataset.

  • Rename:

    • Select this option to rename columns that match your criteria.

    • You can specify whether the renaming should occur for columns that start with, end with, or contain the specified text.

    • For the "Replace" option, enter the text you want to replace and the new text to replace it with.

Additional Tips

  • Multiple Headers: If your dataset contains multiple header rows or complex structures, consider using multiple Format Tool instances to sequentially refine the data.

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