CODEWITHSUNDEEP
batch-file
jack.r.barnes
jack.r.barnes

Reputation: 1

Use a batch file to remove specific characters from a text file

Is there a way to use a batch file to open .txt files and remove anything that is not numbers or letters (also leaving the tabs and spaces).

I am new to writing batch files but I think this is the best option for what I need to do.

Background
I have .qrd files (can be open as .txt files) and I use VBA to open them and add the information required to excel for reporting reasons. My issue is that some of the files have little blocks in, I am assuming they are unrecognizable characters from the database, this plays havocs with my VBA/Reports.

Any thoughts welcome, I have been searching for a while now and have figured out how to delete characters from a batch file but not how to delete anything that doesn't match a criteria.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1753

Answers (1)

Bloodied
Bloodied

Reputation: 975

Well, batch isn't the best language to do this in,stability and speed wise. However it can be done.

@echo off
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
:[ replace '█' with whatever you may have via copy/paste ]

:[ to replace all '█' with spaces; ]
set "variable=!variable:█= !"

:[ to delete all '█' without leaving spaces; ]
set "variable=!variable:█=!"

Upvotes: 1

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