Cutting line portion

This section is up to date for TED Notepad version 6.3.1.0.

Cutting portion of a line is divided into two successive parts. First, columns are cut from the line, by either:

• Entire line, which keeps the entire original line.
• Columns, which allows to specify one or more subsequent columns between Columns from and Columns to (inclusive). Individual columns are separated by Delimiting characters, which means that the line is scanned for these delimiting characters, and wherever a delimiting character is found (any character from Delimiting characters), old column ends before this delimiter and a new column begins after this delimiter. There can be as many delimiting characters as necessary and all of them delimit columns equally and indiscriminately.
  • Optionally, Delimit by entire phrase rather than separate characters can be used to stop treating Delimiting characters as a set of individual characters, and scan for an entire delimiting phrase instead.
  • Optionally, Treat any sequence of delimiters as single delimiter can be used to count several successive delimiters as a single delimiter. This can be useful, for example, if input columns are aligned by spaces into neat visual columns, where each two columns are delimited by an arbitrary-length sequence of spaces. Such sequences need to be treated as indivisible column delimiters.
    • Note that even different delimiting characters are treated as a single indivisible delimiter, if found in sequence.
  • Optionally, Calculate columns backwards: from right to left can be used to numerate the columns from the end of line rather than the usual way. Note, however, that this only affects how the columns are numbered before they are cut; the text of the columns is not reversed.
  • Note: Delimiters are not included within the column being cut. However, if two or more subsequent columns are cut together, inner delimiters are not removed and become part of the line portion being cut.
  • Note: Delimiting characters are always case sensitive.

Note: Columns are cut for each line separately, therefore the total number of columns on a line may vary from line to line. If specified column number is beyond the total number of columns, empty zero-length portion is cut for such column from that line. Therefore, it is allowed to cut columns 2-7, even though some lines do not have enough columns to offer.

This section is incomplete and wants to be finished later.

TODO: Cutting line portion

After the first part (cutting columns from the line), the resulting portion of the line can be further cropped by turning Use only characters option on, and specifying a range of character positions between from position and to position. This cuts off everyting before the from position and everyting after the to position.

• Calculate the position backwards: from right to left can be used to numerate the character positions from the end of line rather than the usual way. Note, however, that this only affects how the positions are numbered before they are cropped; the text itself is not reversed.

Note: Range of character positions is always cropped after columns are cut. If a range is specified beyond cut columns, empty zero-length portion is cropped from that line, even if the original line continues after the cut columns. In other words, range of character positions cannot bring back what has already been cut off by previous step.

Note: There is currently no way to cut columns after cropping a range of character positions.

Note: Column preview button displays a small portion of lines transformed by current dialog values. Be aware that preview is always generated from the current selection. If there is no selection, then there is nothing to preview.

Example: A line HELLO WORLD would be divided into:

• two columns (HELLO and WORLD) — if delimited by a Space character;
• four columns (H, LL,  W and RLD) — if delimited by a set of EO characters;
• four columns (HE, {empty}, O WOR and D) — if delimited by an L character;
  • but only three columns (HE, O WOR and D) — if Treat any sequence of delimiters as single delimiter option is turned on;
• and only one column (HELLO WORLD) — if delimited by an X character, lowercase e character, or if delimited by no characters — this is because none of these characters are found on the examined line.