Substitute() patterns for text transformation

Expert

Use Substitute() with multiple replacements and nested calls to clean, normalize, and transform text values efficiently.

What you'll learn

How to make multiple simultaneous replacements in one Substitute() call
How to convert delimiters between formats
How to use nested Substitute() for multi-stage transformations

Substitute(text; searchString; replaceString) replaces every occurrence of searchString in text with replaceString. With bracket syntax, a single Substitute() call can make multiple replacements in sequence — an essential tool for text normalization, delimiter conversion, and stripping unwanted characters.

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Multiple replacements with bracket syntax

Pass an array of [search; replace] pairs to make all replacements in one call.

FileMaker Script

// Normalize a phone number to digits only
Substitute ( PhoneField ;
  [ "(" ; "" ] ;
  [ ")" ; "" ] ;
  [ "-" ; "" ] ;
  [ "." ; "" ] ;
  [ " " ; "" ]
)
// "(512) 867-5309" → "5128675309"

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