Convert number to text?

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1

Hi there, is it possible to convert number fields to text format? For example, zip codes (numbers that can start or end with 0) become truncated - I want to convert this field to text to avoid this issue. Thanks!

2

Hey Theresa, are you seeing the truncation in another tool, such as Google Sheets, or in Parabola?

3

Hey @brian — I’m having a similar issue with Sheets, the data going in for an ID is “2020031601534919777025” but when it gets written to Google Sheets it’s listed as “2.0200316015349198e+21”

What can I do to fix this? Thanks for your help!

4

Hey @Tessa_T,

Are you able to share an example of how that Id exists within Parabola? You may be able to quickly adjust this in Google Sheets by changing the number formatting settings in your column.

It’s also worth double-checking to see if there are any hidden characters or spaces hiding in that cell. Use the “Clean data” step in Parabola to ensure your formatting remains the same throughout that column.

5

Hey @daniel — thanks for your help. Unfortunately the data already gets reformatted in the Sheets step in Parabola when I preview it. Tried the Clean Data step also. Is there a way to convert a number to a string/text in Parabola?

6

Thanks for letting me know. If you have an “Expand with JSON” step, can you try this out before that step?

  1. Use the “Insert Text Column” step to create a new column called Id (Formatted)
  2. Insert the values from your original ID column using curly brackets preceded by a random character. Your value could look like '{ID column}

After your “Expand with JSON” step:

  1. Use a “Find and replace” step to find all instances of ' in your Id (Formatted) column and replace it with a blank value.

The data should remain consistent since we’re actually creating that value as a string in Parabola. Here’s a basic outline of what that will look like:

format_numbers
format_numbers2350×712 68 KB

You can always use a “Select columns” step to remove the original ID column from your table. Let me know if that helps with your formatting!

7

Unfortunately, no luck with those steps @daniel

8

Hey @Tessa_T,

When you added the “Insert Text Column” step to create a new column, did you insert an apostrophe ' before the column value in curly brackets?

Double-check to make sure the value is entered as '{ID column}, not {ID column}.

If that still doesn’t fix it, feel free to send us an email at help@parabola.io and we can take a look at your flow together!

9

Thanks @daniel — I’ve submitted a ticket :+1:t4: