Text
Substring / Pad
Takes characters by position — from a start, the first few or the last few — or pads text to a fixed width, like 123 → 000123.
When to use it
Use it for fixed-width codes (account numbers, ZIP codes that lost their leading zeros), to cut a prefix or suffix, or to build fixed-width files.
In a pipeline
File InputSubstring / PadExport CSV
Settings
| Setting | Type | Required | Default or hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Column | select | Yes | Select column… |
| Mode | select | — | pad-left |
| Width | number | — | 6 |
| Pad with | text | — | 0 on the left, a space on the right |
| Start at character | number | — | 1 |
| How many characters | number | — | Blank: to the end |
| Generate New Column | checkbox | — | true |
| New Column Name | text | — | Default: <column> Result |
| Insert After | select | — | After the column |
Example
Restore leading zeros
- Column=Account
- Mode=Pad on the left (123 → 000123)
- Width=6
| Account |
|---|
| 123 |
| 45678 |
| 1234567 |
| Account | Account Result |
|---|---|
| 123 | 000123 |
| 45678 | 045678 |
| 1234567 | 1234567 |
Text already at least as wide is left as it is — padding never cuts.
Worth knowing
- Pad with defaults to 0 on the left and a space on the right.
- Start at character counts from 1; a negative start counts from the end (-3 = the last three).
- Leave How many characters blank to take everything to the end.