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+{{ transformations:SplitFixedWidthTextAction.png}}
+======SPLIT FIXED WIDTH TEXT======
+Category: Transform / Advanced \\
+\\
+=====Description=====
+This action splits text values of the selected column into multiple columns of values of specified lengths. It is similar to the [[transformations:importfixedwidthtext|Import fixed width text]] action with the difference being that it works with the already loaded dataset.\\
+**Show preview:**  Preview the raw version of the column using the //Show preview// button at the top of the action settings window.\\
+\\
+=====Use cases=====
+Use this action when you have a column of text-based data in which the fields are defined by //spacing// (spaces, tabs, leaders, etc.) rather than delimiting characters and you need to separate them into columns.\\
+\\
+If your data has //delimeters//, use the [[transformations:splitdelimitedtext|Split delimited text into columns]] or [[transformations:subfield|Split delimited text into rows]] action, instead.\\
+\\
+=====Action settings=====
+^Setting^Description^
+|Column|Select the column with values to split.|
+|Column|Select the column containing the text to be split.|
+|Decimal|Select the character to represent the decimal point for columns determined to be containing numeric values, after splitting.  Options:  //Point// or //Comma//.|
+|Keep original column|When selected, the source column will remain in the dataset.|
+|New columns|Refer to the table below for //new column// settings.|
+|Put remaining symbols into column|Check "on" to capture any characters falling outside the final column's defined width.|
+\\
+====New columns settings====
+^Setting^Description^
+|Add more columns|This button will open a list where the columns in the imported file can be explicitly defined by Name and Width.\\  NOTE:  Changes made here can be viewed in the preview pane by clicking the //Show preview// button at the top.|
+|Name|The names to be assigned to the new columns.|
+|Width|The size, in characters, of the column.  Characters that extend past the width of the final column are dropped unless the\\ //Put remaining symbols into column// option is used. See above.|
+{{transformations:split_fw_text_settings.jpg}}
+=====Remarks=====
+Leading and trailing whitespace is automatically removed from values when the new columns are created.\\
+\\
+=====Examples=====
+**Objective:** Extract the year, month, day, hour, and minutes from the timestamps.\\
+\\
+**Source dataset:**
+^ Timestamp ^
+| 20170102T08:31|
+| 20170103T08:22|
+| 20170104T08:15|
+\\
+**Action settings:**
+>  Column settings:  Set these in the preview pane or enter them under //New columns//.
+>  Column 1 Name is "Year" and the Width is 4
+>  Column 2 Name is "Month" and the Width is 2
+>  Column 3 Name is "Day", and the Width is 3
+>  Column 4 Name is "Separator1", and the Width is 1
+>  Column 5 Name is "Hour", and the Width is 2
+>  Column 6 Name is "Separator2", and Width is 1
+>  Put remaining symbols into column "Minutes"
+\\
+**Result:**
+^ Year ^ Month ^ Day ^ Separator1 ^ Hour ^ Separator2 ^ Minutes ^
+| 2017|01 |02 |T |08 |: |31|
+| 2017|01 |03 |T |08 |: |22|
+| 2017|01 |04 |T |08 |: |15|
+Use the [[transformations:keepremovecolumns|Keep/Remove columns]] action downstream to remove the "Separator" columns if not needed.
+\\
+=====See also=====
+  * [[transformations:importplaintext|Import plain text]]
+  * [[transformations:splitdelimitedtext|Split delimited text into columns]]
+  * [[transformations:subfield|Split delimited text into rows]]