# Strings Formatting

* [Changing the Case of Strings](#changing-the-case-of-strings)
* [Concatenating Strings](#concatenating-strings)
* [Trimming Extra White Spaces from Strings](#trimming-extra-white-spaces-from-strings)

In Turium, for columns of string data type, you can conveniently alter the case of strings, concatenate strings, and trim whitespace from strings using a point-and-click menu.

To format a String column, follow these steps:

1. Click the dropdown button next to the column name.
2. Click 'Format', and then choose the transformation you want to perform.

Your column values are updated to the chosen format. Turium adds the related function, such as 'uppercase', to the recipe. When you run the axon, the transformation applies to all values in the column.

***

### **Changing the Case of Strings** <a href="#changing-the-case-of-strings" id="changing-the-case-of-strings"></a>

For columns with alphabetical characters, you can modify the case of all fields in a String column to:

* UPPERCASE
* lowercase
* TitleCase

For example, selecting 'Format > lowercase' on a column would change all the strings to lowercase.

| Input | Output |
| ----- | ------ |
| BREAD | bread  |
| SalAd | salad  |
| miLK  | milk   |

***

### **Concatenating Strings** <a href="#concatenating-strings" id="concatenating-strings"></a>

You can add characters to the beginning or end of each string in a column. Turium concatenates the string to all fields in the column, including empty fields and nulls. You also have the option to create a new column with the concatenated strings.

For instance, if you want to add 'NEW-' at the beginning of each string in a column, click 'Format > Concatenate', select 'at the beginning' and enter 'NEW-' in the 'Add' box. The output might look like:

| Input | Output    |
| ----- | --------- |
| bread | NEW-bread |
| salad | NEW-salad |
| milk  | NEW-milk  |

Before you concatenate strings, you may want to filter null values and blanks.

If you concatenate 'NEW-' at the start of each field, Turium appends 'NEW-' to all fields, including blanks and nulls:

<table data-full-width="false"><thead><tr><th>Input</th><th>Output</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td> </td><td>NEW-</td></tr><tr><td>bread</td><td>NEW-bread</td></tr><tr><td>salad</td><td>NEW-salad</td></tr><tr><td>milk</td><td>NEW-milk</td></tr><tr><td>null</td><td>NEW-null</td></tr></tbody></table>

***

### **Trimming Extra White Spaces from Strings** <a href="#trimming-extra-white-spaces-from-strings" id="trimming-extra-white-spaces-from-strings"></a>

In Turium, you can trim leading `(ltrim)`, trailing `(rtrim),` or both leading and trailing white space `(trim)` from all strings in a column.

For instance, if the 'Item' column has fields with excess leading whitespace, you can remove this leading whitespace by selecting 'Format > Trim Leading Whitespace'.

***