Question

Removing Double Quotes from a string

Asked by: onaled777

The single quotes in the string s in the code below is breaking some code.

I am trying to remove them with the replace expression below.

I found out (by copying and doing a find) that the strings are represented by chr(145) and chr(146) from the website below: http://www.phillhowson.com/projects/coldfusion/chr.cfm

For some reason the characters are not replaced and the string remains the same. Running the test will show you what I mean.

Can anyone advise me on how to get these characters out?

Does anyone know of any program that could help me check to make sure that this the correct representation of the characters? A program that probably takes in a character and then gives me the ColdFusion chr() representation.  I don't know if in the midst of the copying and finding something got translated into something else probably?  I dunno...just clutching at straws.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

<cfset s = "Write MWF HELP Again" />
 
<cfoutput>#s#</cfoutput>
<br/>
 
<cfset s = replace(s, chr(145), "", "all") />
<cfset s = replace(s, chr(146), "", "all") />
 
<cfset s = REReplaceNoCase(s,"[\x01-\x1B]", "", "ALL") />
<br />
 
<cfoutput>#s#</cfoutput>
<br />

                                  
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Asked On
2009-08-07 at 07:42:39ID24634860
Tags

ColdFusion 8 CFML

,

CFML

Topics

ColdFusion Studio

,

ColdFusion Application Server

Participating Experts
4
Points
500
Comments
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Answers

 

by: BarthaxPosted on 2009-08-07 at 07:46:44ID: 25043259

The standard double-quote character is Decimal 34 (Hex 22).  Chr(34) should therefore work.  Note that 145 & 146 are being standard ASCII & are dependant on your local system settings for interpretation.

 

by: onaled777Posted on 2009-08-07 at 07:52:09ID: 25043342

Thanks for your comment but I am sorry it still doesnt work.

That appears to be for double quotes though...Notice for mine single quotes are involved.


 

by: BarthaxPosted on 2009-08-07 at 07:52:44ID: 25043347

"Note that 145 & 146 are being standard ASCII" should have been: ""Note that 145 & 146 are beyond standard ASCII", sorry.

 

by: BarthaxPosted on 2009-08-07 at 07:53:24ID: 25043352

D'oh, sorry, try Chr(39) instead (Hex 27). ;)

 

by: BarthaxPosted on 2009-08-07 at 07:54:18ID: 25043359

Note that there is another quote type character at 96 (Hex 60).

 

by: erikTsomikPosted on 2009-08-07 at 07:54:30ID: 25043367

try my example

<cfset s = 'Writ"e" MWF HELP Again'>
 
<cfoutput>#s#</cfoutput>
<br/>
 
<cfset s = replace(s,'"', "", "all") />
<cfset s = replace(s, '"', "", "all") />
 
<cfset s = REReplaceNoCase(s,"[\x01-\x1B]", "", "ALL") />
<br />
 
<cfoutput>#s#</cfoutput>
<br />

 

by: onaled777Posted on 2009-08-07 at 08:08:59ID: 25043539

Thanks for your comment erikTsomik but its single quotes that I am trying to remove ...not double. I am just realizing the character didn't even render in the experts exchange screen, which may be the reason for the confusion.  When copied here it appears as an empty box but in the database it shows as single quotes resembling chr(96) and chr(96) turned backways.

See the attached code snippet to see what the code looks like now.

I have included all the suggestions from your comments yet it still doesn't not remove the quotes.  

I dont know if it helps to say that the user who entered this copied from Microsoft Word to put it in our user interface.

<cfset s = "Write MWF HELP Again" />
 
 
<cfoutput>#s#</cfoutput>
<br/>
<cfset s = replace(s, chr(145), "", "all") />
<cfset s = replace(s, chr(146), "", "all") />
<cfset s = replace(s, chr(39), "", "all") />
<cfset s = replace(s, chr(96), "", "all") />
<cfset s = REReplaceNoCase(s,"[\x01-\x1B]", "", "ALL") />
<br />
 
<cfoutput>#s#</cfoutput>
<br />

                                              
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by: BarthaxPosted on 2009-08-07 at 09:20:51ID: 25044381

Hopefully, it'll be one of the quotes on http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs/quotes.html .  If it's a Unicode character, then it'll be either two or four characters long - in this circumstance chr() is of no use.

 

by: _agx_Posted on 2009-08-07 at 09:32:34ID: 25044508

Shot in the dark here, but are you dealing with smart quotes from MS Office programs?  

 

by: _agx_Posted on 2009-08-07 at 09:35:06ID: 25044550

If you are, try reviewing the code for the SafeText function at cflib.org.  It handles several of the MS Word characters. They have very funky ascii values.

http://www.cflib.org/index.cfm?event=page.udfbyid&udfid=56

 

by: azadisaryevPosted on 2009-08-07 at 09:35:26ID: 25044552

attached code will show you the ascii code of the characters in your string (in my test they showed up as 25 and 26, but that may be not the same in real string)

then use chr(the-code-of-the-character) in your replace() functions.

Azadi

<cfset s = "Write MWF HELP Again" />
<cfoutput>
<cfloop from="1" to="#len(s)#" index="x">
#mid(s, x, 1)# : #asc(mid(s, x, 1))#<br />
</cfloop>
</cfoutput>

                                              
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by: onaled777Posted on 2009-08-07 at 11:49:39ID: 25045826

Thank you aqx. The line in the udf:

replaceList(s,chr(8216) & "," & chr(8217) & "," & chr(8220) & "," & chr(8221) & "," & chr(8212) & "," & chr(8213) & "," & chr(8230),"',',"","",--,--,...")

was what I really needed.

Thanks to all who took the time out to respond.


 

by: BarthaxPosted on 2009-08-10 at 01:19:58ID: 25057957

You got an answer - that's the important bit. ;)

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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