regex replace

PHIL Sawyer
PHIL Sawyer used Ask the Experts™
on
Hi
I'm trying to remove bullet points  from an HTML field using ...............
ltrim(regexp_replace(regexp_replace(regexp_replace(regexp_replace(aa.value,'<li>',''),'</li>','<br>'),'<ul>',''),'</ul>',''))  

However, I'm still getting some whitespace at the beginning of each line in my text field where the next bullet point was - how can I remove this - if possible?

FYI - I am using this field in Crystal Reports where I can see this leading whitespace eg

This was the first bullet point and nicely aligned to the left.
 This was the second bullet point and NOT nicely aligned to the left.
 This was the third bullet point and NOT nicely aligned to the left ..etc
Regards
Comment
Watch Question

Do more with

Expert Office
EXPERT OFFICE® is a registered trademark of EXPERTS EXCHANGE®
View Solutions Only
Most Valuable Expert 2012
Distinguished Expert 2018
Commented:
First:
No need for regexp_replace since you really aren't using any regular expressions.  A simple replace should work.

Now, eliminate crystal reports to figure out where the spaces are.

I typically concatenate a value to both sides and run in sqlplus:
select ':' || some_value || ':' from some_table;

Then I can see if the space is in the value by looking at the colons.  This will tell you if the issue is in the data or in Crystal.
sdstuber
Most Valuable Expert 2011
Top Expert 2012
Commented:
if you want to use regexp, you can simply include all of them that have consistent replacement in a " |-list"

trim(replace(regexp_replace(aa.value,'<li>|<br>|<ul>|</ul>'),'</li>','<br>'))


can you post some sample data that is currently erroneous along with expected results?
PHIL Sawyer

Author

Commented:
Thanks

Do more with

Expert Office
Submit tech questions to Ask the Experts™ at any time to receive solutions, advice, and new ideas from leading industry professionals.

Start 7-Day Free Trial