Build an ordered list of text-cleaning operations — trim, case, strip, replace — and apply them to any columns.
Description
A multi-operation text normalization step. You build an ordered list of operations (Find & Replace, Trim Whitespace, Remove Extra Spaces, Remove Special Characters, UPPERCASE/lowercase/Title Case, Remove/Keep Digits, Remove Punctuation, Strip Specific Characters, Remove Prefix/Suffix, Fill Blank/Null Values), each targeting one or more columns you choose, and they run in order. Designed as an early step in a workflow, right after import or extraction, before formatting inconsistencies can break a filter or deduplication step downstream.
Best For
Removing leading and trailing whitespace that silently breaks filters and joins
Standardizing inconsistent capitalization in a category column before analysis
Stripping unwanted characters (currency symbols, stray punctuation) before a Change Type conversion
Filling blank cells with a placeholder value using Fill Blank/Null Values
How to Use
1Place Cleaner early in your workflow
Connect it right after your import or extraction step, before filters or deduplication that formatting issues could silently break.
2Add an operation
Pick an operation (e.g. Trim Whitespace), the column(s) it should apply to, and any parameters it needs (like Find & Replace's search text).
3Chain more operations as needed
Add as many operations as you need — they apply to their selected columns in the order you listed them.
4Verify downstream
Connect the output to Browse and spot-check a few cells from each cleaned column.
Tips & Notes
Trim Whitespace catches the most common silent issue
Trailing spaces are invisible in most table views but break exact-match filters and deduplication. Running Trim Whitespace on a fresh import takes seconds.
Case changes are one-way
UPPERCASE, lowercase, and Title Case operations don't preserve the original casing anywhere — keep a duplicate column first if you need to compare against the original later.
