Google Data Studio opens up an expansive world of data manipulation and extraction for users. One tool in its feature-rich toolkit is the
REGEXP_CONTAINSThe
REGEXP_CONTAINSmarkdown
REGEXP_CONTAINS(X, regular_expression)This function will return Boolean values, i.e., true or false. If the pattern you've entered in 'regular_expression' is found within 'X', the function will return true. Otherwise, it will return false.
One key difference between
REGEXP_CONTAINSREGEXP_MATCHREGEXP_CONTAINSREGEXP_MATCHLet's say you have a data set of monthly sales reports. Each report is labeled with text that includes the sales representative's name ("rep") and the month ("mon"), e.g., "rep_John_mon_Jan."
Now, suppose you want to find all sales reports by the representative "John." You could use
REGEXP_CONTAINSmarkdown
REGEXP_CONTAINS(report_label, 'rep_John')This will evaluate the 'report_label' field and return true for any record containing 'rep_John' and false for all others.
This function detects patterns based on RE2 regular expression syntax, so it's important to familiarize yourself with it to produce accurate results. Patterns containing escape characters, such as
\Despite its limitations,
REGEXP_CONTAINSRemember to be meticulous with the regular expressions you use, as incorrect syntax can lead to unexpected results, and always test your expressions before finalizing your reports. Happy data analyzing!
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