How do I filter a string including empty entries?

MAXScript FAQ > MAXScript Values > How do I filter a string including empty entries?

NOTE:

In 3ds Max 8 and higher, a keyword parameter splitEmptyTokens: can be passed to the filterString function to perform this kind of filtering.

A user asked:

The filterString function does not return empty entries. For example, if I am filtering by tabs a string containing two tabs in a row, no empty entry will be returned.

For example,

filterString "One\t\tThree Four,,Five ""\t, " #("One", "Three", "Four", "Five")

Answer:

The following scripted function behaves as requested.

SCRIPTED FUNCTION:

fn filterString2 theString theDelimiters =
(
 theTokens = #() --array of tokens to return
 ready = false
 while not ready do --repeat until no more delimiters can be found
 (
  ready = true --raise a flag that we are done
  thePosArray = #() --init. an array to hold possible split positions
  for i = 1 to theDelimiters.count do --go through all delimiters
  (
   checkPos = findString theString theDelimiters[i] --check if the delimiter is in the string
   if checkPos != undefined do append thePosArray checkPos --if it is, add to the split positions array
  ) --end i loop 
  if thePosArray.count > 0 then --if the array has any splitpositions,
  (
   sort thePosArray --sort the array in ascending order
   checkPos = thePosArray[1] --grab the first position
   aToken = substring theString 1 (checkPos-1) --take the token from start to the split pos. - 1
   append theTokens aToken --add the token to the array of tokens
   theString = substring theString (checkPos+1) theString.count --remove the token and the delimiter from the string
   ready = false --lower the flag because we are not ready yet
  ) --end if
 ) --end while loop
 append theTokens theString --add what is left of the string to the array
 theTokens --return the array of tokens
)
filterString2 "One\t\tThree,Four,,Five " "\t,"
#("One", "", "Three", "Four", "", "Five ")
filterString2 "One\t\tThree Four,,Five " "\t, "
#("One", "", "Three", "Four", "", "Five", "")

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