how to replace multiple spaces in a single string

Question

I have a column of data with strings that have spaces - some strings have a single space and some have multiple (eg. X Y vs X Y Z). The code segment below worked well for a single space removal (making X Y to X_Y) but doesn't seem to work for multiple spaces - X Y Z becomes X_Y Z.

all_data$`Facility Name` <- str_replace(all_data$`Facility Name`, pattern = " ", replacement = "_")

`str_replace()` implies PHP; I have added this tag for you. Please update it if it is not correct. — Obsidian Age, Nov 14 '21 at 23:03
Please make a [reproducible example](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5963269/how-to-make-a-great-r-reproducible-example) or [minimal reproducible example](https://stackoverflow.com/help/minimal-reproducible-example) with a sample input and your expected output. This is needed to create, test and verify possible solutions. — Martin Gal, Nov 16 '21 at 16:26

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 14 '21 at 23:43

0

You can try to do this :

$a = 'X Y Z T';

$r = preg_replace('/\s/', '_', $a);

var_dump($r);

And the result will be :

string(7) "X_Y_Z_T"

answered Nov 14 '21 at 23:43

glitchcl

318
2
9

sorry that I didn't mention that - I am programming in R. – Hamdi Demirci Nov 15 '21 at 00:57
Did you try str_replace_all function ? – glitchcl Nov 15 '21 at 14:11

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 16 '21 at 16:30

Use str_replace_all:

library(stringr)
all_data$`Facility Name` <- str_replace_all(all_data$`Facility Name`, pattern = " ", replacement = "_")

Example:

x <- c("A B", "A B A", "A", "A B A C D")
str_replace_all(x, pattern = " ", replacement = "_")
[1] "A_B"       "A_B_A"     "A"         "A_B_A_C_D"

how to replace multiple spaces in a single string

2 Answers2