Creating multiple select field from semicolon-separated text

Question

Hi! I’m new to AirTable and I’m not very advanced with using functions, but I think I will need to use at least a few to do what I’m trying to do. I currently have a column of what are essentially tags for a given gene’s function, and I’d like to convert them to tags in Airtable by making them each options in a multiple-select field. Is there a way to easily use the semicolons in the text as separators/delimiters to automatically generate the selections and convert the entries as they are to multiple select smoothly?

Thanks in advance!

Kamille_Parks11 · Accepted Answer

You could do this easily with commas as the separators but not semicolons. One method would be to import your data, then duplicate the {Gene ontology} field and convert the duplicated field to a Formula field and give it this formula: SUBSTITUTE({Gene ontology},"; ",","). This will convert the semicolons to commas. Then you can convert the same field to a Multiple Select Field.

Perfect, thanks so much!

Sophie_Sanchez · Answer

You could do this easily with commas as the separators but not semicolons. One method would be to import your data, then duplicate the {Gene ontology} field and convert the duplicated field to a Formula field and give it this formula: SUBSTITUTE({Gene ontology},"; ",","). This will convert the semicolons to commas. Then you can convert the same field to a Multiple Select Field.

Perfect, thanks so much!

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