Steps define the standardization operations that a mapping applies to input fields and the order in which the operations run. You add one or more steps to each cleanse instance in the asset. Each sequence of steps applies to the fields in the instance that you select.
You can configure steps to perform the following operations:
Update the character case of the data
For example, you might want to convert a set of postal address records to uppercase. The postal carrier in your country might declare a preference for address data in uppercase characters.
Select Convert Case as the step type, and select the uppercase option.
Remove instances of a single value from the data
For example, you might want to remove the country identifier from an address data field, so that the country name does not appear on envelopes that you mail to domestic addresses.
Select Remove Values as the step type, and select Remove Custom Strings as the operation. Next, enter the value to remove.
Remove instances of multiple values from the data
For example, you might want to remove state or province names from a field that also contains the state or province abbreviations.
Select Remove Values as the step type, and select Remove Dictionary Values as the operation. Next, select a dictionary that contains the state or province names.
Remove character spaces from the data
You can clean up a field that contains extraneous and redundant character spaces.
Select Remove Spaces as the step type, and select the options for leading spaces, trailing spaces, and multiple spaces.
Replace instances of a single value in the data
For example, you might want to update a vendor name in your address records.
Select Replace Values as the step type, and select Replace Custom Strings with a New Data Value as the operation. Next, enter the old vendor name and the new name.
Replace instances of multiple values with corresponding new values
For example, you might want to use abbreviated street descriptors in your address data, such as ST, RD, and AVE. The postal carrier in your country might declare a preference for abbreviated descriptors.
Select Replace Values as the step type, and select Replace Input Values with Dictionary Values as the operation. Next, select a dictionary that contains the full versions of the street descriptors and the abbreviated versions. Select the column of abbreviations as the valid column.
Replace multiple values in the data with a single value
For example, your address data might contain multiple values that are no longer valid. The values might identify customer coupons that have expired.
Select Replace Values as the step type, and select Replace Dictionary Values with a New Data Value as the operation. Next, select a dictionary that contains the coupon codes. Additionally, enter a value that the operation can return, such as EXPIRED.