capture

Add new columns to the data extract by capturing parts of the values from an existing field.

Note

This guide explains how to configure the capture instruction. To learn about another instruction, go back to the Custom scripts available in Adverity overview.

Introduction

Use the capture instruction to add new columns to the data extract by capturing parts of the values from an existing column.

Creating a custom script transformation using the capture instruction

To create and configure a custom script using the capture instruction, follow these steps:

1. Create a custom script transformation.

2. In the Instructions step, select the capture instruction.

3. To configure the custom script instruction, fill in the following fields. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).

Field

Specify the field which contains the original values. To the left of Source field*, specify the data type of the source field.

Pattern

Specify a regular expression with a number of capturing groups to match values in the source field.

Newfields

Specify the names of the new fields to add to the data extract. Specify a new field for each capturing group specified in the regular expression in Pattern*. A value in a new field is what the corresponding capturing group matches in the source field’s value within the same row.

Include Original

Select this checkbox to retain the source field. If you leave this checkbox deselected, the source field is removed during the transformation process.

Fill

By default, Adverity displays an error if it does not find a match using the regular expression in Pattern*. To prevent this behavior, Adverity can fill values corresponding to non-matching capturing groups with pre-defined values. Specify a list or tuple of the pre-defined values in Default values. In this list or tuple, specify a value for each capturing group you specify in the regular expression in Pattern*.

Subtable

Enter the name for a subtable that you want to use within this custom script.

A subtable is a temporary table that only exists for this custom script. You can apply additional instructions within the same custom script to the subtable. However, the subtable cannot be used in any other custom scripts.

If a subtable does not exist for the current custom script, the transformation is applied to the data extract, and the enriched data is output into the subtable. If the subtable already exists for the custom script, the subtable is used as the input for the transformation and optionally as the output.

Example

Transformation configuration

Field

Campaign

Pattern

(.*)_(\d+)

Newfields

Campaign type Campaign ID

Include Original

Selected

Fill

unknown empty

Data table before transformation

Campaign	Ad Group	Clicks
Brand_1	media	7
Brand_2	ecommerce	3
Dashboard_1	media	18
Dashboard_B	media|social	5
Dashboard3	media	11

Data table after transformation

Campaign	Ad Group	Clicks	Campaign type	Campaign ID
Brand_1	media	7	Brand	1
Brand_2	ecommerce	3	Brand	2
Dashboard_1	media	18	Dashboard	1
Dashboard_B	media|social	5	Dashboard	empty
Dashboard3	media	11	unknown	empty