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First characters

Function: First characters​

This function helps you extract a specific number of characters from the beginning of any text. It's useful for shortening descriptions, creating previews, or standardizing data by taking only the initial part of a longer text.

Input​

  • Text: The original piece of text you want to work with. (Type: STRING)
  • Amount of characters: The number of characters you want to extract from the very beginning of the text. (Type: NUMBER)

Output​

  • Result: The extracted characters from the beginning of your text. This will be stored in a variable that you name, which you can then use in subsequent steps. (Type: STRING)

Execution Flow​

Real-Life Examples​

Here are some ways you can use the "First characters" function in your applications:

  • Example 1: Creating a short preview for an article. You have a long article title and want to display a shorter version in a list or notification.

    • Inputs:
      • Text: "The Comprehensive Guide to Building No-Code Applications in 2024"
      • Amount of characters: 25
      • Result (variable name): ArticleSnippet
    • Result: The variable ArticleSnippet will contain "The Comprehensive Guide to".

  • Example 2: Extracting a product category code from an item ID. Your product IDs always start with a specific category code, and you need to isolate it for filtering or reporting.

    • Inputs:
      • Text: "ELEC-SMARTPHONE-XYZ789"
      • Amount of characters: 4
      • Result (variable name): ProductCategory
    • Result: The variable ProductCategory will contain "ELEC".

  • Example 3: Generating initials from a user's full name. You want to display a user's initials in a profile picture placeholder or a quick summary.

    • Inputs:
      • Text: "John Doe"
      • Amount of characters: 1
      • Result (variable name): FirstNameInitial
    • Result: The variable FirstNameInitial will contain "J".