# Filemaker: how to remove quotes from imported data?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filemaker-how-to-remove-quotes-from-imported-data/510240>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 15, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filemaker-how-to-remove-quotes-from-imported-data/510240 "2009-09-15T21:53:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filemaker-how-to-remove-quotes-from-imported-data/510240/1 "2009-09-15T21:53:31Z")

</div>

I created an FM database using data imported from an Excel spreadsheet. On the spreadsheet, there’s no indication of what it is about a given cell that causes this, but when the data is imported into FM, some of the records have data in a filed that is encliosed in quotes. I know what this means, it’s a literal text indicator, but I don’t want it. I want ALL the quotes to go away.

I have researched function references, script references, the FM Pro Bible…and nothing tells me how to REMOVE quotes, only how and why to INCLUDE them.

And I should add everything I’ve tried that involves telling Filemaker to “find” or otherwise isolate and identify the quotation marks, doesn’t work, even when I copy/paste the marks to make sure they are the right marks.

This seems like something that must have come up before now.

Any ideas?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filemaker-how-to-remove-quotes-from-imported-data/510240/2 "2009-09-15T22:42:17Z")

</div>

…this might help, although the advice is a little bit old…

[http://filemaker.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/filemaker.cfg/php/enduser/std\_adp.php?p\_faqid=4468&p\_created=1115172845](http://filemaker.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/filemaker.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4468&p_created=1115172845)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/filemaker-how-to-remove-quotes-from-imported-data/510240/3 "2009-09-15T22:53:24Z")

</div>

I have never heard of FileMaker. But, what about instead if importing directly from Excel, first export the Excel to an ASCII delimited .txt file. Then try to import the .txt file into FileMaker.

I would try different formats.