CLEAN

Use CLEAN on text imported from other applications that contains characters that may not display correctly.

Use

CLEAN( text )
Removes all non-printable characters from the text.

Parameter	Required	Description
text	Yes	the text from which to remove non-printable characters

Returns

Text

Examples

Sanitising Legacy Data from a Trigger Form

When a user starts an approval by copying and pasting data from a legacy database or an old PDF into a form, they might inadvertently include hidden control characters. To ensure this data is safe to use in later steps, you can apply CLEAN in an Input Mapping formula or a Variable Update formula.

• Formula: CLEAN(@Trigger.out.LegacyNotes)
• Logic: This formula takes the "LegacyNotes" captured during the trigger step and strips out any non-printable characters. The resulting output is a "clean" text string containing only printable characters, which can then be safely displayed to a reviewer or stored in a variable.

Preparing External Customer Data for Display

If your workflow involves an activity that retrieves information from an external source (such as a customer lookup), the returned data might contain formatting characters that could break the layout of your GoApprove form.

• Formula: CLEAN(@LocateCustomer.out.FullName)
• Logic: If the field @LocateCustomer.out.FullName contains non-printable characters, they will be removed, and only the printable characters will be returned. This ensures that when you use a Display Data element or a Content Block in the Form Builder, the customer's name appears correctly and professionally without broken character symbols.