String Manpulation

[kutoose]

Hi All,
I would like to know how to create a formula which will display a different name format.

In the database, the name is of the format, First Name Middle Initial Last Name

Example

Tracy A Hall

I need to display ( Last Name Comma First Name Middle Initial )

So the above example will be Hall, Tracy A

Please help

kutoose@yahoo.com

 

[kskid]

see thread149-841554 which addresses exactly what you need

 

[synapsevampire]

The larger problem is that your table is very poorly designed, take an acid laced belt sander to the dba until there's only a little toe left, then fire it.

The challenge is that names aren't as simple as your example, for instance:

Oscar De La Hoya

Or in the case of my brother, he doesn't have a middle name.

How would logic determine where to make the break?

One method (depending upon your version of Crystal) is to use:

whileprintingrecords;
stringvar array Name := split({table.field}," ")
//logic to make assumptions
if ubound(Name) = 2 then
Name[2]+", "+Name[1]
else if ubound(Name) = 3 then
Name[3]+", "+Name[1]+" "+Name[2]
else if ubound(Name) = 4 then
// guess at some logic

There are no generic rules, which is why names should ALWAYS be stored in seperate fields.

-k