The String object's split() method

The String object's split() method divides a string into an array of substrings based on a specified delimiter and returns the array.

Syntax

string.split([separator[, limit]])

Parameters

separator (optional):

• Specifies the string or regular expression to use for splitting

• If omitted, returns an array with the entire string as a single element

• If empty string (''), splits the string into an array of individual characters

limit (optional):

• Integer specifying a limit on the number of splits to be found

• The array will have no more than limit elements

• Remaining text is not included in the array if limit is reached

Return value

Returns an array of strings, split at each point where the separator occurs in the string.

Examples

Example 1: Basic string splitting

In the code below, the function splitEx1() demonstrates basic ways to split strings.

function splitEx1() {
  let str = "apple,banana,orange,grape";
  
  // Split by comma
  Logger.log(str.split(','));
  
  // Split by empty string (into characters)
  Logger.log("Hello".split(''));
  
  // Split with no separator
  Logger.log("Hello World".split());
}

Output

[apple, banana, orange, grape]

[H, e, l, l, o]

[Hello World]

Example 2: Using a limit parameter

In the code below, the function splitEx2() shows how to limit the number of splits.

function splitEx2() {
  let str = "one-two-three-four-five";
  
  // Get first three items
  Logger.log(str.split('-', 3));
  
  // Get first two items
  Logger.log(str.split('-', 2));
  
  // Split CSV but keep last columns merged
  let csvLine = "field1,field2,field3,field4,field5";
  Logger.log(csvLine.split(',', 3));
}

Output

[one, two, three]

[one, two]

[field1, field2, field3]

Example 3: Using regular expressions

In the code below, the function splitEx3() demonstrates splitting with regular expressions.

function splitEx3() {
  // Split on multiple delimiters
  let str1 = "apple,banana;orange|grape";
  Logger.log(str1.split(/[,;|]/));
  
  // Split on whitespace
  let str2 = "Hello    World\tApps\nScript";
  Logger.log(str2.split(/\s+/));
  
  // Split keeping delimiters using capture groups
  let str3 = "apple+banana-orange";
  Logger.log(str3.split(/([+-])/));
}

Output

[apple, banana, orange, grape]

[Hello, World, Apps, Script]

[apple, +, banana, -, orange]

Example 4: Common use cases

In the code below, the function splitEx4() shows practical applications of split().

function splitEx4() {
  // Parse CSV data
  let csvRow = "John,Doe,johndoe@example.com,123-456-7890";
  let [firstName, lastName, email, phone] = csvRow.split(',');
  Logger.log(`Name: ${firstName} ${lastName}`);
  
  // Format file path parts
  let filePath = "/Users/username/documents/file.txt";
  let pathParts = filePath.split('/');
  Logger.log("Filename: " + pathParts[pathParts.length - 1]);
  
  // Parse query string
  let queryString = "name=John&age=30&city=NewYork";
  let params = queryString.split('&').map(param => {
    let [key, value] = param.split('=');
    return `${key}: ${value}`;
  });
  Logger.log(params);
}

Output

Name: John Doe

Filename: file.txt

[name: John, age: 30, city: NewYork]

Common Use Cases

The split() method is versatile and commonly used in many text processing scenarios. Here are typical applications:

• CSV parsing: Split comma-separated data into individual fields for processing.

• Name parsing: Separate full names into first and last names for standardization.

• URL processing: Break down URLs into their component parts for analysis.

• Text analysis: Split text into words or sentences for processing or counting.

• Data cleaning: Split and reconstruct strings to remove unwanted characters.

• Configuration parsing: Split configuration strings into key-value pairs.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to use the split() method to divide strings into arrays in Apps Script. This method is useful for text processing, data parsing, and string manipulation tasks. Whether you're working with simple comma-separated values or complex text patterns, split() provides flexible ways to break down strings into manageable pieces. Remember that split() returns a new array and doesn't modify the original string.