Key Facts
- Category
- Text Processing
- Input Types
- textarea, checkbox, text
- Output Type
- text
- Sample Coverage
- 4
- API Ready
- Yes
Overview
The Non-Alphanumeric Cleaner is a text processing tool that removes all special characters, leaving only letters and numbers. It provides flexible options to preserve common punctuation, spaces, Chinese characters, or any custom characters you specify, making it ideal for sanitizing and preparing text.
When to Use
- •When sanitizing user input to remove unwanted special characters for data consistency or security.
- •To prepare text for URLs, filenames, or systems that require alphanumeric-only content.
- •When cleaning up text data for analysis or processing by stripping formatting symbols.
How It Works
- •Enter or paste your text into the input field.
- •Select preservation options: keep common punctuation, spaces, Chinese characters, or add custom characters.
- •The tool processes the text and outputs a cleaned version with only the allowed characters.
Use Cases
Examples
1. Sanitizing User Comments for Database Storage
Web Developer- Background
- A website collects user comments that often include emojis and special symbols, which can cause database errors.
- Problem
- Need to remove special characters while preserving readability for storage.
- How to Use
- Paste the comment into the text input, enable 'Preserve Spaces and Newlines' to maintain structure, and disable other options.
- Example Config
-
preserveSpaces: true, preservePunctuation: false, preserveChinese: false, customPreserve: '' - Outcome
- The comment is cleaned to contain only letters, numbers, and spaces, ensuring safe database storage.
2. Creating URL Slugs from Article Titles
Content Manager- Background
- Article titles contain punctuation and symbols that are invalid in URLs.
- Problem
- Convert titles into alphanumeric slugs for web addresses.
- How to Use
- Input the title, disable all preservation options to remove everything except letters and numbers.
- Example Config
-
preservePunctuation: false, preserveSpaces: false, preserveChinese: false, customPreserve: '' - Outcome
- The title is transformed into a clean alphanumeric string suitable for use in URLs.
Try with Samples
video, text, barcodeRelated Hubs
FAQ
What characters are removed by default?
All non-alphanumeric characters are removed, including symbols like @, #, $, %, &, *, leaving only letters and numbers.
Can I preserve specific punctuation marks?
Yes, enable 'Preserve Common Punctuation' to keep .,!?;:()[]{}"'.
Does it support non-English characters?
Yes, you can preserve Chinese characters by enabling the 'Preserve Chinese Characters' option.
How do I keep characters not listed in the options?
Use the 'Custom Characters to Preserve' field to add any additional characters you want to retain.
Is the tool case-sensitive for letters?
No, it treats both uppercase and lowercase letters as alphanumeric and preserves them by default.