Outlook 2016 Custom made "Message" column

H

Harry

New Member
OS Version(s)
  1. Windows
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
Operating system::    Windows 10
Outlook version:     2016
Email type or host:    Microsoft Exchange
Hi,

I'm customizing the columns of my "Compact" view and I'm trying to figure out whether I could trim the content of the field "Message" in order to completely get rid of the spaces (" ") coming from the body of the message.
I've found the "Trim" function while trying to create a new custom made column with formula, but this clears only the spaces at the beginning and at the end of the message. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any "Substitute" function (that's what I would use if I wanted to do the same in excel), but I thought you might know an alternative function that can do the same.

Example:
Current "Message" column value: "Dear Harry, Following our discussion I wanted to inform you..."
Desired "Message" column value: "DearHarry,FollowingourdiscussionIwantedtoinformyou..."

P.S. Unfortunately I cannot use macros in this version currently available to me.

Thanks in advance for your time!
 
No, you can't trim the content from the body - you would need to use VBA or PowerShell to add the first nn characters to a new field and use that field in the view.

Actually, A formula might work - but instead of trimming, use Left function and get the first nn characters. (You need to figure out what the optimum character count is. )
 
Truth is "L ( LTrim [Message], n)" works but the real problem starts when copy-pasting the dataset of emails from Outlook to Excel.

Say that I decide to keep the first 100 characters from the left. When the dataset arrives at Excel, you'll get something like that:
SubjectFromToSizeReceivedMessage
Custom made "Message" columnHarryDiane10 KB14/12/2024Dear Harry,
Following our discussion I wanted to inform you...

Whereas I would expect to get something like that:
SubjectFromToSizeReceivedMessage
Custom made "Message" columnHarryDiane10 KB14/12/2024Dear Harry, Following our discussion I wanted to inform you...

And I hoped that getting rid of all spaces (" ") in a message would enable excel to show all the content in a single cell. Besides copy-pasting, I've also tried exporting a csv file from outlook, but the result in excel is always the same. The content of the message is scattered all around.
 
Harry said:
Truth is "L ( LTrim [Message], n)" works but the real problem starts when copy-pasting the dataset of emails from Outlook to Excel.

Say that I decide to keep the first 100 characters from the left. When the dataset arrives at Excel, you'll get something like that:
SubjectFromToSizeReceivedMessage
Custom made "Message" columnHarryDiane10 KB14/12/2024Dear Harry,
Following our discussion I wanted to inform you...

Whereas I would expect to get something like that:
SubjectFromToSizeReceivedMessage
Custom made "Message" columnHarryDiane10 KB14/12/2024Dear Harry, Following our discussion I wanted to inform you...

And I hoped that getting rid of all spaces (" ") in a message would enable excel to show all the content in a single cell. Besides copy-pasting, I've also tried exporting a csv file from outlook, but the result in excel is always the same. The content of the message is scattered all around.
Click to expand...
Yeah, export is kind of sucky - messages often get split into multiple cells.

For the problem in your example, if you add the replace function and replace the comma (or line breaks), does it work correctly?

Do you need to have the shorter message in Outlook or only in in Excel? If you can't use VBA (due to restrictions), PowerShell should work - but you do need to use classic Outlook, not OWa or the new Outlook app. I don't think I have a ready to use PowerShell for exporting though
 
Replace(expression, search string, replacement string) should work. It's part of the VBA library, not specifically Outlook. Check the Tools > References dialog, the VBA library should be checked by default.
 
It will work in a macro but not in Outlook custom fields. :(

1734411052094.png
 
If I understand the problem, you want to use Replace in a User Defined Field in a Folder. It's not on the Function List, but (at least in Outlook 2010) it's there. I'm sure that they have "fixed" this by now.

1734823285409.png

1734823297235.png
 
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