Formula - csv
Easily extract values from any CSV structure using the Nodinite csv
Formula plugin. This page shows how to extract data from delimited message Content, Context, or the output of other formulas.
🎯 Designed for business users and integrators — no developer required; you can even use AI to craft expressions.
- ✅ Extract data from CSV or delimited text from any Payload or Context in any Log Event
- ✅ Flexible parameters for delimiter, column selection, row skipping, and quote/comment characters
- ✅ Transform and surface meaningful data in Nodinite Log Views, search filters, and self-service diagnostics
- ✅ Combine with other Formula functions for powerful, layered expressions
What does the csv Formula do?
The csv(SkipRowsCount, Delimiter, ColumnIndex, Quote, Content)
Formula function extracts values from delimited text, such as CSV files. You can specify which rows to skip, which delimiter to use, which column to extract, and which character marks comments or quoted fields.
How it works: Input ➜ csv ➜ Result
Flow: The CSV content is parsed with specified parameters to extract values from the target column.
Examples
Example 1: Extracting a column from message body
Input
Message body is:
"face","suit","value"
"king","spades","13"
"queen","spades2","12"
#"jack","spades3","11"
"ten","spades4","10"
Formula Expression
csv(2, ',', 1, '#', body)
Result
spades2, spades4
Example 2: Extracting a value from message context
Input
Message context contains a property Ids
with CSV content:
"face","suit","value"
"king","spades","13"
"queen","spades2","12"
#"jack","spades3","666"
"ten","spades4","10"
Formula Expression
max(csv(1, ',', 2, '#', context('Ids')))
Result
13
Example 3: Extracting from a JSON field
Input
Message body is:
{
"name": "JSONFile",
"description": "TestFile",
"content": "\"face\",\"suit\",\"value\"\n\"jack\",\"spades3\",11\n\"ten\",\"spades4\",10\n\"nine\",\"spades5\",9\n\"eight\",\"spades6\",8\n\"seven\",\"spades7\",7"
}
Formula Expression
csv(4, ',', 1, '#', jsonpath('$.content', body))
Result
spades6, spades7
Features
Important
The
csv
Formula extracts values from delimited text (CSV files), allowing you to parse structured data with flexible parameters. This function loads the entire message into RAM—use on small messages only.
- Flexible Inputs: Extract from message body, Context, or the result of another Formula
- Configurable Parsing: Specify delimiter, column index, rows to skip, and quote/comment characters
- Composable: Combine with other Formula functions like max, jsonPath for advanced transformations
- Self-Service: Let business users extract CSV data without developer intervention
Parameters:
SkipRowsCount
: Number of rows to skip from the top (e.g., header rows)Delimiter
: Character separating columns (e.g.,,
or;
)ColumnIndex
: Zero-based column index to extractQuote
: Character marking comments or quotes (e.g.,#
or"
)Content
: The CSV text to parse
How to use
To use the csv
Formula in a Search Field Expression:
- Open your Nodinite Web Client
- Navigate to Administration → Search Fields
- Create or edit a Search Field
- Choose Formula as the expression type
- Enter one of the following Syntax patterns
Syntax
Extract from message body:
csv(SkipRowsCount, Delimiter, ColumnIndex, Quote, body)
Extract from message context:
csv(SkipRowsCount, Delimiter, ColumnIndex, Quote, context('PropertyName'))
Extract with nested formula:
csv(4, ',', 1, '#', jsonpath('$.content', body))
Example with specific parameters:
csv(2, ',', 1, '#', body)
Next step
- Learn how to create a Search Field with an Expression
Related Topics
- Search Field
- Search Field Expressions
- Formula
- The jsonPath Formula
- The xPath Formula
- The max Formula
- The min Formula