# Replace numbers and leave one single whitespace

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/replace-numbers-and-leave-one-single-whitespace/169532>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [June 4, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/replace-numbers-and-leave-one-single-whitespace/169532 "2009-06-04T22:55:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/paulbutcher)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/replace-numbers-and-leave-one-single-whitespace/169532/1 "2009-06-04T22:55:48Z")

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This is a string “test1more32and444more22”.

How do I remove the numbers and replace them with a single whitespace?

I can do it but I’ll get a whitespace for each digit and consequently  
have three whitespaces when there is three digits.

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**Author:** ![paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/paulbutcher)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/replace-numbers-and-leave-one-single-whitespace/169532/2 "2009-06-04T23:02:08Z")

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2009/6/4 Pål Bergström [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid):

> This is a string “test1more32and444more22”.
> 
> How do I remove the numbers and replace them with a single whitespace?

irb(main):005:0\> “test1more32and444more22”.gsub(/[0-9]+/, " ")  
=\> "test more and more "

## HTH,

Hassan S. ------------------------ removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid

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**Author:** ![paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/paulbutcher)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/replace-numbers-and-leave-one-single-whitespace/169532/3 "2009-06-04T23:02:44Z")

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2009/6/4 Pål Bergström [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)

> This is a string “test1more32and444more22”.
> 
> How do I remove the numbers and replace them with a single whitespace?
> 
> I can do it but I’ll get a whitespace for each digit and consequently  
> have three whitespaces when there is three digits.

You can try the following and please remember that “Programming Ruby”  
book  
is your  
friend:

“test1more32and444more22”.gsub( /[0-9]+/, ’ ’ )

Good luck,

-Conrad

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**Author:** ![paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/paulbutcher)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/replace-numbers-and-leave-one-single-whitespace/169532/4 "2009-06-04T23:11:33Z")

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On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 5:01 PM, Conrad T. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)  
wrote:

> “test1more32and444more22”.gsub( /[0-9]+/, ’ ’ )

or equivalently

“test1more32and444more22”.gsub( /\d+/, ’ ’ )

–  
Rick DeNatale

Blog: [http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/](http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/)  
Twitter: [http://twitter.com/RickDeNatale](http://twitter.com/RickDeNatale)  
WWR: [http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale](http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale)  
LinkedIn: [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale](http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@paulbutcher](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/paulbutcher)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/replace-numbers-and-leave-one-single-whitespace/169532/5 "2009-06-05T00:12:32Z")

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Rick Denatale wrote:

> On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 5:01 PM, Conrad T. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)  
> wrote:
> 
> > “test1more32and444more22”.gsub( /[0-9]+/, ’ ’ )
> 
> or equivalently
> 
> “test1more32and444more22”.gsub( /\d+/, ’ ’ )
> 
> –  
> Rick DeNatale
> 
> Blog: [http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/](http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/)  
> Twitter: [http://twitter.com/RickDeNatale](http://twitter.com/RickDeNatale)  
> WWR: [http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale](http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale)  
> LinkedIn: [http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale](http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale)

Great. Thanks. 🙂