The INSCOLS function inserts into the columns of a multiline TEXT value all the columns of another TEXT value. The inserted columns are placed after the column position you specify, and the original columns in each line are moved to the right. The function returns a multiline TEXT value composed of the resulting columns.
TEXT or NTEXT
This function accepts TEXT values and NTEXT values as arguments. The data type of the return value depends on the data type of the values specified for the arguments:
When all arguments are TEXT values, the return value is TEXT.
When all arguments are NTEXT values, the return value is NTEXT.
When the arguments include both TEXT and NTEXT values, the function converts all TEXT values to NTEXT before performing the function operation, and the return value is NTEXT.
The number of lines in the return value is always the same as the number of lines in text-expression. When the columns TEXT expression has fewer lines, INSCOLS repeats its last line in each subsequent line of the return value.
The expression into which you want to insert columns.
The expression containing one or more columns in each line. All the columns of this expression is inserted into the corresponding lines of text-expression.
An INTEGER between 0 and 4,000 representing the column position after which columns should be inserted. The column position of the first character in each line is 1. When you do not specify after, insertion begins at the end of each line. The total length of a line cannot exceed 4,000 columns of single-byte characters or fewer columns for multi-byte characters.
When you specify an after column that is to the right of the last character in a given line in text-expression, the corresponding line in the return value has spaces filling in the intervening columns.
Example 7-121 Inserting Text Columns
In the following example, a color code (stored in the multiline TEXT value itemcolor) is inserted into item identifiers that are stored in the itemid text value. The columns are inserted after Column 3.
itemcolor has the following value.
Blu Red Gre Ora
itemid has the following value.
542-Fra 379-Eng 968-USA 369-Can
The INSCOLS function call
INSCOLS(itemid itemcolor 3)
returns the following.
542Blu-Fra 379Red-Eng 968Gre-USA 369Ora-Can