# Concatenate
Concatenation allows you to combine two or more strings (text fields or user-defined text) into a single value. This is useful for generating new fields, e.g. `Full Name` from `First Name` & `Last Name`, or creating combined values to act as a unique lookup key.
Some tools like Excel, OrgVue and Python have two types of concatenation: `a + b` style syntax and `concat(a,b)` style syntax. Both options are listed below.
NB. Using the `join()` method in OrgVue you can specify a delimiter to use between each string to be concatenated. In all other methods, if you want to have a delimiter between combined strings you need to add it separately as many times as needed.
## Excel
In Excel you have two options for combining strings: \
Option 1: `&` is the quickest if you only have 2 values to combine \
\=‹value1›&‹value2›
```
=A1&A2
```
Option 2: `CONCATENATE()` is better for long chains \
\=\~CONCATENATE!\~(‹value1›, ‹value2›, ‹value›)
```
=CONCATENATE(A1," ",C1)
```
## Tableau
‹string1› + ‹string2›
```
[First Name] + [Last Name]
```
NB. Both arguments must be strings. To convert a different data type to a string, use \~STR!\~(‹field›). Go to [General > Convert Types](https://concentra-analytics.gitbooks.io/writing-calculations/content/general/convert_type.html) for more information.
## Alteryx
‹string1› + ‹string2›
```
[First Name] + [Last Name]
```
NB. Both arguments must be strings. To convert a different data type to a string, use \~TOSTRING!\~(‹field›) or the **Select** tool (in the **Preparation** palette). Go to [General > Convert Types](https://concentra-analytics.gitbooks.io/writing-calculations/content/general/convert_type.html) for more information.
## OrgVue
In OrgVue you have three options for combining strings:
Option 1: `format()` is the simplest and most efficient \
node.\~format!\~('{‹string1›}«delimiter»{‹string2›}')
```
node.format('{firstname} {lastname}')
```
NB. Fields in the dataset (`firstname` and `lastname` in this example) are referenced inside curly braces `{}`. If you want to join a value of the node with user-specified text, don't surround that string with the curly braces, e.g. `node.format('My name is {firstname}')`.
Option 2: `join()` is more flexible because it allows you to include conditional statements and references to a node's relatives \
\[‹string1›,‹string2›].\~join!\~("«delimiter»")
```
[node.role, node.grade > 4 ? " (Senior Mgr)" : ""].join("")
```
Option 3: `concat()` is the most long-winded \
‹string1›.value.\~concat!\~(«delimiter»).\~concat!\~(‹string2›)
```
node.firstname.value.concat(" ").concat(node.lastname)
```
## tSQL
In SQL you have two main options for combining strings:
Option 1: `+` is the quickest if you only have a few values to combine \
‹field1› +' '+ ‹field2› \
‹field1› +' '+ ‹string1›
```
SELECT FirstName+' '+LastName AS FullName
FROM EmployeesData
-- OR
'OLD'+RecordID
```
Option 2: `CONCAT()` is better for long chains \
\~CONCAT!\~(‹string1›, ‹string2›«, ‹stringN»)
```
SELECT CONCAT(Address, City, PostCode) AS Location
FROM EmployeesData
```
NB.:
* CONCAT is only available with SQL2012 onwards
* When concatenating, both ‹fields› (or ‹field› and ‹string›) must be of the same data type.
## Python
In Python you have two main options for combining strings: \
Option 1: `+` is the quickest if you only have a few values to combine \
‹string1› + ‹string2›
```
firstName + lastName
```
Option 2: `join()` \
"".\~join!\~(‹string1›, ‹string2›)
```
"".join([firstName, lastName])
# OR
"".join(["John", " Cleese"])
# Returns "John Cleese"
```
NB.:
* The above example assumes variables have been declared for `firstName` and `lastName`. For more information, go to [General > Variables](https://orgvue.gitbooks.io/formula-translator/content/general/variables.html).
* To join the same string together multiple times, you can use the mathematical operator `*`, e.g. ‹string1›\*3 returns ‹string1string1string1›:
```
location = "Camelot"
location*3
# Returns "CamelotCamelotCamelot"
```
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