ScottPletcher (7/31/2015)

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halifaxdal (7/31/2015)

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Can you explain '%[a-z]:%\%.%'? My first time to use it, thanks. Basically the sample data is sample only, the real data could be randomly and I have no idea what that could be, but still need to filter to exclude those non-file

Sure.

'%[a-z]:%\%.%'

% = any character(s), or none at all. So LIKE '%' would match anything.

[a-z] = a character from a to z, that is, any letter

: = exactly a colon

% = again, any character(s), or none at all

\ = exactly a backslash

% = "

. = exactly a dot

% = "

So, to put it all together, to be included in the result, the string must have:

a letter &

followed immediately by : &

followed by \ after any number of chars &

followed by . after any number of chars

Thus, these strings would match:

c:\emp\abc.1

d:\abc.template

user:\file1.ext --tricky, but r: is a letter directly followed by a colon, with ANY char(s) before it

If you want to prevent this last match, you'll need two separate conditions:

LIKE '[a-z]:%\%.%' --meaning the string must start with a letter and a colon,

OR LIKE '%[^a-z][a-z]:%\%.%' --meaning anywhere in the char immediately before the letter: must NOT be a-z