Optional) the string to search for when using the replace function.

The format action allows you to apply a series of formatting functions to a field or fields in an item being processed. It takes the following arguments:

• field: the field or fields to be formatted. This can be a string (for a single field) or a list of strings (for multiple fields).
• functions: the list of formatting functions to be applied, in the order they should be applied. Each function is a PHP native function with its own set of arguments.
• search: (Optional) the string to search for when using the replace function.
• replace: (Optional) the string to replace search with when using the replace function.
• mille_sep: (Optional) the string to use as the thousands separator when using the number function.
• prefix: (Optional) the string to use as the prefix when using the prefix function.
• format: (Optional) the format string to use when using the number function.

Here’s an example of how you might use the format action in a YAML file:

actions:
  correct_the_size_formatting:
    action: format
    field: [ LENGTH, HEIGHT, WIDTH, WEIGHT ]
    functions: [ prefix, replace, number ]
    search: ','
    replace: '.'
    mille_sep: ''
    prefix: '0'
    format: '%04d'

In this example, the format action will apply the prefix, replace, and number functions to the LENGTH, HEIGHT, WIDTH, and WEIGHT fields, in that order. The prefix function will add a prefix of '0' to the field value, the replace function will replace all instances of ',' with '.', and the number function will format the field value as a number with no thousands separator and a minimum of 4 digits, using the specified format string.