# Clean

File Cleaning will attempt to find and clean an input file to produce a cleaned, header free, extra newline removed file.&#x20;

<div data-full-width="false"><figure><img src="/files/dP6glcqnYTEXn4OCIXwT" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

## File Cleaning

File cleaning is integrated into every layer of Transforms. Although there is a designated section for cleaning and re-downloading files, every file that is uploaded is automatically cleaned prior to use.&#x20;

This means that even if you drop a "dirty" sample property file into a new transform, it will still be cleaned before any transformations are applied.

## Options

There are several options that are possible to set before cleaning the file.&#x20;

* <mark style="color:purple;">**"Remove rows where column A is blank?"**</mark> - This feature serves as a filter to delete rows. It checks the first column (Column A) for any cells that are empty or contain no data and removes the entire row if any are found.
* <mark style="color:purple;">**"Remove rows where amount (sum) is zero"**</mark> - Useful for financial type files where the sum of all budget, amount, and total columns is zero.&#x20;
* <mark style="color:purple;">**Header Row**</mark> - Auto-Detect is the default setting and tries to identify header information automatically before processing the data. If you know the precise location of your data or if the auto-detection is incorrect, you can specify the exact row here before uploading your file.
* <mark style="color:purple;">**Custom File Process**</mark> - These custom processes are developed by the Perigee Team and consist of specific, targeted operations designed to convert poorly formatted data or various formats into a format that is compatible with the Perigee Transforms application.&#x20;
  * If you would like your own processes written, or have custom processes you would like loaded into the system and available for your team, please contact us at <sales@perigee.software> .

## A demo Property File

{% file src="/files/CtWrMQ6Ed2luliOk6isc" %}
Demo property file
{% endfile %}

In this example our file contains extra "garbage" information above the real data. Much like a real "client file" we've all dealt with. It also has extra newlines between rows, and is generally pretty messed up for an automated system to read.

After sending it through the clean process, it produces a very clean, no-nonsense file that is capable of being read by most automated programs.&#x20;


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