# Remove

In this document, you’ll learn how to use the *Remove* function in Astera Dataprep to clean unwanted characters from your data.    

1. To begin, click on the *Cleanse* option in the toolbar and select *Remove* from the drop-down.   

![](https://3181888596-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FzEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2%2Fuploads%2FtnhAwvQX1aVJGQyIqHSl%2F0.png?alt=media)

2. This will open the *Recipe Configuration – Remove* panel.

<figure><img src="https://3181888596-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FzEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2%2Fuploads%2FcNgVNwxzuUpNFig7xdAq%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=3875455b-9ee6-42eb-82f9-aa0c52411589" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

3. In this panel, you’ll configure the following options:

* **Apply to entire dataset:** The changes will be applied to the entire dataset.
* **Apply to specific column(s):** Allows you to apply changes to specific columns.

Under the *Remove* section, you can choose what to remove:

* All whitespaces
* Leading and trailing whitespaces
* Tabs and line breaks
* Duplicate whitespaces
* Letters
* Digits
* Punctuations
* Specified characters – You can enter one or more characters (separated by commas) to be removed.

![](https://3181888596-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FzEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2%2Fuploads%2Fg1WFML8ktAqm853E2Ldn%2F2.png?alt=media)

4. Once you’re done, click *Apply.* For example, in our use case the Grid will show that all whitespaces and hyphens ("-") have been removed from the *ShipPostalCode* column.

![](https://3181888596-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FzEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2%2Fuploads%2FLCKlU5RRDN1J5QzElXz7%2F3.png?alt=media)

5. Alternatively, you can right-click on a column in the Grid and go to *Cleanse > Remove*. The same configuration panel will appear with the column already selected. Make any changes you need and click *Apply* to clean the data.

![](https://3181888596-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FzEifS4h8yurLAAwiGNX2%2Fuploads%2FMxQ5kBlPNB3XyRykctDr%2F4.png?alt=media)