# I am unablel to use Computed column

**URL:** <https://community.glideapps.com/t/i-am-unablel-to-use-computed-column/82325>\
**Category:** Ask for Help\
**Created:** [June 8, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/i-am-unablel-to-use-computed-column/82325 "2025-06-08T19:14:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mudit\_Goyal](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/mudit_goyal/32/89028_2.png) [@Mudit\_Goyal](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Mudit_Goyal)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/i-am-unablel-to-use-computed-column/82325/1 "2025-06-08T19:14:34Z")

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I split a column in 3 and then used array to get it in 3 different columns. Now these columns are computed. I cannot used them any where in fields or in workflows or in IFTTT

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**Author:** ![Nicolas\_Joseph](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/nicolas_joseph/32/76105_2.png) [@Nicolas\_Joseph](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Nicolas_Joseph)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/i-am-unablel-to-use-computed-column/82325/2 "2025-06-08T20:45:18Z")

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Hello @Mudit_Goyal 🙂

Some external tools — like IFTTT — expect values in _text format_ that _look_ like arrays. In Glide, when you see values shown as “pills” (sorry, not sure of a better word 😅), that usually means they’re being treated as _arrays_, not strings (correct me if I’m wrong).

Take a look at this example:

![List of colors](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/glideapps/original/3X/2/7/27811790ca90b70b38175838687a2e8dc7476982.png)

In this screenshot:

- `List of colors` is a string
- `Split` in an array (of 3 elements)
- `Slice First Element` is an array (of 1 element)
- `Extract First Element` is a string

  

* * *

**What external tools expect?**  
They often need the array in a plain string format, like this:

> [“Red”, “Green”, “Blue”]

  

Here are a few different approaches you can try:

**Option 1: Use `Extract Matching Text` + `Template`**

You can extract individual elements from your list using **`Extract Matching Text`** columns.

For example, to extract the second value (e.g. `"Green"`) from a comma-separated list, you could use this RegEx:  
`^[^,]+,\s*([^,]+),\s*.+$`

Just wrap the part you want to extract in parentheses.  
Then, combine the extracted values using a Template column like this:

 ![Template](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/glideapps/original/3X/d/0/d0de5713c444a2bf6173c43c0729e3b218799565.png)

**Option 2: Use `Replace All`**  
This approach is a bit more advanced but more direct. Use a `Replace All` column with the following RegEx setup:

 ![Replace All](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/glideapps/original/3X/3/2/3279041f25d9d213e17255121c295c5a311e0f5c.png)

> ^\s\*(.+?)\s\*,\s\*(.+?)\s\*,\s\*(.+?)\s\*$  
> [“$1”, “$2”, “$3”]

  

* * *

The RegEx (Regular Expressions) used here can be generated or tweaked with the help of AI tools if needed — very handy when things get tricky.

Before going too deep into the technical side, make sure this approach actually solves your problem by testing with a plain **Text** column. If IFTTT accepts that format, then you’re good to go.

And of course, feel free to share more context — a screenshot, sample data (even with fake values), or error messages — if you hit a wall.

Happy to help further 👍

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ThinhDinh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/thinhdinh/32/49_2.png) [@ThinhDinh](https://community.glideapps.com/u/ThinhDinh)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2025, 11:02pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/i-am-unablel-to-use-computed-column/82325/3 "2025-06-08T23:02:23Z")

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What do you expect the frontend to look like?

Some components can only accept a string, not an array.

Tables, for example, can accept a comma-delimited string and format it as tags (aka pills) if you choose tags as the type.

For IFFFT, if it’s like [Make.com](http://Make.com), you can find an option to split the string over there to process it as an array, rather than trying to do it in Glide.