Split and Unfold
Infoveave Data Automation — Pivot & Transpose
One column of comma-separated tags becomes a set of clean binary columns — one per unique value — without writing a single line of code.
Multi-value text fields are common in product catalogs, survey results, tagging systems, and CRM exports. Storing multiple values per cell makes filtering, aggregating, and pivoting against individual values impossible without first restructuring the data. Split and Unfold normalizes those delimited fields by creating one binary indicator column per unique split value — a 1 when that value is present in the original row and a 0 when it is not. The result is a pivoted wide-format dataset ready for frequency analysis, segmentation, and machine learning feature engineering, without needing custom code or manual formula work.
What Split and Unfold does
Turn a delimited multi-value column into binary indicator columns in Infoveave. One-hot encode tags, labels, or categories stored as comma-separated text for pivot analysis and ML features.
Part of Infoveave Data Automation on the Unified Data Platform.
When to use Split and Unfold
- You have a Tags, Categories, Skills, or Labels column where each cell contains multiple delimiter-separated values and you want to produce binary indicator columns for each possible value
- You are preparing features for a machine learning model and need one-hot encoding of a multi-label text column
- You need to count how many records share each tag or label and want a pivoted wide table for cross-tab or co-occurrence analysis
- You want to filter or segment records by the presence of any individual tag value stored inside a combined multi-value field
When to avoid it
- You want each split value to produce a new row rather than a new column — use Split and Fold Columns for row-based expansion
- Your multi-value column is a proper array type rather than a delimited string — use Unfold Column for one-hot encoding native categorical columns
- The number of unique values is extremely large — such as thousands of unique tags — which would produce an unmanageably wide output table
Where it fits in your Infoveave automation
Split and Unfold is one step inside a multi-step Infoveave workflow. Chain it with other activities — no code, no manual hand-offs.
Build this workflow visually in Infoveave Data Automation — drag, connect, and schedule with no infrastructure setup.
How teams use Split and Unfold
Real scenarios where this transformation saves hours of manual work.
Pivot Product Tags for Co-Occurrence and Attribution Analysis
A retail analytics team has a product dataset where each product row includes a Tags column containing multiple category labels separated by commas. Split and Unfold creates one binary column per unique tag — for example Tags_Clearance, Tags_Premium, Tags_Seasonal. The team can then count how many products carry each tag, analyze co-occurrence between tag combinations, and filter products by any individual tag without needing complex string search expressions.
One-Hot Encode Developer Skills for ML Resume Screening
An HR analytics team is building a resume screening model. Each candidate record has a Skills column listing technologies separated by commas — Python, SQL, Spark, and so on. Split and Unfold converts the skills field into binary indicator columns: Skills_Python, Skills_SQL, Skills_Spark. Each candidate row shows 1 for skills they have and 0 for skills they do not — exactly the format required for logistic regression and other classification models.
Analyze Survey Multi-Select Responses by Option
An HR team runs an employee survey with a multi-select question where respondents can choose multiple options from a predefined list. Raw responses are stored as comma-separated text in a single column. Split and Unfold expands each option into its own binary column, making it easy to count response rates for each option, cross-tabulate options against department, and identify the most and least frequently selected answers.
See Split and Unfold in action
Input data (left) is transformed using the configuration below. The output table (right) is ready for dashboards or downstream steps.
Tags, (comma-space)Input Data
| ID | Name | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice | A, B |
| 2 | Bob | B, C |
| 3 | Carol | A, C |
| 4 | Dave | A, B, C |
Output Data
| ID | Name | Tags_A | Tags_B | Tags_C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Bob | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Carol | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Dave | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Configuration
Key fields to configure in the Infoveave workflow builder. Full reference available in the documentation.
Column To Split
Select the column containing the delimited multi-value strings. Infoveave scans all unique values in this column after splitting by the separator to determine the set of indicator columns to generate.
Separator
Specify the delimiter character used to separate values within the column — comma, pipe, semicolon, or any other character. The separator must match exactly how values are separated in your data, including any surrounding spaces.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about Split and Unfold in Infoveave.
Also in Pivot & Transpose — and what runs before & after
Transformations in the same family as Split and Unfold, often chained together in the same Infoveave workflow.
Part of Infoveave Data Automation
80+ transformations. Zero manual steps.
Split and Unfold is one of over 80 transformation activities available inside Infoveave workflows. Chain transformations together — no code, no exports, no waiting for IT.
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