Getting Rid of Everything Except Numbers

Using SPILL functionality, one could use the following approach:

=VALUE(TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,
IF( UNICODE( MID(A1,SEQUENCE(1,LEN(A1)),1))<48, "",
IF( UNICODE( MID(A1,SEQUENCE(1,LEN(A1)),1))>57, "",
MID( A1, SEQUENCE(1, LEN(A1)), 1) ))))

The last line shows the MID() function's expression in each line (same all lines). Used IF() and the two tests because AND() seems to curtail the SPILL aspect which is critical so... TEXTJOIN() drops all the "" results (from non-numbers) and puts the remaining pieces back together, then VALUE() changes them back to a number.

It can be easily modified to take some extra characters such as "=*^/" and so on, or indeed, any characters you wish.

The same approach can be the basis of removing any characters not part of an acceptable series. For instance, anything above U+0255 which one might use to remove non-printing characters and other garbage web pages and data dumps lard one's data with. Kind of a "negative space" approach then, but the same idea: tear it apart, compare it, keep it or lose it.

Works too if one uses a lookup function and a table of outputs. A simple one might be the first 2-3,000 Unicode characters (numerically) in a column and their return result to the lookup in a second column, and as one finds ones one does NOT want in one's output, their return values to the lookup could be changed to "", or even some other character if one is preferred. (The latter can replace accented characters with the non-accented character, for example.)

Doing it without SEQUENCE() is no trick as that technique is very old. Doing it without SPILL functionality is less pleasant looking as it involves CSE arrays. So here's hoping everyone has SPILL functioanlity by now!

Well heck... had an idea about AND() and it turns out AND() works nicely inside TEXTJOIN() (just not within IF() as the "outside" wrapper. So:

=VALUE(TEXTJOIN("",TRUE,
IF( AND(
UNICODE(MID(C1,SEQUENCE(1,LEN(C1)),1))>47,
UNICODE(MID(C1,SEQUENCE(1,LEN(C1)),1))<58),
MID(C1,SEQUENCE(1,LEN(C1)),1), "" )))

works. There are certain advantages to each of the two ways to approach that testing, and that's a general AND() approach vs. IF() approach thing, but they aren't frequent. Just something to remember, that one can sometimes do a thing neatly with one, but not the other. Not like "Not all pretty and such" but like "not at all."

So, something else to see (it's the "But wait, there's more!" of this comment, I guess): even if an approach won't work along the way due to a function killing the SPILL functionality, that's apparently not the final word as yet another function wrapping the killer might give SPILL functionality back to the whole formula and the approach that seemed a failure might work after all once all the pieces are in place. Folks often work inside to out, so to speak, and drop an approach if it fails figuring the failure would just reflect outward. (I did just now, till I had that thought).) But apparently, it is not the case here.

This user defined function is even shorter:

Function StripChar(aText As String) As Long
Dim I As Integer, aChar As String
For I = 1 To Len(aText)
aChar = Mid(aText, I, 1)
If IsNumeric(aChar) Then StripChar = StripChar & aChar
Next
End Function

It returns a numeric value.
Remove 'As Long' if you prefer a text string.

@To whom it may concern,
Although I met, during my Excel Career, longer formulas than the suggested above - here is a nice gimmick using the function: NPV (Net Present Value of an investment).
It is an Array Formula (Entered using <Ctrl+Shift+Enter>)

=NPV(-0.9,0,IFERROR(MID(A1,LEN(A1)-ROW(INDIRECT("A1:A"&LEN(A1)))+1,1)/100,""))

--------------------------
Michael (Micky) Avidan
“Microsoft® Answers" - Wiki author & Forums Moderator
“Microsoft®” Excel MVP – Excel (2009-2017)
ISRAEL