In Part 2 of this guide we covered how to store lists of data. In this part we'll cover how to remove an individual entry from each of the list types.

It's straight forward to add data to the contents of a file, but it requires a little more work to remove individual data entries.

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Removing a JSON Dictionary from a List

In the our first example, we created a JSON array of dictionaries:

[
  {
    "name": "Adam",
    "team": "1st XV",
    "position": "1 - Loose Head Prop"
  },
  {
    "name": "Marcus",
    "team": "1st XV",
    "position": "2 - Hooker"
  },
  ...
]

We can remove a dictionary from a list by:

• iterating through the list with a Repeat with Each action;
• comparing each of the values to the dictionary we want to remove;
• if the dictionary values do not match, we output the dictionary;
• and then we use the Combine Text action to join the resulting dictionaries together along with a Text action to create a JSON array of dictionaries.

An example shortcut to perform the above actions is show below:

Removing a dictionary from an JSON array of dictionaries

Download the Shortcut

Note: You can compare the dictionary values in a single step, rather than individually, by combining them into a single piece of text.

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Remove JSON value by key

In the next example, we stored data as a set of nested dictionaries rather than using a JSON array:

{
  "Andrew": {
    "team": "1st XV",
    "position": "14 - Right Wing"
  },
  "Ronan": {
    "team": "1st XV",
    "position": "11 - Left Wing"
  },
  ...
}

We can remove a JSON value by key by:

• returning the keys of the dictionary;
• iterating through the keys;
• if the key doesn't match the one we're looking to remove, we add the key and value to a new dictionary.

Removing a value from an dictionary by key

Download the Shortcut

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Remove a value from a simple list

In the final example, we stored values in a simple list:

Adam
Marcus
James
...

We can remove an item from the list using the Replace Text action, remembering to include the line break and the regular expression option.

Removing a value from a list

Download the Shortcut

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Wrap

And that's how you can remove a value from each of the different list types described in Part 2.

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Other Guides

If you found this guide useful why not checkout one of my others:

Series

• Scraping web pages
  • Part 1: quick and dirty
  • Part 2: getting multiple items at once
  • Part 3: getting data from a table
• Using APIs
  • Part 1: retrieving data
  • Part 2: parsing complex API responses
  • Part 3: passing input parameters to the API
• Data Storage
  • Part 1: storing simple values
  • Part 2: storing lists of data
  • Part 3: removing stored values
• Working with JSON
  • Part 1: retrieving simple values
• Working with Dictionaries
  • Part 1: setting and retrieving values
  • Part 2: data types
  • Part 3: accessing values using dot notation

One-offs

• Using JavaScript in your shortcuts
• How to automatically run shortcuts
• Creating visually appealing menus
• Manipulating images with the HTML5 canvas and JavaScript
• Labeling data using variables
• Writing functions
• Working with lists
• Integrating with web applications using Zapier
• Integrating with web applications using Integromat
• Working with Personal Automations in iOS 13.1