awk: how do you ensure consistent column numbering when there are blank columns?

user_343204 0
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my_file is like this:

SELECTED   NAME    AGE
*          adam    30
           bob     70

I'd like to output:

adam
bob

however, if I try: cat my_file|awk '{print $2}' it outputs

NAME
adam
70

Any suggestions on how you get awk to account for a blank column?

awk
2 Answers

with gawk field widths

$ awk -v FIELDWIDTHS='11 8 3' '{print $2}' file

NAME
adam
bob
user_14358690

Could you please try following.

awk '{printf("%s%s",/^ +/?$1:$2,ORS)}'  Input_file

Output will be as follows.

NAME
adam
bob
user_58665800
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