Hi @mwiegand ,
The String Manipulation (Multi-Column) node does seem to be somewhat “unloved” doesn’t it? It is a pity, because this node would be so much more useful if the bugs in it could be resolved. You have been posting about these issues since well before I had even heard of KNIME, and indeed one of your posts that you mentioned above was made the month I first used KNIME! 
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I also note that the link to your sample workflow referenced in that post is broken. A quick piece of investigative work leads me to think that maybe your forum username subsequently changed as it works if I change the /mw/ to /mwiegand/ 
I totally support your call for bug fixes in the String Manipulation (Multi-Column) node, and would put this ahead of many of my personal “wish-list” for other future nodes and enhancements. Whenever I try to recommend this node in solutions here on the forum, it invariably comes with caveats and workarounds so that this node doesn’t break. I even have a couple of dedicated components for one workaround (to avoid passing incompatible columns), showcased here:
It is quite sad that this should be necessary!