diff --git a/.buildlibrary b/.buildlibrary
index 3185ea4..291af36 100644
--- a/.buildlibrary
+++ b/.buildlibrary
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-ValidationKey: '99145'
+ValidationKey: '118980'
 AutocreateReadme: yes
 AcceptedWarnings:
 - 'Warning: package ''.*'' was built under R version'
diff --git a/CITATION.cff b/CITATION.cff
index 86d7991..20fe8f9 100644
--- a/CITATION.cff
+++ b/CITATION.cff
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ cff-version: 1.2.0
 message: If you use this software, please cite it using the metadata from this file.
 type: software
 title: 'piamPlotComparison: Create comparison plots for your model results'
-version: 0.0.5
-date-released: '2024-04-16'
+version: 0.0.6
+date-released: '2024-04-17'
 abstract: A frameworks to create comparison plots for your model results.
 authors:
 - family-names: Benke
diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index ff3fe72..7d13469 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 Type: Package
 Package: piamPlotComparison
 Title: Create comparison plots for your model results
-Version: 0.0.5
-Date: 2024-04-16
+Version: 0.0.6
+Date: 2024-04-17
 Authors@R: c(
     person("Falk", "Benke", , "benke@pik-potsdam.de", role = c("aut", "cre")),
     person("Christof", "Schoetz", role = "aut")
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ Imports:
     knitr,
     magclass,
     mip (>= 0.148.11),
+    piamutils,
     quitte,
     rlang,
     rmarkdown,
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 9fe5937..19dc818 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -2,9 +2,7 @@
 
 export(calcTimeSeriesStats)
 export(compareScenarios)
-export(deletePlus)
 export(showStatsTable)
-export(substitutePlaceholder)
 importFrom(dplyr,"%>%")
 importFrom(dplyr,across)
 importFrom(dplyr,all_of)
@@ -17,12 +15,6 @@ importFrom(dplyr,left_join)
 importFrom(dplyr,mutate)
 importFrom(dplyr,select)
 importFrom(dplyr,summarize)
-importFrom(magclass,"getNames<-")
-importFrom(magclass,getNames)
-importFrom(magclass,is.magpie)
-importFrom(magclass,read.report)
 importFrom(rlang,.data)
 importFrom(rlang,.env)
 importFrom(tidyr,pivot_wider)
-importFrom(utils,read.csv)
-importFrom(utils,write.table)
diff --git a/R/modifyVariableNames.R b/R/modifyVariableNames.R
deleted file mode 100644
index 3770896..0000000
--- a/R/modifyVariableNames.R
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,155 +0,0 @@
-#' Delete "+" in Variable Names. Optionally Save in File with Suffix
-#' "_withoutPlus"
-#'
-#' The function can take a multiple of input formats. It replaces "|+|", "|++|",
-#' "|+++|", ... by "|" in variable names and in this "deletes" the
-#' "plus-notation".
-#'
-#' @param mif A path to a mif-file (might be created by confGDX2MIF), a magpie
-#'   object containing reporting, a quitte object, or a character vector or
-#'   factor of variable names.
-#' @param writemif A single truth value. Only used when mif is a file path.
-#'   Should the new mif with the adjusted names be saved? If yes the new name
-#'   will have the suffix "_withoutPlus.mif".
-#' @return If mif is a file path and \code{writemif} is \code{FALSE}, a MAgPIE
-#'   object. If mif is not a file path the result is the object \code{mif} with
-#'   replaced variable names.
-#'
-#' @examples
-#' deletePlus(c(
-#'   "ab|cd", # "ab|cd"
-#'   "de|+|fgh", # "de|fgh"
-#'   "i|j|++|k|l|++++|mno|p", # "i|j|k|l|mno|p"
-#'   "++|q+|+r|+p+|u+v|+", # "++|q+|+r|+p+|u+v|+"
-#'   "w|+|+|x")) # "w|x"
-#' @export
-deletePlus <- function(mif, writemif = FALSE) {
-  modifyVariableNames(
-    mif,
-    modify = .deletePlusString,
-    writeMifSuffix = if (writemif) "_withoutPlus" else NULL
-  )
-}
-
-.deletePlusString <- function(s) {
-  pattern <- "\\|\\++\\|"
-  replacement <- "|"
-  while (any(grepl(pattern, s))) {
-    s <- gsub(pattern, replacement, s)
-  }
-  return(s)
-}
-
-#' Substitute Placeholders in Variable Names.
-#'
-#' @param x A path to a mif-file (might be created by confGDX2MIF), a quitte
-#'   object, or a character vector or factor of variable names.
-#' @param writeMifSuffix \code{NULL} or a suffix for the filename if the result
-#'   should be written as a mif-file.
-#' @param substitutions A named character vector of placeholders with
-#'   replacements as names.
-#' @return If \code{x} is not a file path the result is the object \code{x} with
-#'   replaced variable names.
-#' @examples
-#' substitutePlaceholder(c(
-#'   "3$dot$5", # "3.5"
-#'   "3$dot5", # "3$dot5"
-#'   "3.5", # "3.5"
-#'   "$dot$dot$dot$dot$dot$")) # ".dot.dot."
-#' @export
-substitutePlaceholder <- function(
-    x, writeMifSuffix = NULL,
-    substitutions = c(
-      "." = "$dot$"
-  )) {
-  modifyVariableNames(
-    x,
-    modify = .substitutePlaceholderString,
-    writeMifSuffix = writeMifSuffix,
-    substitutions = substitutions
-  )
-}
-
-.substitutePlaceholderString <- function(s, substitutions) {
-  for (i in seq_along(substitutions)) {
-    placeholder <- substitutions[i]
-    replacement <- names(substitutions)[i]
-    while (any(grepl(placeholder, s, fixed = TRUE))) {
-      s <- gsub(placeholder, replacement, s, fixed = TRUE)
-    }
-  }
-
-  return(s)
-}
-
-#'Modify Variable Names
-#'
-#' @param x A path to a mif-file (might be created by confGDX2MIF), a magpie
-#'   object containing reporting, a quitte object, or a character vector or
-#'   factor of variable names.
-#' @param writeMifSuffix \code{NULL} or a suffix for the file name if the result
-#'   should be written as a mif-file.
-#' @param modify A function that modifies a character vector.
-#' @param ... Further arguments for the modify function.
-#' @return If \code{x} is a file path and \code{writeMifSuffix} is \code{NULL},
-#'   a MAgPIE object. If \code{x} is not a file path the result is the object
-#'   \code{x} with replaced variable names.
-#' @importFrom utils write.table read.csv
-#' @importFrom magclass read.report getNames getNames<- is.magpie
-modifyVariableNames <- function(x, modify, writeMifSuffix = NULL, ...) {
-
-  # Does x refer to a file?
-  if (is.character(x) && length(x) == 1 && file.exists(x)) {
-
-    # Should the output be written to a file?
-    if (is.character(writeMifSuffix) == TRUE) {
-
-      # read in mif-reporting
-      mifData <- read.csv(x, sep = ";", check.names = FALSE)
-
-      # drop the empty last column of .mif format
-      if (all(is.na(mifData[, ncol(mifData)]))) {
-        mifData[, ncol(mifData)] <- ""
-      }
-
-      mifData$Variable <- modify(mifData$Variable, ...)
-
-      # save reporting with new names under a new name
-      oldName <- gsub("\\.mif$", "", x)
-      newName <- paste0(oldName, writeMifSuffix, ".mif")
-      write.table(mifData, file = newName, quote = FALSE, sep = ";", row.names = FALSE)
-
-    } else {
-
-      # read in mif-reporting
-      mifData <- read.report(x, as.list = FALSE)
-      getNames(mifData) <- modify(getNames(mifData), ...)
-      return(mifData)
-    }
-
-  } else { # x does not refer to a file.
-
-    if (is.magpie(x)) {
-      getNames(x) <- modify(getNames(x), ...)
-      return(x)
-    }
-
-    if (quitte::is.quitte(x)) {
-      levels(x$variable) <- modify(levels(x$variable), ...)
-      return(x)
-    }
-
-    if (is.factor(x)) {
-      levels(x) <- modify(levels(x), ...)
-      return(x)
-    }
-
-    if (is.character(x)) {
-      x <- modify(x, ...)
-      return(x)
-    }
-
-    stop("Cannot handle input format.")
-  }
-}
-
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 43e7681..f6bc2a8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Create comparison plots for your model results
 
-R package **piamPlotComparison**, version **0.0.5**
+R package **piamPlotComparison**, version **0.0.6**
 
 [![CRAN status](https://www.r-pkg.org/badges/version/piamPlotComparison)](https://cran.r-project.org/package=piamPlotComparison)  [![R build status](https://github.com/pik-piam/piamPlotComparison/workflows/check/badge.svg)](https://github.com/pik-piam/piamPlotComparison/actions) [![codecov](https://codecov.io/gh/pik-piam/piamPlotComparison/branch/master/graph/badge.svg)](https://app.codecov.io/gh/pik-piam/piamPlotComparison) [![r-universe](https://pik-piam.r-universe.dev/badges/piamPlotComparison)](https://pik-piam.r-universe.dev/builds)
 
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ In case of questions / problems please contact Falk Benke <benke@pik-potsdam.de>
 
 To cite package **piamPlotComparison** in publications use:
 
-Benke F, Schoetz C (2024). _piamPlotComparison: Create comparison plots for your model results_. R package version 0.0.5, <https://github.com/pik-piam/piamPlotComparison>.
+Benke F, Schoetz C (2024). _piamPlotComparison: Create comparison plots for your model results_. R package version 0.0.6, <https://github.com/pik-piam/piamPlotComparison>.
 
 A BibTeX entry for LaTeX users is
 
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ A BibTeX entry for LaTeX users is
   title = {piamPlotComparison: Create comparison plots for your model results},
   author = {Falk Benke and Christof Schoetz},
   year = {2024},
-  note = {R package version 0.0.5},
+  note = {R package version 0.0.6},
   url = {https://github.com/pik-piam/piamPlotComparison},
 }
 ```
diff --git a/inst/compareScenarios/cs_main.Rmd b/inst/compareScenarios/cs_main.Rmd
index 72e46f9..b9b507c 100644
--- a/inst/compareScenarios/cs_main.Rmd
+++ b/inst/compareScenarios/cs_main.Rmd
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ library(tidyverse)
 suppressMessages(library(kableExtra))
 library(quitte)
 library(mip)
+library(piamUtils)
 ```
 
 
@@ -210,11 +211,11 @@ data <-
   data %>%
   # In the variable names, replace `$dot$` by `.`.
   mutate(
-    variable = substitutePlaceholder(variable)) %>%
+    variable = piamUtils::substitutePlaceholder(variable)) %>%
   # In the variable names, replace `|+|`, `|++|`, `|+++|`, ... by `|`.
   mutate(
     varplus = as.character(variable),
-    variable = deletePlus(variable))
+    variable = piamUtils::removePlus(variable))
 
 # Filter regions.
 if (!is.null(params$reg)) {
diff --git a/man/deletePlus.Rd b/man/deletePlus.Rd
deleted file mode 100644
index a046674..0000000
--- a/man/deletePlus.Rd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
-% Please edit documentation in R/modifyVariableNames.R
-\name{deletePlus}
-\alias{deletePlus}
-\title{Delete "+" in Variable Names. Optionally Save in File with Suffix
-"_withoutPlus"}
-\usage{
-deletePlus(mif, writemif = FALSE)
-}
-\arguments{
-\item{mif}{A path to a mif-file (might be created by confGDX2MIF), a magpie
-object containing reporting, a quitte object, or a character vector or
-factor of variable names.}
-
-\item{writemif}{A single truth value. Only used when mif is a file path.
-Should the new mif with the adjusted names be saved? If yes the new name
-will have the suffix "_withoutPlus.mif".}
-}
-\value{
-If mif is a file path and \code{writemif} is \code{FALSE}, a MAgPIE
-  object. If mif is not a file path the result is the object \code{mif} with
-  replaced variable names.
-}
-\description{
-The function can take a multiple of input formats. It replaces "|+|", "|++|",
-"|+++|", ... by "|" in variable names and in this "deletes" the
-"plus-notation".
-}
-\examples{
-deletePlus(c(
-  "ab|cd", # "ab|cd"
-  "de|+|fgh", # "de|fgh"
-  "i|j|++|k|l|++++|mno|p", # "i|j|k|l|mno|p"
-  "++|q+|+r|+p+|u+v|+", # "++|q+|+r|+p+|u+v|+"
-  "w|+|+|x")) # "w|x"
-}
diff --git a/man/modifyVariableNames.Rd b/man/modifyVariableNames.Rd
deleted file mode 100644
index 322f83f..0000000
--- a/man/modifyVariableNames.Rd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
-% Please edit documentation in R/modifyVariableNames.R
-\name{modifyVariableNames}
-\alias{modifyVariableNames}
-\title{Modify Variable Names}
-\usage{
-modifyVariableNames(x, modify, writeMifSuffix = NULL, ...)
-}
-\arguments{
-\item{x}{A path to a mif-file (might be created by confGDX2MIF), a magpie
-object containing reporting, a quitte object, or a character vector or
-factor of variable names.}
-
-\item{modify}{A function that modifies a character vector.}
-
-\item{writeMifSuffix}{\code{NULL} or a suffix for the file name if the result
-should be written as a mif-file.}
-
-\item{...}{Further arguments for the modify function.}
-}
-\value{
-If \code{x} is a file path and \code{writeMifSuffix} is \code{NULL},
-  a MAgPIE object. If \code{x} is not a file path the result is the object
-  \code{x} with replaced variable names.
-}
-\description{
-Modify Variable Names
-}
diff --git a/man/substitutePlaceholder.Rd b/man/substitutePlaceholder.Rd
deleted file mode 100644
index 2b797f0..0000000
--- a/man/substitutePlaceholder.Rd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
-% Please edit documentation in R/modifyVariableNames.R
-\name{substitutePlaceholder}
-\alias{substitutePlaceholder}
-\title{Substitute Placeholders in Variable Names.}
-\usage{
-substitutePlaceholder(x, writeMifSuffix = NULL, substitutions = c(. = "$dot$"))
-}
-\arguments{
-\item{x}{A path to a mif-file (might be created by confGDX2MIF), a quitte
-object, or a character vector or factor of variable names.}
-
-\item{writeMifSuffix}{\code{NULL} or a suffix for the filename if the result
-should be written as a mif-file.}
-
-\item{substitutions}{A named character vector of placeholders with
-replacements as names.}
-}
-\value{
-If \code{x} is not a file path the result is the object \code{x} with
-  replaced variable names.
-}
-\description{
-Substitute Placeholders in Variable Names.
-}
-\examples{
-substitutePlaceholder(c(
-  "3$dot$5", # "3.5"
-  "3$dot5", # "3$dot5"
-  "3.5", # "3.5"
-  "$dot$dot$dot$dot$dot$")) # ".dot.dot."
-}