{"id":2459,"date":"2022-06-27T14:07:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T12:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jakisproblem.pl\/?p=2459"},"modified":"2022-06-27T14:07:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T12:07:29","slug":"using-regex-to-find-and-replace-text-in-notepad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/2022\/06\/27\/using-regex-to-find-and-replace-text-in-notepad\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Regex to find and replace text in Notepad++"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A quick cheat sheet for using Notepad++<\/a>\u00a0to find and replace text in Notepad++.<\/p>\n

In all examples, use select Find and Replace (Ctrl + H) to replace all the matches with the desired string or (no string).<\/p>\n

And also ensure the \u2018Regular expression\u2019 radio button is set.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Using Regex to find and replace text<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Shortcuts to examples covered in this Notepad++ regex tutorial are as follows:<\/p>\n

1. Removing arbitrary whitespaces and tabs<\/a>
\n2. Insert a newline for every line of text<\/a>
\n3. Removing blank lines<\/a>
\n4. Replace comma separated list with string list<\/a>
\n5. Remove duplicate words<\/a>
\n6. Replace with first word from each lines<\/a>
\n7. Replace with last word from each line<\/a>
\n8. Replace all duplicate lines with a single instance<\/a>
\n9. Insert all text into a single line<\/a>
\n10. Replace the first line in text<\/a>
\n11. Trim additional spaces from sentences<\/a>
\n12. Remove unwanted characters<\/a>
\n13. Convert string to lower case except for acronyms & abbreviations<\/a>
\n14. Remove trailing whitespaces from lines with text and empty lines<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>1. Removing arbitrary whitespaces and tabs<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

In this example we replace the whitespaces and tabs between pairs of \u2018> <\u2018 strings<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

(Switch off word wrap so you can see it merge into one line)<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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&gt;[ \\t]+&lt;<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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&gt;&lt;<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>2. Insert a newline for every line of text<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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(.)$<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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$1\\n<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>3. Removing blank lines<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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^[ \\t]*$\\r?\\n*<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>4. Replace comma separated list with string list<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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,[ \\t]+<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

\\n<\/p>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>5. Remove duplicate words<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression (simple):<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\\b(\\w+)\\s+\\1\\b<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

\\1<\/p>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>6. Replace with first word from each line<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression (simple):<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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^([^ \\t]+).*<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

\\1<\/p>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>7. Replace with last word from each line<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression (simple):<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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(.* )(\\w+)$<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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'$2'<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>8. Replace all duplicate lines with a single instance<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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(?sm)(^[^\\r\\n]*)[\\r\\n](?=.*^\\1)<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>9. Insert all text into a single line<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

Check that your word wrap is switched off so that you actually see the text get modified.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

\\R<\/p>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>10. Replace the first line in text<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

In this example we just replace the match with empty text.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

\\A.*<\/p>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>11. Trim additional spaces from sentences<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

In this example we remove trailing and leading whitespaces from sentences.\u00a0Original link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

^[\\s]*(.*?)[\\s]*$<\/p>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>12. Remove unwanted characters<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

We may wish to remove all special characters except alphanumeric characters, full stops and colons\/semi-colons, spaces, tabs, newlines etc:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

[^0-9a-zA-Z \\t\\n]+<\/p>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>13. Convert string to lower case except for acronyms & abbreviations<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

We may wish to ensure the text is converted to lower case except for acronyms & abbreviations which are kept as upper case.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

\\b(?![A-Z]+\\b)[a-zA-Z]+<\/p>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

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1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\\L$0<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>14. Remove trailing whitespaces from lines with text and empty lines<\/strong>\u00a0(Back to top)<\/a><\/p>\n

As requested in the comments below, some regex to remove trailing whitespaces from lines with text and empty lines<\/p>\n

Answer originally given on this\u00a0Stack Overflow link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regex match expression:<\/p>\n

[ \\t]+$<\/p>\n

If you need to get rid of instances of ASCII character 160 (non-breaking spaces) just make the following adjustment to your regex match:<\/p>\n

[ \\t\\xA0]+$<\/p>\n

Replace with:<\/p>\n

\\1<\/p>\n

Result:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A quick cheat sheet for using Notepad++\u00a0to find and replace text in Notepad++. In all examples, use select Find and Replace (Ctrl + H) to replace all the matches with the desired string or (no string). And also ensure the \u2018Regular expression\u2019 radio button is set. Using Regex to find and replace text   Shortcuts…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[130,129],"class_list":["post-2459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bez-kategorii","tag-notepad","tag-regular-expressions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2460,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2459\/revisions\/2460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/u239160.webh.me\/jakisproblem.pl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}