Notepad++ is a popular, free, source-code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several programming languages, markup languages, and other file formats. In this article, we will focus on replacing the first two digits of a four-digit number using regular expressions in Notepad++.
Prerequisites
To follow this tutorial, you will need:
- Notepad++ installed on your computer.
Context
In various scenarios, we might need to replace the first two digits of a four-digit number with new values. For instance, you might want to update the year in a large number of files, or you might need to automate a repetitive task in a script. In this article, we will use the example of replacing the first two digits of a four-digit number (1134) with new values (1155) in a simple Notepad++ script.
Key Concepts
- Notepad++: A free, open-source, source-code editor and Notepad replacement.
- Regular Expressions: A powerful text processing technique used to perform text manipulation operations, such as search and replace.
Step 1: Open Notepad++
Start Notepad++ and create a new file by clicking on "File" > "New" or by pressing "Ctrl + N".
Step 2: Enter the Code
Enter the following code snippet into the Notepad++ editor:
(def c1111211)
(def 6t1155 (def dt1143 def a1131144)
(def c1111211)
(def 6t3 ...)
Replace the numbers 1134 with 1155 in the second line:
(def 6t1155 (def dt1143 def a1131144)
(def c1111211)
(def 6t3 ...)
Now, the first two digits of the number 1131144 have been replaced with 1155.
Step 3: Replace the First Two Digits
To replace the first two digits of a four-digit number with new values using Notepad++, follow these steps:
- Press "Ctrl + H" to open the "Find and Replace" dialog box.
- In the "Find what" field, enter the regular expression: "
\b\d{2}\d{2}\d{2}\d{2}\b" (without quotes). This regular expression matches any four-digit number. - In the "Replace with" field, enter the new values: "
1155" (without quotes). - Click "Replace All" to replace all occurrences of the four-digit number in the file with the new values.
In this article, we have learned how to replace the first two digits of a four-digit number with new values using Notepad++ and regular expressions. We have also seen a simple example of a Notepad++ script and demonstrated how to use the "Find and Replace" feature to automate the replacement process.