Hello Joe Murphy,
I’ve got a solution :-))
So, let’s suppose that you have :
A huge file, File A, with a lot of records, containing several fields, separated with comma
A smaller file, File B with some records, having the same organisation. This File B may contain, either :
Some records identical to those, in File A
Some fields, numbered n, identical to those, in File A, with the same number n
Just one hypothesis : Each record must NOT begin with a comma character
So, two main cases may happen :
You need to bookmark all the records, of File A, that have a same record in File B
You need to bookmark all the records, of File A, whose Field n have a corresponding Field n, in a record of File B
Follow the different steps, below :
Open, first, your file File B, in Notepad++
Select all the contents of File B ( CTRL + A )
Save it, in the clipboard ( CTRL + C )
Now, open your file File A
Add, at the end of File A, a new line #####, which will determine the boundary, between the two files File A and File B !
You must choose any character, NOT present in, both, File A and File B. It may be, either, a @, %, &,… character
Then append the contents of the clipboard, at the end of File A, after the line ##### ( CTRL + V )
Go back to very beginning of the present File A ( CTRL + Origin )
Open the Find dialog ( CTRL + F )
Select the Mark tab
Check the Bookmark line option
Select the Regular expression search mode
Depending of case 1) or 2) chosen, type in the regex :
SEARCH : (?-s)^(.+\R)(?=(?s).*#####.*?\1) for case 1)
SEARCH : ^([^,\r\n]+?,){n-1}\K([^,\r\n]+)(?=(?s).*#####.*?\2) for case 2)
IMPORTANT : In the second regex, just change the n-1 formula by the appropriate number, depending on number n of the concerned field )
Click on the Mark All button
Depending of case 1) or 2) chosen :
=> All the lines, of File A, with an identical line, located downwards, after the line #####, ( from File B ) are bookmarked
=> All the lines, of File A, with an identical Field n, located downwards, after the line #####, ( from File B ) are bookmarked
Move to line #####
Delete from that line ##### to the end of the file ( all the appended lines of File B )
Finally, save, the new state of File A, with all the bookmarks
Et voilà !
Notes :
If some lines/fields are identical in File A, without, at least, one corresponding line/field, in File B, they are NOT bookmarked, due to the ##### boundary !
If some lines/fields are identical, in File B, it doesn’t matter, as long as there is, at least, one corresponding line/field, in File A, which will be, correctly, bookmarked
Best Regards,
guy038
P.S.. :
I forgot to tell you about the (?s) and (?-s) modifiers :
Usually, when the . matches newline option, of the Find dialog is unchecked OR when you use the (?-s) form, any dot, in the regex, stands for a standard character, that is to say any character, part of the class [^\r\n\f]
However, when the . matches newline option is checked OR when you use the (?s) form, in regexes, the dot stands for absolutely any character ( standard and/or End of Line characters ). For instance, if the cursor is at the very beginning of the current file, the simple regex (?s).* matches any character and is equivalent to a CTRL + A command !!
