[New Plugin] MultiReplace

Mit Jean

A CTRL-Click on a tab would select it as part of a new scope for multi-documemt replacement.

A new feature very useful when you want to apply search/replace to a list of open documents but not all open documents

Alan Kilborn

@Mit-Jean said in [New Plugin] MultiReplace:

A CTRL-Click on a tab would select it

This is not something the MultiReplace plugin has the power to do, as the idea messes with core Notepad++ functionality.
However, nothing is stopping the plugin author from creating some other mechanism within the plugin to do what you want.

Thomas Knoefel

@Mit-Jean
A better solution would be to mark documents by pinning them. Unfortunately, Notepad++ does not provide an official API to detect whether a tab is pinned.

Mark Olson

@Thomas-Knoefel
Your idea of a plugin interface to determine if a tab is pinned seems very reasonable, so I created this GitHub issue to ask for such a feature.

Thomas Knoefel

This post is deleted!

Thomas Knoefel

A new version of MultiReplace (v4.5.0.30) is ready and will be available with the next Notepad++ release. It can be dowloaded here.

The focus of this release is on expanding the search functionality and giving you more flexibility.

Implemented updates:

Find All: This is a new feature that lets you find all matches and see them in the search results window. It’s not limited to the current file – you can also search across all open documents or in entire folders.
GroupResults: To go with “Find All,” this new INI option lets you choose how your results are displayed. You can see them all mixed together in document order (the default), or neatly grouped by each list entry, which is great for getting a clear overview of complex searches.
lcmd: A new command for the “Use Variables” feature. It allows you to load your own custom helper functions from external files, which opens up a lot of possibilities for complex and reusable logic.
AllFromCursor: Another new INI setting that gives you more control. You can now choose to start “Find All”, “Replace All” and “Mark” operations from your current cursor position instead of from the top of the file.

Here is a visual take on the changes:

Thomas Knoefel

A new version of MultiReplace (v5.0.0.35) is ready and will be available with the next Notepad++ release. For early testing, it can already be downloaded here.

The focus of this release is on a new Settings Panel, improved Search Results visualization, and overall usability enhancements.

Key Features & Improvements

Settings Panel: A comprehensive configuration dialog replaces manual INI file editing. All options are now organized into clear categories: Search & Replace, List View, CSV Options, Export, and Appearance.
Refined Toolbar Icon: The icon has been updated to improve clarity.
List Search Bar: Press Ctrl+F while focused on the replacement list to open a search bar. Quickly find entries in large lists by searching through the ‘Find’ and ‘Replace’ columns.
Search Results Window Enhancements:
- Color-coded matches (up to 28 colors) for easy visual distinction per list entry.
- Double-click the Matches count to jump directly to the results.
Duplicate Line Detection: Identify and mark duplicate CSV rows. Delete or inspect duplicates with optional bookmark navigation.
Binary Escape Sequence: Extended mode now supports \bNNNNNNNN for binary values.
tonum() Function: New helper to convert strings to numbers, supporting both dot and comma as decimal separators.
MATCH and CAP Variables: Now always return strings. Use tonum(CAP1) for calculations.
Selection Mode: The ‘In Selection’ radio button no longer disables itself, enabling smoother repeated searches.
Document Filtering for Open Docs: Find and Replace in Open Documents now supports wildcard-based filename filtering.
Unified Filter Syntax: Filters now use semicolons (;) as separators in both ‘Open Documents’ and ‘Find in Files’ modes. This enables filtering for filenames containing spaces.
Performance: Various optimizations for Replace All, Find All, and FlowTabs alignment on large files.

New Settings Panel with organized categories

Double-click the Matches count to quickly navigate through results

Enjoy!

Thomas Knoefel

MultiReplace 6.0 is out and will land in Plugin Admin with the next Notepad++ release.

The focus of this release is a second formula engine: ExprTk now sits alongside Lua for math, string and conditional replacements, joined by multi-list tabs, tandem mode, and a series of UI and workflow improvements. Several new options live under Plugins > MultiReplace > Settings.

Download: Latest build

Key Features & Improvements

New Formula Engine (ExprTk): A second engine alongside Lua for math, string and conditional replacements. Its standout is the built-in output formatter - a single declarative spec that turns any result into fixed decimals, hex/binary, padded and aligned fields, time durations or formatted dates, applied right where the value is produced. Switch per tab via the (L) / (E) indicator next to Formula Support. The ExprTk integration - the (?=...) marker and the formula functions for reading captures and earlier results - follows the approach pioneered by @Coises in Columns++. Full syntax and examples are in the ExprTk formula reference.
List Tabs: Keep different replacement sets available across tabs. State is fully separate per tab.
Tandem Mode: MR panel snaps to the Notepad++ window edge and follows it around. Toggle via the plugin menu.
Reopen on Startup: Reopens MR automatically if it was open when you closed Notepad++. Opt-in via the plugin menu.
Compact Toolbar: New top toolbar layout - more horizontal space for the list.
Always Visible List: Keeps the list visible instead of collapsing when you toggle it off. Requires “Keep list always visible” enabled in Settings.
Bookmark Matches: Sets a Notepad++ bookmark on every match line. Toggle via the new checkbox next to Mark Matches.
Column Reorder & Lock: Drag column headers to rearrange. Right-click for “Lock column width” or “Reset Column Order”.
Modified Timestamp Column: Optional column tracking the last edit per entry. A dirty-flag stripe on the left edge marks unsaved changes.
Excel-Compatible CSV: Lists save in the standard CSV dialect used by spreadsheets - opens cleanly in Excel, edit there, load back without conversion.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl+Up/Down: Move selected rows up or down (auto-repeat)
Ctrl+L: Toggle list visibility from anywhere in the panel
Alt+Up/Down: Round-trip between input fields and a selected row
Ctrl+Shift + button click: Run from the input fields while the list stays open
Ctrl+Shift+H: Pull selected editor text into Find what (optionally auto-escaped for Regex/Extended mode)

Issues or suggestions: GitHub.

Happy replacing!

guy038

Hello, @thomas-knoefel and All,

First, note that I use your last version 6.0.0.36 !

In this post, I did tests about the Search in Files feature with the three N++, Search and MultiReplace features.

Globaly, they all give the same results with tiny differences regarding the MultiReplace plugin, which will require a follow-up inspection

Now, in my last post to @coises, I did similar tests and this time, the MultiReplace plugin give completely different results, compared to native N++ and Search++ ! Indeed, I got :

27,081 matches in 841 files of 1,772, in 2m 10s, with Search++
27,081 matches in 841 files of 1,772, in 1m 21s, with N++

But only :

18,767 hits in 726 files in 1m 05s, with MultiReplace

As I said, in @coises’s post, I first suspected your File Search : Skip files larger than option, in Settings, to be enabled but it was not set !

Here is a screenshot of the MultiReplace dialog and of the Search Results panel :

So, did I do something wrong ?

I also did a test on an other USB key where I put a simple subset of 7 files, from my D: key, in a Test folder
I moved, within a command prompt, to that Test folder
I started N++ without a session and opened these 7 files only
I first ran the Find in Files operation, with the Directory option = E:\Test and the Filter option = *.* => 83 hits in 3 files
Then, I ran the similar Find in Docs operation => 372 hits in 7 files !

So, an obvious difference ! If necessary, I could send you the contents of this Test folder, for further tests !

Best Regards,

guy038

Thomas Knoefel

@guy038
Hello @guy038,

Thanks for this thorough test, and no, you didn’t do anything wrong. Your investigation uncovered two separate behaviors in the code:

Binary Files: MultiReplace “Find in Files” currently skips binary files, while native N++ searches every file it lists. That accounts for most of the gap in your USB drive numbers. I’ll look at how to make this configurable and more transparent.
UTF-16 Bug: There is indeed a bug in how “Find in Files” handles UTF-16 encodings compared to “Find in Docs” and “Replace in Files”. This most likely explains the missing files in your smaller Test folder too.

Since the forum isn’t ideal for sharing files and tracking bug fixes, I have opened a GitHub issue for this here: https://github.com/daddel80/notepadpp-multireplace/issues/133
I would gladly take you up on your offer to share the E:\Test folder contents so I can verify the fix against them. Could you please attach that folder as a zip or provide a link in the GitHub issue?

Thanks again for your time and for helping to polish the next release candidate!