deplace a block to an other place

Claudia Frank

A script could look like this, so if you are interested in
a python script solution let me know and we can work it out.

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

import os
FIND_WHAT = u'FIND_WHAT_REGULAR_EXPRESSION'
REPLACE_WITH = u'REPLACE_WITH_EXPRESSION'

DIRECTORY_OF_FILES = u'THE_DIRECTORY'   # like c:\\temp\\directory - doublebackslash needed

os.chdir(DIRECTORY_OF_FILES)
list_of_files = [x for x in os.listdir('.') if x.endswith('.html')]
for file in list_of_files:
    notepad.open(file)
    editor.rereplace(FIND_WHAT, REPLACE_WITH)
    notepad.save()
    notepad.close()

This script looks for html files in a defined directory.
If your files are under certain different subdirectories we need to modify the code.

Cheers
Claudia

guy038

Hi, @kat75,

Here is my contribution, to your problem ;-)

Let’s suppose you have two files 1.html and 2.html, as below :

<!-- 1.html -->
Some text
before the
"noscript" tag
<noscript class"text" lang="example">
line1
line2
line3
line4
</noscript>
bla
bla
bla
blah
<img… and …style="display:none;"></div>
And some text,
located after
............
<noscript>
............

and

<!-- 2.html -->
bla
bla
<noscript>
bla

<noscript class"text" lang="otherexample">
Other line1
Other line2
Other line3
Other line4
Other line5
</noscript>
Other text…
etc…
etc…
etc…
<img… other and …style="display:none;"></div>
Other Text
..........
till the END of the file

Move back, at the very beginning of current file ( Ctrl + Origin )
Open the Replace dialog ( Ctrl + H )
Select the Regular expression search mode
In the Search what: box, type in the regex (?s)(<noscript class.+?</noscript>\R)(.+?style="display:none;"></div>\R)
In the Replace with: box, type in the regex \2\1
Click on the Replace All button

=> Your two html files should be modified, as below :

<!-- 1.html -->
Some text
before the
"noscript" tag
bla
bla
bla
blah
<img… and …style="display:none;"></div>
<noscript class"text" lang="example">
line1
line2
line3
line4
</noscript>
And some text,
located after
............
<noscript>
............

and

<!-- 2.html -->
bla
bla
<noscript>
bla

Other text…
etc…
etc…
etc…
<img… other and …style="display:none;"></div>
<noscript class"text" lang="otherexample">
Other line1
Other line2
Other line3
Other line4
Other line5
</noscript>
Other Text
..........
till the END of the file

I do hope that it’s the kind of Search/Replacement what you expect to !

Notes :

I suppose that the ending tag </noscript> ends the current line, in your html files
I suppose the the text <img………style="display:none;"></div> ends the current line, too
As usual, the (?s) modifier means that a dot regex character represents any single character ( Standard or EOL chars )
Then, the part <noscript class.+?</noscript>\R looks for any complete individual noscript block ( Note that the form .+? stands for the smallest non-null range of characters, between the two strings <noscript class and </noscript> )
This noscript block, with the final EOL characters ( \R ), is stored as group 1, due to the enclosed parentheses
Finally the part .+?style="display:none;"></div>\R searches for the smallest range of characters till the string style=“display:none;”></div>
Again, this block of lines, with the final EOL characters ( \R ), is stored as group 2, due to the enclosed parentheses
In replacement, we just rewrite these two groups, in a reverse order ! ( \2\1 )

Remarks :

As previously said, for 400 files about, you should use the Replace in Files feature ( Ctrl + Shift + F )
Group all your html files, which have to be modified, in a particular folder
Do a BACKUP of this folder ( One never knows ! )
Fill up the Filters and Directory boxes, too
Click on the Replace in Files button, to perform a global replacement, on all your files
IMPORTANT : Do NOT use the v7.4 or v7.4.1 version of N++. Indeed, with these last versions, there a bug, when multiple S/R are performed : a part of the files scanned are not changed -:((( Refer to :

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/community/topic/13865/replace-all-in-all-open-documents-problem-in-7-4-1/1

Cheers,

guy038

Pouemes44

hello
just awake
thanks peter, claudia and guy
guy its magic, seems to work fine, i didnt thank that it was so easily possible
i must know how it works and donwload a previous version of notepad++ i have v7.41
really fantastic
a great thanks

glennfromiowa

@kat75 Guy often performs magic with Regular Expressions. :) And I believe he speaks French also.

A good starting point for Regular Expressions is http://www.regular-expressions.info/

Pouemes44

thanks glen for the link
i shall try to learn regular expressions, there are really possibilities

Pouemes44

hello
i have a question
i am trying to understand how what has given to me guy works
(?s)(<noscript class.+?</noscript>\R)(.+?style=“display:none;”></div>\R)

if i try to get an other sequence between a a tag by example… i got nothing! what is wrong?

(?s)(<a href.+?</a>\R)

with an img tag it doesnt take the first “> why? :-) thanks
(?s)(<img class.+?”>\R)

Claudia Frank

@kat75

without having the data we cannot say for sure what went wrong.
So, in theory, the hyperlink regex would match everyhting within the tag if
closing tags is directly followed by an eol char (no space)
and the image regex would match starting with <img class followed by
anything until ”> appears, followed directly by an eol char.

Cheers
Claudia

Pouemes44

at the end it must be a eol character, ok i understand now

Pouemes44

i would to say thanks to all, i have well succeed to move my block and begin to understand a bit notepad++
is there a way to send private messages on notepad community, i dont find how

Pouemes44

Hello
do you think that its possible to move a block not to the bottom but to the top?
i dont succeed
i mean that in this example, how to move <img etc… and …style=“display:none;”></div> just before <noscript class"text" lang=“example”>

1.html
<noscript class"text" lang=“example”>
line1
line2
line3
line4
</noscript>
some text…
etc…
etc
<img… and …style=“display:none;”></div>

2.html
<noscript class"text" lang=“otherexample”>
otherline1
otherline2
otherline3
otherline4
</noscript>
othersome text…
etc…
etc etc
<img… other and …style=“display:none;”></div>

guy038

Hello, @pouemes44, and All,

Here is, below, the general method in order to switch two consecutive blocks of text, separated, or not, by some stuff text

So let’s start with the example text, below :

bla
bla
bla
Block 1
of
some
text
End block
bla bla
bla bla
bla bla
bla bla
Block 2
with some
other text
End block
bla bla bla
bla bla bla
bla bla bla

To correctly determine the limits of your block of text, whatever it is, you, necessarily, need to know :

The location of the beginning of your block. In our example, I suppose that it’s the regex ^Block \d+
The location of the end of your block. In our case, I suppose it’s the string End block

IMPORTANT : In our example, the second block has the same limits as Block 1, but it could, perfectly, have some other limit definitions !

So, from the above definitions, we can build the regex S/R, below :

SEARCH (?s)(^Block \d+.+?End block)(.*?)(^Block \d+.+?End block)

REPLACE \3\2\1

Notes :

The leading (?s) modifier means that the special dot character represents, absolutely, any single character. Now :
The first part, (^Block \d+.+?End block, represents a complete individual block of text, stored as group 1
The third part, (^Block \d+.+?End block), stands, again, for an other complete block of text, stored as group 3
The middle part, (.*?), is the shortest range, even empty, of any character, between these two consecutive blocks of text
In replacement, we just switch the group 1 and 3, with group 2 standing as a pivot

And, after a click on the Replace All button, you should get the expected text , below :

bla
bla
bla
Block 2
with some
other text
End block
bla bla
bla bla
bla bla
bla bla
Block 1
of
some
text
End block
bla bla bla
bla bla bla
bla bla bla

Just note that, if the two blocks are strictly consecutive, without the bla bla lines, as below :

bla
bla
bla
Block 1
of
some
text
End block
Block 2
with some
other text
End block
bla bla bla
bla bla bla
bla bla bla

We still get the correct modified text :

bla
bla
bla
Block 2
with some
other text
End block
Block 1
of
some
text
End block
bla bla bla
bla bla bla
bla bla bla

Now, Pouemes44, let’s apply this general method to your particular problem :

The general template, of your first block, is :

<noscript......
......
......
......
......
</noscript>

The general template, of your second block, is :

<img.........
.......
.......
.......
style="display:none;"></div>

Therefore, the corresponding regex S/R, in your case, is, obviously :

SEARCH (?s)(^<noscript.+?</noscript>)(.*?)(^<img.+?style="display:none;"></div>)

REPLACE \3\2\1

So, considering your example, below :

1.html
<noscript class"text" lang="example">
line1
line2
line3
line4
</noscript>
some text…
etc…
etc
<img… and …style="display:none;"></div>

2.html
<noscript class"text" lang="otherexample">
otherline1
otherline2
otherline3
otherline4
</noscript>
othersome text…
etc…
etc etc
<img… other and …style="display:none;"></div>

After performing the above S/R, you’ll get the modified text, as expected to :

1.html
<img… and …style="display:none;"></div>
some text…
etc…
etc
<noscript class"text" lang="example">
line1
line2
line3
line4
</noscript>

2.html
<img… other and …style="display:none;"></div>
othersome text…
etc…
etc etc
<noscript class"text" lang="otherexample">
otherline1
otherline2
otherline3
otherline4
</noscript>

Et voilà !!

Best Regards,

guy038

P.S. : Beware that, on our NodeBB site, text, containing starting and ending usual simple and double quotes, are changed into their Unicode equivalents, below :

Starting simple quote ‘, of Unicode code-point \x{2018}, instead of the single quote sign ' ( x{0027 )
Ending simple quote ’, of Unicode code-point \x{2019}, instead of the single quote sign ' ( x{0027 )
Starting double quote “, of Unicode code-point \x{201C}, instead of the double quote sign " ( x{0022 )
Ending double quote ”, of Unicode code-point \x{201D}, instead of the double quote sign " ( x{0022 )

Notes :

For ANSI encoded texts, to avoid the nasty message Find: Invalid regular expression, the **correct regex syntaxes are, respectively, \x91, \x92, \x93 and \x94

BTW :

Remember that the \x{####} regex syntax can be used :
- For search of a true ASCII character, between \x{0000} and \x{007F}, in ANSI encoded files
- For search of any Unicode character, between \x{0000} and \x{FFFF}, in UNICODE encoded files
Remember that the \x{##} regex syntax can be used :
- For search of a true ASCII character, between \x{00} and \x{7F}, in ANSI encoded files
- For search of any Unicode character, between \x{00} and \x{FF}, in UNICODE encoded files
To end with, remember that the \x## regex syntax can be used :
- For search of any Unicode character, between \x00 and \xFF, either, in UNICODE or ANSI encoded files

Pouemes44

a great thanks guy
that was this part (.*?) i missed

Pouemes44

i have an other question
if i search (?s)(<h1.+?</h1>\R) i got a result in my file

but if i search (?s)(<a.+?</a>\R) to get <a href=“mypage.htm” title=page">page</a> i got nothing why? what is wrong?

guy038

Hello, @pouemes44,

In the regex (?s)(^Block \d+.+?End block)(.*?)(^Block \d+.+?End block), of my previous post, the part (.*?) represents the shortest range of characters, even empty, stored as group 2, between the two consecutive blocks of text, that are to be swapped !

Now, if we consider the HTML example text, below :

<td height="15">
    <font size="2" color="black" face="arial, verdana"><b>Lire un message / dossier : Reçus</b></font> 
</td>

<td height="15">
    <font size="2" color="black" face="arial, verdana"><b>Lire un message / dossier : Reçus</b></font> 
</td>

Beware about the two different behaviours :

The regex (?s)<td.+</td> looks for the largest range of characters .+, between the strings <td and </td> => It matches all the text, at once
The regex (?s)<td.+?</td> looks for the shortest range of characters .+?, between the strings <td and </td> => it matches, successively, each block <td…</td>

Now, regarding your HTML text :

<a href=“mypage.htm” title=page">page</a>

I suppose that you do NOT get a match, using the regex (?s)(<a.+?</a>\R), because, probably, it’s the last line of your current file, which is NOT followed by any End of line character !

Indeed, in that case, the ending part \R cannot match anything. So the overall match fails :-((

Two solutions :

Use the regex (?s)(<a.+?</a>\R?). With that syntax, the \R part is optional
Add a line break to this last line !

For a better visualization of the End of line characters, just click on the ¶ icone

Cheers,

guy038

Pouemes44

Hello Guy
i just see your answer
a great thanks, yes work with (?s)(<a.+?</a>\R?)
a real thanks for all your explanations, i already succeed to do wonderful things with them.

guy038

Hi, All,

I’m back for additional information, about lazy, greedy and possessive quantifiers. it’s fundamental to, correctly, understand the differences, between these 3 types of quantifiers !

So, let’s consider the simple text 12345ABCDE, in a new tab

How the regex engine interprets, for instance, the regex \w{1,10}[A-Z]{5}, with the greedy quantifier {1,10} ?. Well :

It, first, tries to match the LONGEST range of \w => 10 Word characters. But, the part [A-Z]{5} CANNOT match anything
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 9 Words characters. Again, the part [A-Z]{5} does NOT match the E letter
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 8 Words characters. Again, the part [A-Z]{5} does NOT match the DE letters
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 7 Words characters. Again, the part [A-Z]{5} does NOT match the CDE letters
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 6 Words characters. Again, the part [A-Z]{5} does NOT match the BCDE letters
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 5 Words characters. This time, the part [A-Z]{5} DOES match the ABCDE letters

=> After the backtracking phase, all the text is matched and selected !

Now, how the regex engine interprets the regex \w{1,10}?[A-Z]{5}, with the lazy quantifier {1,10}? ?

It, first, tries to match the SHORTEST range of \w => 1 Word character. But, the part [A-Z]{5} CANNOT match the 2345ABCDE string
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 2 Words characters. Again, the part [A-Z]{5} does NOT match the 345ABCDE string
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 3 Words characters. Again, the part [A-Z]{5} does NOT match the 45ABCDE string
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 4 Words characters. Again, the part [A-Z]{5} does NOT match the 5ABCDE string
Then, it backtracks and tries the first 5 Words characters. This time, the part [A-Z]{5} DOES match the ABCDE letters

=> After the backtracking phase, all the text is matched and selected !

Note : Instead of the English werb backtrack, the verb fortrack would be more adapted ! Sorry, English isn’t my mother tongue !

Finally, how the regex engine interprets the regex \w{1,10}+[A-Z]{5}, with the possessive quantifier {1,10}+ ?

It, first, tries to match the LONGEST range of \w => 10 Word characters. But, the part [A-Z]{5} CANNOT match anything
Now, the normal process would be to backtrack. But this action is forbidden, due to the possessive quantifier ! In other words, once a match has been found, for the first part \w{1,10}+, the following parts of the regex must match the remaining of the text. But, as the first regex part have consumed all the text, the part [A-Z]{5} will NEVER match anything !
So, the overall match fails and you get the normal message Find: Can’t find the text “\w{1,10}+[A-Z]{5}”

Using, again, the same example 12345ABCDE, in a new tab, it’s easy to verify that :

The regex \w{1,10} matches the longest Word characters range => The whole string 12345ABCDE is matched
The regex \w{1,10}? matches the shortest Word characters range => The 1 Word character is matched, then the 2 digit and so on…
The regex \w{1,10}+ matches the longest Word characters range => The whole string 12345ABCDE is matched, too !

So, to sum up, here is, below, a list of all the quantifiers :

    GREEDY     quantifiers   :    *  ( = {0,} )       + ( = {1,} )      ?  ( = {0,1} )      {n}        {n,}        {m,n}

    LAZY       quantifiers   :    *? ( = {0,}? )     +? ( = {1,}? )     ?? ( = {0,1}? )     {n}?       {n,}?       {m,n}?

    POSSESSIVE quantifiers   :    *+ ( = {0,}+ )     ++ ( = {1,}+ )     ?+ ( = {0,1}+ )     {n}+       {n,}+       {m,n}+

Remark : The two {n}? and {n}+ syntaxes, although correct, are useless, as the syntax {n} could be qualified as an EXACT quantifier !

Best Regards,

guy038