Add text at the end of line only i line starts with specific word? Regex

Chris Adamos

Hi
i wonder how to add text at the end of the specific lines (only if a line starts with a specific word)
like this:
If a line starts with word DATA then add this text at the end of line “p:120 - 4 beats”

example before:
FILE "H:\WAV\database 352968 0 1022501958
DATA t:untitled “example (98-01)”
FILE "H:\WAV\database352968 0 1022502044
DATA t:untitled “example (98-01)”
FILE "H:\WAV\database
DATA t:untitled “example (98-01)”

and i want this:
FILE "H:\WAV\database 352968 0 1022501958
DATA t:untitled “example (98-01)” “p:120 - 4 beats”
FILE "H:\WAV\database352968 0 1022502044
DATA t:untitled “example (98-01)” “p:120 - 4 beats”
FILE "H:\WAV\database
DATA t:untitled “example (98-01)” “p:120 - 4 beats”

is there a way to do it in selected text area maybe with regex?

Thanks in advance

guy038

Hi, @chris-adamos,

No problem with regexes, indeed ! So :

Get back to the very beginning of your file ( Ctrl + Origin )
Open the Replace dialog ( Ctrl + H )

SEARCH (?-si)^DATA.+

REPLACE $0 "p:120 - 4 beats" with a space character, right after $0

Select the regular expression search mode
Click, once, on the Replace All button OR several times on the Replace button

Notes :

The first part, of the search, (?-is) are modifiers, which ensure you that :
- The search will be performed, in a sensitive way ( = non-insensitive )
- The dot special character means a single standard character, only ( not an End of Line char. )
Then, the ^DATA.+ part searches for the exact string DATA, at beginning of line, followed by the longest, non-empty range of any standard character
In replacement, the $0 syntax, just rewrites the entire searched string
Then the "p:120 - 4 beats" string, preceded with a space character, is simply added, to each matched line

An other formulation could be :

SEARCH (?-si)^DATA.+\K

REPLACE \x20"p:120 - 4 beats"

Notes :

The \K syntax, at the end of the regex, forces the regex engine to forget everything matched, before \K. So, it only matches the zero length string, at the end of each matched line
In replacement, the string \x20"p:120 - 4 beats" is, therefore, added, at the end of each matched line
Note that \x20 is, simply, the hexadecimal form of the space character
IMPORTANT : Due to the special \K syntax, you must use, exclusively, the Replace All button !

Best Regards,

guy038