Replace text on certain lines only - Column Editor

[Mark Lovick]

I have a text file with approx 6000 lines
The majority of the lines have a full string of text and I need to edit a two digit number to something else
I can use column editor adn over type but this then puts whatever I type on every line including the ones without the original number. Is there a way of only replacing the number with the new on in lines that have it? I’d say 90% do have an entry to repace and 10% don’t

[PeterJones]

Using example data from another thread…

Gui, Add, Button, x22 y150 w90 h20 , Button 1
Gui, Add, Button, x22 y170 w90 h20 , Button 2
Gui, Add, Button, x22 y190 w90 h20 , Button 3
# dummy line, different than the rest
Gui, Add, Button, x22 y210 w90 h20 , Button 4
Gui, Add, Button, x22 y230 w90 h20 , Button 5
Gui, Add, Button, x22 y250 w90 h20 , Button 6

Assuming you wanted all the x22 replaced with x314, Search > Replace..., with ☑ Regular Expression

• Find What = (?-is)\bx22\b
• Replace with = x314

Assuming you wanted all the various y### replaced with the same y2718,

• Find What = (?-is)\by\d+\b
• Replace with = y2718

Assuming you wanted all the various y### replaced with a variety of y-numbers, depending mathematically or logically on the value of the original y###, you would use the PythonScript plugin and a variant of the script I showed in that other thread

With no data examples given, we cannot tailor the response to your data.

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P.S. :
(paraphrasing @guy038, the forum’s regex guru, who compiled these great regex resources, but hasn’t shared them in this thread yet):

Here is a good starting point for NPP users unfamiliar with regular expression concepts and syntax:

• http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php/Regular_Expressions

Modern Notepad++ (since v6.0) uses the Boost C++ Regex library, v1.55.0 (similar to the Perl Regular Common Expressions (PRCE), v5.8):

• search syntax: http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_55_0/libs/regex/doc/html/boost_regex/syntax/perl_syntax.html
• replace syntax: http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_55_0/libs/regex/doc/html/boost_regex/format/boost_format_syntax.html

Other sites with valuable regular expression information include:

• http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html
• http://www.regular-expressions.info
• http://www.rexegg.com