Copy, search and replace between 2 HTML files

[HienTwi]

Dear experts,

I am a newbie with Notepad++. So, I am sorry if my question makes you boring.
I have to HTML files (named a, b). There is a text phrase “ABC” in file a and this appears in many places (1000 times). There are 1000 different text phrases (one per line) in HTML file b and they are in order from 1 to 1000. My question is how to automatically copy text from file b and replace in file a by a macro. For more details as the followings:

1. Copy line 1 in file b.
2. Search for text “ABC” in file a.
3. Replace “ABC” by paste.
4. It loops 1000 times.

I greatly appreciate your help.

Bests,

Kosmos

[guy038]

Hello, @hientwi and All,

Just a first try to verify if I correctly understood your needs !

Let’s suppose we have two files A and B, containing, each, 5 lines

• First, we paste the contents of file A in a new N++ tab

• Secondly, we write a separation line, with, at least, three consecutive equal signs, so the minimum string ===, in the new tab

• Finally, we append the contents of file B, in the new N++ tab

Then, for instance, we get the following input text :

First line of file A with text ABC
Text ABC in the second line of file A
File A : Third line with ABC text
Fourth text ABC of line 4 in file A
ABC = contents of last line 5 of file A
===
-- The Line 1 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 2 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 3 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 4 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 5 contents ( File B ) --

By running the regex S/R, below :

• SEARCH (?-si)ABC(?=.*\R(?s:.+?\R){5}(.+))|(?s)===.+

• REPLACE ?1\1

• The Wrap option option ticked and the Regular expression search mode chosen

• A click on the Replace All button

We get the output text, below :

First line of file A with text -- The Line 1 contents ( File B ) --
Text -- The Line 2 contents ( File B ) -- in the second line of file A
File A : Third line with -- The Line 3 contents ( File B ) -- text
Fourth text -- The Line 4 contents ( File B ) -- of line 4 in file A
-- The Line 5 contents ( File B ) -- = contents of last line 5 of file A

As you can see, the string ABC, in the first five lines of file A, in the input text, have been replaced, in the output text, by, successively, the last five lines of file B

---

Are you expecting this kind of search/replacement ?

See you later,

guy038

[HienTwi]

@guy038 said in Copy, search and replace between 2 HTML files:

?1\1

Hallo @guy038 ,

Thank you very much for your quick support. Your solution is exactly what I wanted to have. But, I have played with my files but it did not work out and I could not get the same result as yours. So, I would like to make my question is clearer.

My file a have 895 “KOSMOS” and they are placed in a single line. And, this is the first one.

So, I would like to replace the first “KOSMOS” by the file line in my file b.

And then, it will repeat the procedure until the last “KOSMOS” with line 895 in file b.

So,…

• I copy the content of file a started from first “KOSMOS” and end with the last KOSMOS one, then I pasted to a new tab.
• I appended this new tab with 895 lines from file b.
  
• I followed your instructions but I could not the expected results.
  
  In my opinion, the problem could be the number of lines of file a-copied content does not exactly match to file b. However, I am not so sure and I also do not have any idea to deal with it.

Could you please give me a suggestion?

Many thanks in advance!
Kosmos

[astrosofista]

@HienTwi said in Copy, search and replace between 2 HTML files:

In my opinion, the problem could be the number of lines of file a-copied content does not exactly match to file b. However, I am not so sure and I also do not have any idea to deal with it.

Hi @hientwi, All,

I don’t know if that is actually the cause of the failure, but you can easily check how many instances of “KOSMOS” are in file A. To get it, please go to the very beginning of file A, open the Find window, type “KOSMOS” in the Find box and click on Count. Look for the number of matches at the bottom of the Find window.

[guy038]

Hi, @hientwi and All,

Ah…, of course, It cannot work because, there are a random number of lines between each KOSMOS line ! So, here is an other method which should work fine, although it contains numerous steps ;-))

To begin with, from your pictures, I noticed that your file A contains 223,145 lines and I assume that your file B contains 895 lines only

OK, let’s go !

---

• Open your two files A and B in Notepad++

Let’s suppose the following file A, containing only 5 lines KOSMOS, among the 223,145 lines of file A, then the input text :

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
KOSMOS
Line 5
KOSMOS
Line 7
KOSMOS
Line 9
.....
.....
.....
.....
Line 223,139
KOSMOS
Line 223,141
Line 223,142
KOSMOS
Line 223,144
Line 223,145

• Open the Column Editor`

  • Select Number to Insert

  • Type in 1 in the following three zones

  • Tick the Leading zeros option

  • Verify the Dec format

  • Click on the OK button

You should get :

000001Line 1
000002Line 2
000003Line 3
000004KOSMOS
000005Line 5
000006KOSMOS
000007Line 7
000008KOSMOS
000009Line 9
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
223139Line 223,139
223140KOSMOS
223141Line 223,141
223142Line 223,142
223143KOSMOS
223144Line 223,144
223145Line 223,145

• Now open the Mark dialog ( Search > Mark... option )

  • SEARCH (?-i)KOSMOS

  • Option Bookmark line ticked

  • Option Purge for each search ticked, preferably

  • Option Wrap around ticked

  • Mode Regular expression selected

  • Click on the Mark All

=> The 895 lines KOSMOS should be bookmarked

• Then, run the option Search > Bookmark > Copy bookmarked Lines

• Now, select your File B tab, containing also 5 lines, which will replace each KOSMOS line of file A

-- The Line 1 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 2 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 3 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 4 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 5 contents ( File B ) --

• After the 895 lines of file B, add a separation line with, at least, 3 consecutive equal signs, so the string === with a line-break

• Then paste the contents of the clipboard, with Ctrl + V ( so the 895 lines KOSMOS of file A )

Thus, the contents of file B should contain 895 lines before the ===: line and 895 after ( 5, in our example )

-- The Line 1 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 2 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 3 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 4 contents ( File B ) --
-- The Line 5 contents ( File B ) --
===
000004KOSMOS
000006KOSMOS
000008KOSMOS
223140KOSMOS
223143KOSMOS

• Perform the following regex S/R, in the Replace dialog ( Ctrl + H )

  • SEARCH (?-si).+(?=\R(?s:.+?\R){5}(.+))|(?s)===.+ ( Of course, use the quantifier {895}, instead of {5}, with your present file B )

  • REPLACE ?1\1$0

  • Option Wrap around ticked and Regular expression selected

  • Click on the Replace All button

After 895 replacements ( 5, in our example ), we get, at once, the following text :

000004KOSMOS-- The Line 1 contents ( File B ) --
000006KOSMOS-- The Line 2 contents ( File B ) --
000008KOSMOS-- The Line 3 contents ( File B ) --
223140KOSMOS-- The Line 4 contents ( File B ) --
223143KOSMOS-- The Line 5 contents ( File B ) --

• Then select all the contents of file B, with Ctrl + A

• Copy it into the clipboard, with Ctrl + C

• Select the file A tab

• Paste the clipboard contents, after the last line of file A, with Ctrl + V

=> So, the file A contents are as below :

000001Line 1
000002Line 2
000003Line 3
000004KOSMOS
000005Line 5
000006KOSMOS
000007Line 7
000008KOSMOS
000009Line 9
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
223139Line 223,139
223140KOSMOS
223141Line 223,141
223142Line 223,142
223143KOSMOS
223144Line 223,144
223145Line 223,145
000004KOSMOS-- The Line 1 contents ( File B ) --
000006KOSMOS-- The Line 2 contents ( File B ) --
000008KOSMOS-- The Line 3 contents ( File B ) --
223140KOSMOS-- The Line 4 contents ( File B ) --
223143KOSMOS-- The Line 5 contents ( File B ) --

• Now, sort the lines of file A, with the option Edit Line operations > Sort Lines Lexicographically Ascending

We get the following output :

000001Line 1
000002Line 2
000003Line 3
000004KOSMOS
000004KOSMOS-- The Line 1 contents ( File B ) --
000005Line 5
000006KOSMOS
000006KOSMOS-- The Line 2 contents ( File B ) --
000007Line 7
000008KOSMOS
000008KOSMOS-- The Line 3 contents ( File B ) --
000009Line 9
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
xxxxxx.....
223139Line 223,139
223140KOSMOS
223140KOSMOS-- The Line 4 contents ( File B ) --
223141Line 223,141
223142Line 223,142
223143KOSMOS
223143KOSMOS-- The Line 5 contents ( File B ) --
223144Line 223,144
223145Line 223,145

Finally, run this last regex S/R :

• SEARCH (?-is)^\d{6}|\h*KOSMOS\h*\R?

• REPLACE Leave EMPTY

Here we are ! We have the expected output, below :

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
-- The Line 1 contents ( File B ) --
Line 5
-- The Line 2 contents ( File B ) --
Line 7
-- The Line 3 contents ( File B ) --
Line 9
.....
.....
.....
.....
Line 223,139
-- The Line 4 contents ( File B ) --
Line 223,141
Line 223,142
-- The Line 5 contents ( File B ) --
Line 223,144
Line 223,145

---

If OK, I’ll explain the regexes syntax, next time !

See you later,

Best Regards,

guy038

[HienTwi]

Hi @guy038 and all,

Definitely, it works perfectly with @guy038 smart solution. Many many many thanks for your solution which helps me a lots to save my time. It would be really nice if you can explain the regexes syntax, when you have free time!

In addition, I want to split file A into 895 files based on “KOSMOS”. Could you please give me a further favor? For instances,

file 1: From the very beginning of file A to the first KOSMOS, but not include it.
file 2: From the 1st KOSMOS to the 2nd KOSMOS (not include the 2nd)
file 3 ,… file 895 are similar file 2. The last KOSMOS (895th) I will be excluded.

Bests,
Kosmos

[HienTwi]

@astrosofista many thanks for your comments. The problem is solved with @guy038 solution.

[astrosofista]

@HienTwi

Good to know. Thank you for getting back to me.

Best Regards.

[guy038]

Hello, @hientwi, @astrosofista and All,

I’m quite confused, because I don’t see, exactly, the connexion between your previous goal and your new one ?

Indeed, once your file A has been modified with our previous process, it does not contain any KOSMOS line which have all been replaced with a specific line from file B. So, it would be more difficult to determine each section which would have to be saved in the 895 files !

On the other hand, If you decide to split the initial contents of file A into 895 files, first, then you’ll have to replace the first KOSMOS line of each file by the appropriate line of file B which seems to be more difficult than with my previous method !

Please, could you enlighten us ?

Best Regards,

guy038

[HienTwi]

Hi @guy038 and all,

Sorry that I made you and others confused. I have another purpose which is totally different from my previous question. It means that I have two copies of file A. The one I wanted to split into multiple files based on “KOSMOS”. The other is used for my previous question. They are totally different questions.

Best regards,
Kosmos

[guy038]

Hello, @hientwi, @astrosofista and All,

Sorry to be late ! So OK : these are two tasks absolutely different !

Well, as you would like to manage file’s creation, regexes are not a nice tool for such a task. Personally, I would use the Gawk application. So, if you do not have this program, yet :

• Create a new folder

• Download the gawk-5.0.1-w32-bin-zip archive from    https://sourceforge.net/projects/ezwinports/files/

• Double-click on the gawk-5.0.1-w32-bin-zip archive

• Double-click on the bin folder

• Extract only the 5 files gawk.exe, libgmp-10.dll, libmpfr-4.dll, libncurses5.dll and libreadline6.dll in the new folder

• Copy your file A in that folder, which will be renamed as File_A.txt

• With N++, just add a line KOSMOS, at the very beginning of File_A.txt

• Open a DOS cmd window

• Type in and run the following command :

  • gawk "BEGIN {n=0} $0!=\"KOSMOS\" {print > \"File_\"n\".txt\"} $0==\"KOSMOS\" {n++}" File_A.txt

• Wait a few moments … …

Et voilà ! You should see, in this new folder, 895 files from File_1.txt to File_895.txt ;-))

---

An other possibility would be :

• With N++, just add a line KOSMOS, at the very beginning of File_A.txt

• Change, in your File_A.txt, each KOSMOS line into a pure empty line, with the regex :

  • SEARCH (?-i)^KOSMOS(?=\R)

  • REPLACE Leave EMPTY

• Then, in your DOS window, you would run the following command :

  • gawk "BEGIN {n=0} NF {print > \"File_\"n\".txt\"} !NF {n++}" File_A.txt

That’s all ! Powerful, isn’t ?

Remark : I suppose that your file did not contain, initially, any true empty line !! ( may be searched with the regex ^\R )

---

For more information, you can download the latest PDF manual ( gawk v5.0 ) from    https://www.gnu.org/software/gawk/manual/

Best Regards

guy038

P.S. :

In order to select each zone, beginning with a KOSMOS line, till the next KOSMOS line, excluded, of your File_A.txt, simply use the regex :

SEARCH (?-i)(KOSMOS)?(?s).+?(?=^KOSMOS\R|\z)

[HienTwi]

Dear @guy038 and all,

I am so sorry that I responded too late. It seems that everything can be soIved with you. Many thanks in advacne and I will let you know later on.

Stay healthy and best regards,
Kosmos

[Kosmos Huynh]

Dear @guy038, dear all

Today, I have tried your first solution (File_B.txt which contains KOSMOS) and I got the error as in the following:

It is the same with your second solution with File_A.txt with blank line) as well.

Could you please kindly give me a favor?

Many thanks in advance!
Bests,
Kosmos

[Kosmos Huynh]

Dear @guy038 ,

I got the solution by correct quotations as the followings:

gawk ‘BEGIN {n=0} NF {print > “File_“n”.txt”} !NF {n++}’ File_A.txt

Best regards,
Kosmos.

[Kosmos Huynh]

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