according to your useful topic,
I want to know how can i mark lines that have duplicate digit in 8digit number.
98765439
87654328
54321974

It’s a completely separate question; the original wanted to mark across multiple lines if the multiple lines has some common substring. You want to mark a single line if that single line contains more than one of the same digit. The regex won’t look anything alike for those two.

FIND = ^(?=\d{8})\d*(\d)\d*\1
SEARCH MODE = regular expression

• ^ means anchor at beginning of the line. Don’t use that if your numbers don’t use the ^
• (?=\d{8}) requires that the next 8 characters are digits, but doesn’t “match” any of them yet. This is the easy way to say that the next sequence must be inside of an 8-digit number
• \d* means zero-or-more digits
• (\d) means put the next digit in memory group#1
• \d* means another zero-or-more digits
• \1 matches a second copy of the character(s) in group#1 – so this matches the repeated digit

-—

Useful References

• Please Read Before Posting
• Template for Search/Replace Questions
• FAQ: Where to find regular expressions (regex) documentation
• Notepad++ Online User Manual: Searching/Regex

In the particular case where the key is, simply, all the line contents, the Key Regex is just .+ and the five regexes, from regex A to regex E, can be, finally, simplified as below :

• (A) (?-s)^(.+)\R(?=\1\R)    Mark all the duplicate lines, except for the last one

• (B) (?-s)^(.+)\R(?=\1\R)(*SKIP)(*F)|^.+\R    Mark unique lines and 1 duplicate ( the last sorted )

• (C) (?-s)^(.+)\R(?:\1\R)*\K\1\R    Mark 1 duplicate line, only ( the last sorted )

• (D) (?-s)^(.+)\R(?:\1\R)+    Mark all the duplicate lines

• (E) (?-s)^(.+)\R(?:\1\R)+(*SKIP)(*F)|^.+\R    Mark all the unique lines

IMPORTANT :

• These 5 regexes must be performed against a previously sorted list !

• That list must also end with a pure blank line

Best regards,

guy038

Step 1: Ctrl+H
Step 2: Find what: ^([^:]+:).+\R(?:.*?\1.+(?:\R|$))+

I hope this information will be useful to you.
Thank you.

As promised, here are the corresponding generic regexes to deal with duplicate and/or unique lines of a list :

• (A) (?-s)^.*(KR).*\R(?=(?s).*\1)    Mark all the duplicates lines, except for the last one

• (B) (?-s)^.*(KR).*\R(?=(?s).*\1)(*SKIP)(*F)|^.*(?1).*\R    Mark uniques lines and 1 duplicate ( the last sorted )

• (C) (?-s)^.*(KR).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)*\K.*\1.*\R    Mark 1 duplicate line, only ( the last sorted )

• (D) (?-s)^.*(KR).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)+    Mark all the duplicate lines

• (E) (?-s)^.*(KR).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)+(*SKIP)(*F)|^.*(?1).*\R    Mark all the unique lines

Notes :

• As said, previously, only regexes B to E are really useful !

• The KR is the regex to get the user key, i.e. the range of characters which must to be compared, in all lines, to determine duplicate and unique lines

Important :

• The list, where to get unique or duplicate lines, must end with a pure blank line !

• Of course, adding or subtracting only 1 char to/from the key may change the status of the lines. For instance, given this text :

ABCDE 12345 abcde
ABCDE 12346 abcde
ABCDE 12359 abcde
ABCDE 12398 abcde

• • If we suppose the key to be the first three digits, there are only 4 duplicate lines
• • If we suppose the key to be the first four digits, there are 2 duplicate lines and 2 unique lines
• • If we suppose the key to be the number, there are only 4 unique lines

Last point : To say that there are n duplicate lines is an abuse of language! In fact, it represents 1 line with a certain key AND n-1 other lines, located just after it, having that same key !

Let give an example, mainly inspired from the OP’s text. So, given this list, still not sorted :

STEAM_0:1:238584168 2222222
STEAM_0:3:123456789 3333333
STEAM_0:3:123456789 4444444
STEAM_0:1:238584168 1111111
STEAM_0:0:158473218 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 2222222
STEAM_0:1:712345678 3333333
STEAM_0:3:123456789 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 3333333
STEAM_0:0:192469843 4444444
STEAM_0:0:207654321 1111111
STEAM_0:3:123456789 5555555
STEAM_0:3:123456789 2222222
STEAM_0:1:523456789 1111111
STEAM_0:1:712345678 2222222
STEAM_0:2:823658921 1111111
STEAM_0:2:891234567 1111111
STEAM_0:1:712345678 1111111

Let’s imagine that we want the key to be the range of nine digits, after the last colon of each line So, first, we need to sort this text, considering these digits and all the remaining characters.

If your N++ version is the v7.9 or later, here is the way to proceed :

• Place the caret in front of the 2 digit of the first line, after the last colon

• Hold down the Alt and Shift keys and hit, repeatedly, on the Down arrow, several times

• Stop when the vertical line is in front of the 7 digit of the last line, after the last colon

• Now, perform the usual sort ( Edit > Line Operations > Sort Lines Lexicographically Ascending )

You should get this text :

STEAM_0:3:123456789 1111111
STEAM_0:3:123456789 2222222
STEAM_0:3:123456789 3333333
STEAM_0:3:123456789 4444444
STEAM_0:3:123456789 5555555
STEAM_0:0:158473218 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 2222222
STEAM_0:0:192469843 3333333
STEAM_0:0:192469843 4444444
STEAM_0:0:207654321 1111111
STEAM_0:1:238584168 1111111
STEAM_0:1:238584168 2222222
STEAM_0:1:523456789 1111111
STEAM_0:1:712345678 1111111
STEAM_0:1:712345678 2222222
STEAM_0:1:712345678 3333333
STEAM_0:2:823658921 1111111
STEAM_0:2:891234567 1111111

As expected, only text, after the last colon, is correctly sorted

Now, we need to build the Key regex ( the KR notation, in the generic regexes, above ). Several constructions are possible. Here are two of them, with the regex from A to E

#  With match of the KEY, between TWO LIMITS      =>  KR =   :\d{2,}\x20  ( At LEAST, TWO digits, between a COLON and a SPACE char )

Regex A    (?-s)^.*(:\d{2,}\x20).*\R(?=(?s).*\1)                            Mark ALL the DUPLICATE lines, except for the LAST one
Regex B    (?-s)^.*(:\d{2,}\x20).*\R(?=(?s).*\1)(*SKIP)(*F)|^.*(?1).*\R     Mark UNIQUE lines and 1 DUPLICATE ( the LAST sorted )
Regex C    (?-s)^.*(:\d{2,}\x20).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)*\K.*\1.*\R                 Mark 1 DUPLICATE line, only ( the LAST sorted )
Regex D    (?-s)^.*(:\d{2,}\x20).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)+                           Mark ALL the DUPLICATE lines
Regex E    (?-s)^.*(:\d{2,}\x20).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)+(*SKIP)(*F)|^.*(?1).*\R    Mark ALL the UNIQUE lines


# With match of the ABSOLUTE location of the KEY  =>  KR =   \d{9}  ( NINE digits AFTER the 10 FIRST characters )

Regex A    (?-s)^.{10}(\d{9}).*\R(?=(?s).*\1)                               Mark ALL the DUPLICATE lines, except for the LAST one
Regex B    (?-s)^.{10}(\d{9}).*\R(?=(?s).*\1)(*SKIP)(*F)|^.*(?1).*\R        Mark UNIQUE lines and 1 DUPLICATE ( the LAST sorted )
Regex C    (?-s)^.{10}(\d{9}).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)*\K.*\1.*\R                    Mark 1 DUPLICATE line, only ( the LAST sorted )
Regex D    (?-s)^.{10}(\d{9}).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)+                              Mark ALL the DUPLICATE lines
Regex E    (?-s)^.{10}(\d{9}).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)+(*SKIP)(*F)|^.*(?1).*\R       Mark ALL the UNIQUE lines

Sometimes, you will feel the need for a more elaborate key, consisting of several non-contiguous areas

The trick is to replace each line by these fields, in a specific order, at the beginning of the line ( similar to a virtual key ) and add the contents of the line itself, after a tabulation character ( or other ) as a separator !

Let’s give an example of that technique. So, we start again from the non-sorted list :

STEAM_0:1:238584168 2222222
STEAM_0:3:123456789 3333333
STEAM_0:3:123456789 4444444
STEAM_0:1:238584168 1111111
STEAM_0:0:158473218 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 2222222
STEAM_0:1:712345678 3333333
STEAM_0:3:123456789 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 3333333
STEAM_0:0:192469843 4444444
STEAM_0:0:207654321 1111111
STEAM_0:3:123456789 5555555
STEAM_0:3:123456789 2222222
STEAM_0:1:523456789 1111111
STEAM_0:1:712345678 2222222
STEAM_0:2:823658921 1111111
STEAM_0:2:891234567 1111111
STEAM_0:1:712345678 1111111

And let’s decide that our key is the virtual key, composed with :

• The fifth digit, of the number, after the colon ( 1st key )

• The last two digits of the number, after the colon ( 2nd key )

• The first three digits of the number, after the colon ( 3rd key )

After a quick examination, one of the suitable regexes S/R is :

SEARCH (?-s)^.{10}(\d{3}).(\d).{2}(\d{2})

REPLACE \2\3\1\t$0

After replacement, we get :

868238	STEAM_0:1:238584168 2222222
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 3333333
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 4444444
868238	STEAM_0:1:238584168 1111111
718158	STEAM_0:0:158473218 1111111
643192	STEAM_0:0:192469843 1111111
643192	STEAM_0:0:192469843 2222222
478712	STEAM_0:1:712345678 3333333
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 1111111
643192	STEAM_0:0:192469843 3333333
643192	STEAM_0:0:192469843 4444444
521207	STEAM_0:0:207654321 1111111
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 5555555
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 2222222
589523	STEAM_0:1:523456789 1111111
478712	STEAM_0:1:712345678 2222222
521823	STEAM_0:2:823658921 1111111
367891	STEAM_0:2:891234567 1111111
478712	STEAM_0:1:712345678 1111111

Now, we simply select that text and perform the usual sort Edit > Line Operations > Sort Lines Lexicographically Ascending, which gives this sorted list :

367891	STEAM_0:2:891234567 1111111
478712	STEAM_0:1:712345678 1111111
478712	STEAM_0:1:712345678 2222222
478712	STEAM_0:1:712345678 3333333
521207	STEAM_0:0:207654321 1111111
521823	STEAM_0:2:823658921 1111111
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 1111111
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 2222222
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 3333333
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 4444444
589123	STEAM_0:3:123456789 5555555
589523	STEAM_0:1:523456789 1111111
643192	STEAM_0:0:192469843 1111111
643192	STEAM_0:0:192469843 2222222
643192	STEAM_0:0:192469843 3333333
643192	STEAM_0:0:192469843 4444444
718158	STEAM_0:0:158473218 1111111
868238	STEAM_0:1:238584168 1111111
868238	STEAM_0:1:238584168 2222222

This time, the Key regex ( KR notation ) is easy to guess : \d{6} and, as these digits are close to the start of line, we do not need the .* part, located after the ^ symbol. Thus, the regexes A to E become :

# With match of the ABSOLUTE location of the KEY  =>  KR =   \d{6}  ( SIX digits AFTER the BEGINNING of each line )

Regex A    (?-s)^(\d{6}).*\R(?=(?s).*\1)                               Mark ALL the DUPLICATE lines, except for the LAST one
Regex B    (?-s)^(\d{6}).*\R(?=(?s).*\1)(*SKIP)(*F)|^.*(?1).*\R        Mark UNIQUE lines and 1 DUPLICATE ( the LAST sorted )
Regex C    (?-s)^(\d{6}).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)*\K.*\1.*\R                    Mark 1 DUPLICATE line, only ( the LAST sorted )
Regex D    (?-s)^(\d{6}).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)+                              Mark ALL the DUPLICATE lines
Regex E    (?-s)^(\d{6}).*\R(?:.*\1.*\R)+(*SKIP)(*F)|^.*(?1).*\R       Mark ALL the UNIQUE lines

Beware : when testing these regexes against the sorted list, right above, you must keep your attention to the first six chars of each line ( the key ) to determine when lines are unique or duplicate ;-))

Using the Mark feature allows you to bookmark one or several subset(s) of lines, which are easy to copy/cut and paste elsewhere or to delete !

Once you finished to delete some subsets of your file, it will probably remain some lines, with this temporary virtual key ! To get rid of it, it’s elementary, use the regex S/R :

SEARCH ^.+\t

REPLACE Leave EMPTY

Best Regards,

guy038

P.S. : I just realize that, if you use the Search > Bookmark > Inverse Bookmark option, some the generic regexes are not essential !

I’ll try, very soon, to build up some generic regexes of the regexes (B) to (E) which cover all the possible cases ;-))

I like that idea. :-)

I assumed several hypotheses :

An alphabetically sort ( Edit > Line Operations > Sort lines Lexicographically Ascending has been performed on data

We don’t know that this is valid for the OP’s problem. :-(

I assumed several hypotheses :

• An alphabetically sort ( Edit > Line Operations > Sort lines Lexicographically Ascending has been performed on data

• The areas to be highlighted and/or marked will be the entire lines, matching the searched criterion

• The numbers, candidate to verify if possible duplication, on next lines, are the consecutive range of digits after the last colon

The last hypothesis means the searched area, for possible duplication, may be expressed by the regex :(\d{2,})\x20, with the digits stored in group 1, which will be used further on !

Then, the following regexes should mark / bookmark a specific subset of all the lines :

• (A) (?-s)^.+(:\d{2,}\x20).+\R(?=(?s).+\1) Mark all the duplicate lines, except for the last one

• (B) (?-s)^.+(:\d{2,}\x20).+\R(?=(?s).+\1)(*SKIP)(*F)|^.+(?1).+\R Mark unique lines and 1 duplicate ( the last sorted )

• (C) (?-s)^.+(:\d{2,}\x20).+\R(?:.+\1.+\R)*\K.+\1.+\R Mark 1 duplicate line, only ( the last sorted )

• (D) (?-s)^.+(:\d{2,}\x20).+\R(?:.+\1.+\R)+ Mark all the duplicate lines

• (E) (?-s)^.+(:\d{2,}\x20).+\R(?:.+\1.+\R)+(*SKIP)(*F)|^.+(?1).+\R Mark all the unique lines

Note that regexes (A) and (B), as well as the regexes (D) and (E), define exclusive results !

Just test these five regexes against this sample text, already sorted :

STEAM_0:0:158473218 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 1111111
STEAM_0:0:192469843 2222222
STEAM_0:0:192469843 3333333
STEAM_0:0:192469843 4444444
STEAM_0:0:207654321 1111111
STEAM_0:1:238584168 1111111
STEAM_0:1:238584168 2222222
STEAM_0:1:523456789 1111111
STEAM_0:1:712345678 1111111
STEAM_0:1:712345678 2222222
STEAM_0:1:712345678 3333333
STEAM_0:2:823658921 1111111
STEAM_0:2:891234567 1111111
STEAM_0:3:123456789 1111111
STEAM_0:3:123456789 2222222
STEAM_0:3:123456789 3333333
STEAM_0:3:123456789 4444444
STEAM_0:3:123456789 5555555

Best Regards,

guy038

I’ll try, very soon, to build up some generic regexes of the regexes (B) to (E) which cover all the possible cases ;-))

If instead of highlighting duplicates, bookmarking them is good enough, then I have something for you:

Mark: (?-s)([^ ]+?)( .*\R)\K.(?=\1 .*\R)+

On the downside, it will highligth the first char of a duplicate line, as follows:

Cheers

Is it possible to extend it such that ALL duplicates would be marked?

Not at first sight, but let me try a bit more.

Cheers

It might have helped to actually show some duplicates that you were trying to mark in your sample data!

@astrosofista

Nice solution.
Is it possible to extend it such that ALL duplicates would be marked?
Example:

STEAM_0:0:55552598 50704#0
STEAM_0:0:55552598 50704#0
STEAM_0:0:55552598 50704#0

The second AND third lines of the above should be marked.

If I correctly understood the issue, then it will be fairly easy to get the desired outcome if you previously sort the lines.

Then apply the following regex:

Mark: (?-s)(([^ ]+?) .*\R)\K\2(?=.*\R)

to highligth duplicates

Take care and have fun!