<![CDATA[Search with content exclusion]]>I am a casual user of N++ and, definitely, not familiar with all of its functionality.
One way I would like to use N++ is search for patterns, but excluding sub-results.
An example would be to look for, let’s say, a “RESULTVALUE=” in a logfile, but wanting to ONLY see non-zero results.
In grep this would look something like:
grep “RESULTVALUE=” | grep -v “RESULTVALUE=0”
Is this possible in N++ and, if so, how?

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/topic/20767/search-with-content-exclusionRSS for NodeThu, 16 Apr 2026 14:06:05 GMTFri, 19 Feb 2021 22:51:06 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Mon, 21 Oct 2024 15:49:36 GMT]]>@guy038 Haha, well this was really a bit unusual.
Big big thanks for the help, it was exactly what i needed!
Best wishes!

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/97217https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/97217Mon, 21 Oct 2024 15:49:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sun, 20 Oct 2024 09:10:09 GMT]]>Hello, @beatbullz and All,

So, after more than three years, and with an other user-name, you’re asking me for some modifications regarding my old provided regex. Your approach is very unusual ;-))

Anyway, I’ll try to help you !

First, I slightly improved my previous regex to this syntax, using the free-spacing mode (?x) :

SEARCH / MARK (?x-i) RESULTVALUE = \K [+-]? (?: (?! 0+ ( \. 0* )? [^\d.] ) \d+ ( \. \d* )? | \. (?! 0+ \D ) \d+ )

Thus, in order to find, independently, the lines containing the string :

  • ShaderMillDataHash" value="

Or

  • SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=

Or

  • UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=

Use the regex A , B or C, below :

Regex A : (?-i)ShaderMillDataHash" value="\K[+-]?(?:(?!0+(\.0*)?[^\d.])\d+(\.\d*)?|\.(?!0+\D)\d+)

Regex B : (?-i)SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=\K[+-]?(?:(?!0+(\.0*)?[^\d.])\d+(\.\d*)?|\.(?!0+\D)\d+)

Regex C : (?-i)UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=\K[+-]?(?:(?!0+(\.0*)?[^\d.])\d+(\.\d*)?|\.(?!0+\D)\d+)

Now, if you prefer to search for all the lines, at the same time, use the regex D below :

Regex D : (?-i)(?:ShaderMillDataHash" value="|SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=|UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=)\K[+-]?(?:(?!0+(\.0*)?[^\d.])\d+(\.\d*)?|\.(?!0+\D)\d+)

You can test all these regexes against the text below :


  FORBIDEN cases :

    ShaderMillDataHash" value="              No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=              No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=              No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value=".             No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=.             No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=.             No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value=",             No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=,             No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=,             No

    ShaderMillDataHash" value="ABC           No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=ABC           No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=ABC           No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0A123         No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0A123         No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0A123         No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0000Z123      No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0000Z123      No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0000Z123      No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.Z123        No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.Z123        No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.Z123        No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.ABC123      No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.ABC123      No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.ABC123      No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="000.DEF1      No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=000.DEF1      No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=000.DEF1      No

    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0             No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0             No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0             No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value=".0            No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=.0            No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=.0            No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.            No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.            No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.            No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.0           No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.0           No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.0           No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="00000         No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=00000         No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=00000         No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.000         No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.000         No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.000         No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="00.000        No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=00.000        No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=00.000        No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.            No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.            No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.            No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="00.           No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=00.           No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=00.           No
    ShaderMillDataHash" value=".000          No             SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=.000          No            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=.000          No


  ALLOWED cases :

    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.00120       Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.00120       Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.00120       Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.00123       Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.00123       Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.00123       Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.12300       Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.12300       Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.12300       Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.42          Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.42          Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.42          Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value=".71           Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=.71           Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=.71           Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value=".00954        Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=.00954        Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=.00954        Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="2             Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=2             Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=2             Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="5.            Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=5.            Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=5.            Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="6.8           Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=6.8           Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=6.8           Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="007.1         Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=007.1         Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=007.1         Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="091           Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=091           Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=091           Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="8000          Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=8000          Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=8000          Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="9.000         Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=9.000         Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=9.000         Yes
    ShaderMillDataHash" value="0.756000      Yes            SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN=0.756000      Yes            UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN=0.756000      Yes

Best Regards,

guy038

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/97189https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/97189Sun, 20 Oct 2024 09:10:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 19 Oct 2024 01:33:05 GMT]]>@guy038
So i’m using this one actually:

(?-i)ShaderMillDataHash" value="\K[±]?((?!0.0?\D|0[^\d.])\d+(.\d*)?|.(?!0\D)\d+)

like all values behind ShaderMillDataHash except 0:
ShaderMillDataHash" value="

But i need to find another value in the same files.

Two generally to split the search results.

All search results with UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN in the files + the regex from above
And all search results with SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN + regex from above

I tried
(?-i)(UBERSHADER.SHADER.BIN|ShaderMillDataHash" value=")\K[±]?((?!0.0?\D|0[^\d.])\d+(.\d*)?|.(?!0\D)\d+)

(?-i)SHADERMILLUBER.SHADER.BIN|ShaderMillDataHash" value="\K[±]?((?!0.0?\D|0[^\d.])\d+(.\d*)?|.(?!0\D)\d+)

and it doesnt even use the first search parameter *SHADER.BIN

So how do i do this?

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/97187https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/97187Sat, 19 Oct 2024 01:33:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:09:18 GMT]]>Good afternoon @Folks,
I am off to regex school, although, admittedly, these last expressions do make my head spin @Exorcist :-)

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63089https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63089Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:09:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:18:24 GMT]]>Hi, @peter-cohen, @astrosofista, @alan-kilborn and All,

Let’s imagine that we want to search for any integer or floating decimal number, different of any zero syntax, when it follows the RESULTVALUE= string, with this exact case. Then a possible regex, expressed with the free-spacing mode ( (?x) ) could be :

(?x-i)  RESULTVALUE=  \K  [+-]?  (  (?! 0 \. 0? \D | 0 [^\d.] )  \d+  ( \. \d* )?  |  \.  (?! 0 \D ) \d+  )
  • Paste the text, below, in a N++ new tab
    RESULTVALUE=              No               ResultValue=              No                                      
    RESULTVALUE=.             No               ResultValue=.             No                 .               No   
                                                                                                                 
    RESULTVALUE=,             No               ResultValue=,             No                 ,               No   
    RESULTVALUE=ABC           No               ResultValue=ABC           No                 ABC             No   
                                                                                                                 
    RESULTVALUE=0             No               ResultValue=0             No                 0               No   
    RESULTVALUE=-0            No               ResultValue=-0            No                 -0              No   
    RESULTVALUE=+0            No               ResultValue=+0            No                 +0              No   
                                                                                                                 
    RESULTVALUE=.0            No               ResultValue=.0            No                 .0              No   
    RESULTVALUE=-.0           No               ResultValue=-.0           No                 -.0             No   
    RESULTVALUE=+.0           No               ResultValue=+.0           No                 +.0             No   
                                                                                                                 
    RESULTVALUE=0.            No               ResultValue=0.            No                 0.              No   
    RESULTVALUE=+0.           No               ResultValue=+0.           No                 +0.             No   
    RESULTVALUE=-0.           No               ResultValue=-0.           No                 -0.             No   
                                                                                                                 
    RESULTVALUE=0.0           No               ResultValue=0.0           No                 0.0             No   
    RESULTVALUE=+0.0          No               ResultValue=+0.0          No                 +0.0            No   
    RESULTVALUE=-0.0          No               ResultValue=-0.0          No                 -0.0            No   
                                                                                                                 
    RESULTVALUE=0.00120       Yes              ResultValue=0.00120       No / Yes           0.00120         No   
    RESULTVALUE=0.00123       Yes              ResultValue=0.00123       No / Yes           0.00123         No   
    RESULTVALUE=0.12300       Yes              ResultValue=0.12300       No / Yes           0.12300         No   
    RESULTVALUE=0.42          Yes              ResultValue=0.42          No / Yes           0.42            No   
    RESULTVALUE=.71           Yes              ResultValue=.71           No / Yes           .71             No   
    RESULTVALUE=2             Yes              ResultValue=2             No / Yes           2               No   
    RESULTVALUE=5.            Yes              ResultValue=5.            No / Yes           5.              No   
    RESULTVALUE=6.8           Yes              ResultValue=6.8           No / Yes           6.8             No   
    RESULTVALUE=007.1         Yes              ResultValue=007.1         No / Yes           007.1           No   
    RESULTVALUE=091           Yes              ResultValue=091           No / Yes           091             No   
                                                                                                                 
    RESULTVALUE=+0.00120      Yes              ResultValue=+0.00120      No / Yes           +0.00120        No   
    RESULTVALUE=+0.00123      Yes              ResultValue=+0.00123      No / Yes           +0.00123        No   
    RESULTVALUE=+0.12300      Yes              ResultValue=+0.12300      No / Yes           +0.12300        No   
    RESULTVALUE=+0.42         Yes              ResultValue=+0.42         No / Yes           +0.42           No   
    RESULTVALUE=+.71          Yes              ResultValue=+.71          No / Yes           +.71            No   
    RESULTVALUE=+2            Yes              ResultValue=+2            No / Yes           +2              No   
    RESULTVALUE=+5.           Yes              ResultValue=+5.           No / Yes           +5.             No   
    RESULTVALUE=+6.8          Yes              ResultValue=+6.8          No / Yes           +6.8            No   
    RESULTVALUE=+007.1        Yes              ResultValue=+007.1        No / Yes           +007.1          No   
    RESULTVALUE=+091          Yes              ResultValue=+091          No / Yes           +091            No   
                                                                                                                 
    RESULTVALUE=-0.00120      Yes              ResultValue=-0.00120      No / Yes           -0.00120        No   
    RESULTVALUE=-0.00123      Yes              ResultValue=-0.00123      No / Yes           -0.00123        No   
    RESULTVALUE=-0.12300      Yes              ResultValue=-0.12300      No / Yes           -0.12300        No   
    RESULTVALUE=-0.42         Yes              ResultValue=-0.42         No / Yes           -0.42           No   
    RESULTVALUE=-.71          Yes              ResultValue=-.71          No / Yes           -.71            No   
    RESULTVALUE=-2            Yes              ResultValue=-2            No / Yes           -2              No   
    RESULTVALUE=-5.           Yes              ResultValue=-5.           No / Yes           -5.             No   
    RESULTVALUE=-6.8          Yes              ResultValue=-6.8          No / Yes           -6.8            No   
    RESULTVALUE=-007.1        Yes              ResultValue=-007.1        No / Yes           -007.1          No   
    RESULTVALUE=-091          Yes              ResultValue=-091          No / Yes           -091            No

  • Open the Mark dialog ( Ctrl + M )

    • SEARCH (?-i)RESULTVALUE=\K[+-]?((?!0\.0?\D|0[^\d.])\d+(\.\d*)?|\.(?!0\D)\d+)

    • Tick the Purge for each search option

    • Tick the Wrap around option

    • Select the Regular expression search mode

    • Click on the Mark All button

=> Only numbers, located after the RESULTVALUE= string, with this case, and strictly different from 0, should be highlighted in red

Now, if you modify the regex as (?i)RESULTVALUE=\K[+-]?((?!0\.0?\D|0[^\d.])\d+(\.\d*)?|\.(?!0\D)\d+), the numbers, located after the string ResultValue= are also highlighted !

Peter, this example is simply provided to show the powerful of regular expressions. Of course, you cannot fully understand that example, by now. Just execute the regexes to get the results and, from the @alan-kilborn’s link, try to learn the basic regex features !

Best Regards,

guy038

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63088https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63088Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:18:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 16:02:52 GMT]]>Holy cow - let me play with this - thanks.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63086https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63086Sat, 20 Feb 2021 16:02:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 12:05:10 GMT]]>@Peter-Cohen said in Search with content exclusion:

RESULTVALUE=090 and now the search doesn’t find it, I suspect because it starts with a 0.

You got it, that’s correct.

However that doesn’t mean that you cannot match a number that starts with a 0. The following regex will match RESULTVALUE=090 but not RESULTVALUE=0 or RESULTVALUE=", that is, when RESULTVALUE= is followed by any other symbol than a number:

RESULTVALUE=(?!0\D)(?=\d)

Hope this helps.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63084https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63084Sat, 20 Feb 2021 12:05:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:58:27 GMT]]>Hello @Alan-Kilborn - going through a crash course here.
BTW - I used to be a computer programmer in a previous life, but this, definitely, is new territory for me :-|
I will definitely have to read up on this - thanks for the link.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63083https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63083Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:58:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:50:56 GMT]]>@Peter-Cohen said in Search with content exclusion:

would it be impertinent from me to ask WHY/HOW this works?

Of course not.

The construct (?!…) is a negative lookahead assertion.
It means that at the current position, for there to be a composite match, whatever ... is, cannot be a match for the data (or the overall match fails).

Traditionally, in computer science, ! means “not”.

So in an Englishy way, the expression RESULTVALUE=(?!0) means:

match RESULTVALUE= literally, and then insist that the next character is not 0 for a match to be possible.

But the way (?!0) is used here, it precludes 090 from matching (the search stops trying to match at the first 0).

If something is unclear, post again.

You can find many more details about the concepts begun here, in THIS thread.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63082https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63082Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:50:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:43:25 GMT]]>BTW - would it be impertinent from me to ask WHY/HOW this works?
I am trying to decipher (?!0) and - admittedly - don’t understand what it actually stands for.
Interestingly, I changed one of the lines to:
RESULTVALUE=090 and now the search doesn’t find it, I suspect because it starts with a 0.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63081https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63081Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:43:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:16:14 GMT]]>Gentlemen,
Thank you very much, RESULTVALUE=(?!0) did the trick.
Sorry if I confused you - I was even more confused.
This is definitely very powerful and useful (and tricky).

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63080https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63080Sat, 20 Feb 2021 02:16:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 01:33:33 GMT]]>@astrosofista said in Search with content exclusion:

Remove the quote from my regex if not needed.

At which point, doesn’t it become the same as MY regex? ;-)

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63076https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63076Sat, 20 Feb 2021 01:33:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:27:19 GMT]]>@Alan-Kilborn

Good point :)

@Peter-Cohen

Remove the quote from my regex if not needed.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63073https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63073Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:27:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:21:35 GMT]]>@astrosofista

I really don’t think that " enter into the OP’s need at all.
He was just using the quotes because he’s familiar with doing it when using grep, I think.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63072https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63072Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:21:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:19:00 GMT]]>Hi @Peter-Cohen

You’re welcome. My regex says: match every RESULTVALUE= that is followed by a quote ", as I read your example. However it seems that I misunderstood your needs.

Try this other regex instead:

RESULTVALUE=(?!0")

It will match every ‘RESULTVALUE=’ that is not followed by 0".

Hope it’s fine now.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63071https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63071Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:19:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:18:25 GMT]]>@Peter-Cohen

For “not zero”, try (?!0), so RESULTVALUE=(?!0) for your need.

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63070https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63070Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:18:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Fri, 19 Feb 2021 23:49:57 GMT]]>Hello astrofista,
Thanks for putting me on the path to a solution.
However, using your expression, I did not get the result I want.
Using the table below, I ONLY want to find line 2 & 4.
Using RESULTVALUE=(?=") gets me nothing.
Using RESULTVALUE=(?=0) gets me all the zero (0) values.
Is there a way to specify (?=Not 0)

RESULTVALUE=0
RESULTVALUE=5
RESULTVALUE=0
RESULTVALUE=7
RESULTVALUE=0

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63069https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63069Fri, 19 Feb 2021 23:49:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Search with content exclusion on Fri, 19 Feb 2021 23:31:18 GMT]]>Hi @Peter-Cohen

Sure is possible. In order to accomplish your wish, search or mark with the following regular expressión

RESULTVALUE=(?=")

Put the caret at the very beginning of the document, select the Regular Expression mode and click on Find Next, Find All in Current Document or Mark All as appropriated.

Take care and have fun!

]]>https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63068https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/post/63068Fri, 19 Feb 2021 23:31:18 GMT