Deleting sections of data that start and end with the same characters based on a string of text contained within the section

Ruby Pierce

Hello there,

I have a file that contains repeated sections of data, starting with a ‘{’ and ending with a ‘},’ but the data within these sections changes (field names stay the same) i.e. ‘identificationNumber’, ‘sizeandtypecode’ etc.
I need a way to be able to search the whole file for specific identification numbers but delete the whole section the id number is contained within. - starting with { and ending with },

{
“identificationNumber” : “ABCD1234567”,
“sizeAndTypeCode” : “45G0”,
“shippingLine” : “MSC”,
“shipsAgent” : “PORTSATLANTIC”,
“transitDirection” : “EXPORT”,
“isLaden” : true,
“grossWeightKG” : 27468,
“portOfDischargeCode” : “BEANR”,
“finalPortOfDischargeCode” : “USNYC”,
“seals” : [
{
“number” : “0990682”,
“conditionCode” : “INTACT”,
“sealedBy” : “carrier”
}
]
},
{
“identificationNumber” : “ABCD4561239”,
“sizeAndTypeCode” : “45G0”,
“shippingLine” : “MSC”,
“shipsAgent” : “PORTSATLANTIC”,
“transitDirection” : “EXPORT”,
“isLaden” : true,
“grossWeightKG” : 27468,
“portOfDischargeCode” : “BEANR”,
“finalPortOfDischargeCode” : “USNYC”,
“seals” : [
{
“number” : “0990682”,
“conditionCode” : “INTACT”,
“sealedBy” : “carrier”
}
]
},
{
“identificationNumber” : “ABCD7894223”,
“sizeAndTypeCode” : “45G0”,
“shippingLine” : “MSC”,
“shipsAgent” : “PORTSATLANTIC”,
“transitDirection” : “EXPORT”,
“isLaden” : true,
“grossWeightKG” : 11800,
“portOfDischargeCode” : “BEANR”,
“finalPortOfDischargeCode” : “USNYC”,
“seals” : [
{
“number” : “0990288”,
“conditionCode” : “INTACT”,
“sealedBy” : “carrier”
}
]
},

Thanks in advance,

Ruby

guy038

Hello, @ruby-Pierce and All,

First, I don’t know if you do use the simple double quote char " or if you need the opening and ending quotation marks ( the “ and ” chars with Unicode code-points \x{201C} and \x{201D} ), automatically provided by our NodeBB site !

Anaway, here is a solution :

Open the Replace dialog ( Ctrl + H )
- SEARCH ^{\R“identificationNumber” : “xxxx#######”,(?s).*?^},(\R|\z) if couples of “ and ” are used
OR
- SEARCH ^{\R"identificationNumber" : "xxxx#######",(?s).*?^},(\R|\z) if the " char is only used

REPLACE Leave EMPTY
Tick the Wrap around option, preferably
Select the Regular expression search mode
Click on the Replace or Replace All buttons

Of course, replace in the search regex, any x char by a letter and any # by a digit !

Best Regards,

guy038