RegexSearch is a Java application that performs graphical find and
find-and-replace searches for regular expressions on multiple text
files. It is distributed under version 3 of the GNU General Public
License.
Features:
-
It can search for literal text or regular expressions.
-
The search can be performed on a single file, on a directory (with
optional recursion), on the files and directories listed in a text
file, or on the files in which the target was found in a previous
search. Files can be included in and excluded from the search by
means of pathname filters, which allow bounded recursion.
-
Occurrences of the target expression within each file are displayed in
a scrollable window, with the matched text highlighted.
-
Occurrences of the target expression can be replaced individually or
globally. If the target is a regular expression, the replacement can
include arbitrary parts of the matched text.
-
Replacements can be previewed, then accepted or rejected.
-
The parsing and matching of regular expressions is performed by the
robust Java regular-expression engine. The syntax of Java's
regular expressions is similar to that of Perl and Python.
-
The results of a search (number of matches, number of replacements)
are displayed for each file in which a match is found. The results
can be copied to the system clipboard in a form that is suitable for
use as a list file to limit the scope of a new search.
-
Although a file cannot be edited in RegexSearch's text view, a
command can be issued to open the file in an external editor.
The current version of RegexSearch is 2.4
(2008-04-27).