Wish: Grep Patterns without Grep

[Ward Clark]

I've used the ability to save Find & Replace patterns to simplify some  
repetitive tasks (e.g., update Finder paths in Automator scripts when  
I moved referenced folders).

What I had not realized is these "Patterns" (so named in the Find &  
Replace dialog) are actually "Grep patterns" (so named in BBEdit  
Preferences > Text Search).  My learning scenario:

1.  Perform a simple text Find & Replace.

2.  Use Patterns > Add to save the find and replace string pair for  
later.

3.  Later, re-use the saved pattern ... and get wild replacement  
results.

Fortunately, I have the "Color Grep patterns" preference enabled and  
noticed a colored "&" in the Replace string/pattern.  Then I  
discovered that retrieving my saved pattern automatically enables the  
"Use Grep" option.

I briefly tried learning to turn off "Use Grep" when retrieving a  
saved pattern.  I soon realized it was safer to escape the Grep  
special characters in my patterns.  (Aside:  This would be easier if  
the pattern editing dialog used Grep color-coding.)

Wish:  Use the Patterns feature to save simple text string that are  
not interpreted as Grep patterns.

For example,

a.  Save and restore the state of the "Use Grep" option along with the  
Find and Replace strings/patterns.

b.  Include the "Use Grep" option in the "Add/Replace Grep Pattern"  
and "Create/Edit Grep Pattern" dialogs.

-- Ward

[I'm CC-ing this suggestion to <support@...>.]

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[Ward Clark]

Seven hours ago, I wrote ...

> Wish:  Use the Patterns feature to save simple text strings that are  
> not interpreted as Grep patterns.

Since then, I've been experimenting and realized that wish was just  
the beginning of ...

Wish:  Provide the ability to save and recall Find & Replace dialogs  
in all their glory.

The Find & Replace dialog current saves search and replace text for  
the duration of a session -- see the "Search For:" and "Replace With:"  
menus.

What I envision is saving pairs of Search and Replace, along with Case  
Sensitive, Start at Top, Search Backwards, etc., in much the same way  
Grep Patterns are currently saved, recalled and edited.

-- Ward

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[Lee Smith]

Store them as a Grep Pattern. It is available in the Find Edit Box.

Lee
On Apr 27, 2008, at 6:47 PM, Ward Clark wrote:

> Seven hours ago, I wrote ...
>
>
>> Wish:  Use the Patterns feature to save simple text strings that  
>> are not interpreted as Grep patterns.
>>
>
> Since then, I've been experimenting and realized that wish was just  
> the beginning of ...
>
> Wish:  Provide the ability to save and recall Find & Replace  
> dialogs in all their glory.
>
> The Find & Replace dialog current saves search and replace text for  
> the duration of a session -- see the "Search For:" and "Replace  
> With:" menus.
>
> What I envision is saving pairs of Search and Replace, along with  
> Case Sensitive, Start at Top, Search Backwards, etc., in much the  
> same way Grep Patterns are currently saved, recalled and edited.
>
> -- Ward
>
> --
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> Have a feature request? Not sure the software's working correctly?
> If so, please send mail to <support@...>, not to the list.
> List FAQ: <http://www.barebones.com/support/lists/bbedit_talk.shtml>
> List archives: <http://www.listsearch.com/BBEditTalk.lasso>
> To unsubscribe, send mail to:  <bbedit-talk-off@...>
>
>

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