Replace text in text file windows

Note — Be sure to see the update at the end of this answer for a link to the superior JREPL.BAT that supersedes REPL.BAT
JREPL.BAT 7.0 and above natively supports unicode (UTF-16LE) via the /UTF option, as well as any other character set, including UTF-8, via ADO!!!!

I have written a small hybrid JScript/batch utility called REPL.BAT that is very convenient for modifying ASCII (or extended ASCII) files via the command line or a batch file. The purely native script does not require installation of any 3rd party executeable, and it works on any modern Windows version from XP onward. It is also very fast, especially when compared to pure batch solutions.

REPL.BAT simply reads stdin, performs a JScript regex search and replace, and writes the result to stdout.

Here is a trivial example of how to replace foo with bar in test.txt, assuming REPL.BAT is in your current folder, or better yet, somewhere within your PATH:

type test.txt|repl "foo" "bar" >test.txt.new
move /y test.txt.new test.txt

The JScript regex capabilities make it very powerful, especially the ability of the replacement text to reference captured substrings from the search text.

I’ve included a number of options in the utility that make it quite powerful. For example, combining the M and X options enable modification of binary files! The M Multi-line option allows searches across multiple lines. The X eXtended substitution pattern option provides escape sequences that enable inclusion of any binary value in the replacement text.

The entire utility could have been written as pure JScript, but the hybrid batch file eliminates the need to explicitly specify CSCRIPT every time you want to use the utility.

Here is the REPL.BAT script. Full documentation is embedded within the script.

@if (@X)==(@Y) @end /* Harmless hybrid line that begins a JScript comment

::************ Documentation ***********
::REPL.BAT version 6.2
:::
:::REPL  Search  Replace  [Options  [SourceVar]]
:::REPL  /?[REGEX|REPLACE]
:::REPL  /V
:::
:::  Performs a global regular expression search and replace operation on
:::  each line of input from stdin and prints the result to stdout.
:::
:::  Each parameter may be optionally enclosed by double quotes. The double
:::  quotes are not considered part of the argument. The quotes are required
:::  if the parameter contains a batch token delimiter like space, tab, comma,
:::  semicolon. The quotes should also be used if the argument contains a
:::  batch special character like &, |, etc. so that the special character
:::  does not need to be escaped with ^.
:::
:::  If called with a single argument of /?, then prints help documentation
:::  to stdout. If a single argument of /?REGEX, then opens up Microsoft's
:::  JScript regular expression documentation within your browser. If a single
:::  argument of /?REPLACE, then opens up Microsoft's JScript REPLACE
:::  documentation within your browser.
:::
:::  If called with a single argument of /V, case insensitive, then prints
:::  the version of REPL.BAT.
:::
:::  Search  - By default, this is a case sensitive JScript (ECMA) regular
:::            expression expressed as a string.
:::
:::            JScript regex syntax documentation is available at
:::            http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ae5bf541(v=vs.80).aspx
:::
:::  Replace - By default, this is the string to be used as a replacement for
:::            each found search expression. Full support is provided for
:::            substituion patterns available to the JScript replace method.
:::
:::            For example, $& represents the portion of the source that matched
:::            the entire search pattern, $1 represents the first captured
:::            submatch, $2 the second captured submatch, etc. A $ literal
:::            can be escaped as $$.
:::
:::            An empty replacement string must be represented as "".
:::
:::            Replace substitution pattern syntax is fully documented at
:::            http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/efy6s3e6(v=vs.80).aspx
:::
:::  Options - An optional string of characters used to alter the behavior
:::            of REPL. The option characters are case insensitive, and may
:::            appear in any order.
:::
:::            A - Only print altered lines. Unaltered lines are discarded.
:::                If the S options is present, then prints the result only if
:::                there was a change anywhere in the string. The A option is
:::                incompatible with the M option unless the S option is present.
:::
:::            B - The Search must match the beginning of a line.
:::                Mostly used with literal searches.
:::
:::            E - The Search must match the end of a line.
:::                Mostly used with literal searches.
:::
:::            I - Makes the search case-insensitive.
:::
:::            J - The Replace argument represents a JScript expression.
:::                The expression may access an array like arguments object
:::                named $. However, $ is not a true array object.
:::
:::                The $.length property contains the total number of arguments
:::                available. The $.length value is equal to n+3, where n is the
:::                number of capturing left parentheses within the Search string.
:::
:::                $[0] is the substring that matched the Search,
:::                $[1] through $[n] are the captured submatch strings,
:::                $[n+1] is the offset where the match occurred, and
:::                $[n+2] is the original source string.
:::
:::                Arguments $[0] through $[10] may be abbreviated as
:::                $1 through $10. Argument $[11] and above must use the square
:::                bracket notation.
:::
:::            L - The Search is treated as a string literal instead of a
:::                regular expression. Also, all $ found in the Replace string
:::                are treated as $ literals.
:::
:::            M - Multi-line mode. The entire contents of stdin is read and
:::                processed in one pass instead of line by line, thus enabling
:::                search for n. This also enables preservation of the original
:::                line terminators. If the M option is not present, then every
:::                printed line is terminated with carriage return and line feed.
:::                The M option is incompatible with the A option unless the S
:::                option is also present.
:::
:::                Note: If working with binary data containing NULL bytes,
:::                      then the M option must be used.
:::
:::            S - The source is read from an environment variable instead of
:::                from stdin. The name of the source environment variable is
:::                specified in the next argument after the option string. Without
:::                the M option, ^ anchors the beginning of the string, and $ the
:::                end of the string. With the M option, ^ anchors the beginning
:::                of a line, and $ the end of a line.
:::
:::            V - Search and Replace represent the name of environment
:::                variables that contain the respective values. An undefined
:::                variable is treated as an empty string.
:::
:::            X - Enables extended substitution pattern syntax with support
:::                for the following escape sequences within the Replace string:
:::
:::                \     -  Backslash
:::                b     -  Backspace
:::                f     -  Formfeed
:::                n     -  Newline
:::                q     -  Quote
:::                r     -  Carriage Return
:::                t     -  Horizontal Tab
:::                v     -  Vertical Tab
:::                xnn   -  Extended ASCII byte code expressed as 2 hex digits
:::                unnnn -  Unicode character expressed as 4 hex digits
:::
:::                Also enables the q escape sequence for the Search string.
:::                The other escape sequences are already standard for a regular
:::                expression Search string.
:::
:::                Also modifies the behavior of xnn in the Search string to work
:::                properly with extended ASCII byte codes.
:::
:::                Extended escape sequences are supported even when the L option
:::                is used. Both Search and Replace support all of the extended
:::                escape sequences if both the X and L opions are combined.
:::
:::  Return Codes:  0 = At least one change was made
:::                     or the /? or /V option was used
:::
:::                 1 = No change was made
:::
:::                 2 = Invalid call syntax or incompatible options
:::
:::                 3 = JScript runtime error, typically due to invalid regex
:::
::: REPL.BAT was written by Dave Benham, with assistance from DosTips user Aacini
::: to get xnn to work properly with extended ASCII byte codes. Also assistance
::: from DosTips user penpen diagnosing issues reading NULL bytes, along with a
::: workaround. REPL.BAT was originally posted at:
::: http://www.dostips.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3855
:::

::************ Batch portion ***********
@echo off
if .%2 equ . (
  if "%~1" equ "/?" (
    <"%~f0" cscript //E:JScript //nologo "%~f0" "^:::" "" a
    exit /b 0
  ) else if /i "%~1" equ "/?regex" (
    explorer "http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ae5bf541(v=vs.80).aspx"
    exit /b 0
  ) else if /i "%~1" equ "/?replace" (
    explorer "http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/efy6s3e6(v=vs.80).aspx"
    exit /b 0
  ) else if /i "%~1" equ "/V" (
    <"%~f0" cscript //E:JScript //nologo "%~f0" "^::(REPL.BAT version)" "$1" a
    exit /b 0
  ) else (
    call :err "Insufficient arguments"
    exit /b 2
  )
)
echo(%~3|findstr /i "[^SMILEBVXAJ]" >nul && (
  call :err "Invalid option(s)"
  exit /b 2
)
echo(%~3|findstr /i "M"|findstr /i "A"|findstr /vi "S" >nul && (
  call :err "Incompatible options"
  exit /b 2
)
cscript //E:JScript //nologo "%~f0" %*
exit /b %errorlevel%

:err
>&2 echo ERROR: %~1. Use REPL /? to get help.
exit /b

************* JScript portion **********/
var rtn=1;
try {
  var env=WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell").Environment("Process");
  var args=WScript.Arguments;
  var search=args.Item(0);
  var replace=args.Item(1);
  var options="g";
  if (args.length>2) options+=args.Item(2).toLowerCase();
  var multi=(options.indexOf("m")>=0);
  var alterations=(options.indexOf("a")>=0);
  if (alterations) options=options.replace(/a/g,"");
  var srcVar=(options.indexOf("s")>=0);
  if (srcVar) options=options.replace(/s/g,"");
  var jexpr=(options.indexOf("j")>=0);
  if (jexpr) options=options.replace(/j/g,"");
  if (options.indexOf("v")>=0) {
    options=options.replace(/v/g,"");
    search=env(search);
    replace=env(replace);
  }
  if (options.indexOf("x")>=0) {
    options=options.replace(/x/g,"");
    if (!jexpr) {
      replace=replace.replace(/\\/g,"\B");
      replace=replace.replace(/\q/g,""");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x80/g,"\u20AC");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x82/g,"\u201A");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x83/g,"\u0192");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x84/g,"\u201E");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x85/g,"\u2026");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x86/g,"\u2020");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x87/g,"\u2021");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x88/g,"\u02C6");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x89/g,"\u2030");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x8[aA]/g,"\u0160");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x8[bB]/g,"\u2039");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x8[cC]/g,"\u0152");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x8[eE]/g,"\u017D");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x91/g,"\u2018");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x92/g,"\u2019");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x93/g,"\u201C");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x94/g,"\u201D");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x95/g,"\u2022");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x96/g,"\u2013");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x97/g,"\u2014");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x98/g,"\u02DC");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x99/g,"\u2122");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x9[aA]/g,"\u0161");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x9[bB]/g,"\u203A");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x9[cC]/g,"\u0153");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x9[dD]/g,"\u009D");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x9[eE]/g,"\u017E");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x9[fF]/g,"\u0178");
      replace=replace.replace(/\b/g,"b");
      replace=replace.replace(/\f/g,"f");
      replace=replace.replace(/\n/g,"n");
      replace=replace.replace(/\r/g,"r");
      replace=replace.replace(/\t/g,"t");
      replace=replace.replace(/\v/g,"v");
      replace=replace.replace(/\x[0-9a-fA-F]{2}|\u[0-9a-fA-F]{4}/g,
        function($0,$1,$2){
          return String.fromCharCode(parseInt("0x"+$0.substring(2)));
        }
      );
      replace=replace.replace(/\B/g,"\");
    }
    search=search.replace(/\\/g,"\B");
    search=search.replace(/\q/g,""");
    search=search.replace(/\x80/g,"\u20AC");
    search=search.replace(/\x82/g,"\u201A");
    search=search.replace(/\x83/g,"\u0192");
    search=search.replace(/\x84/g,"\u201E");
    search=search.replace(/\x85/g,"\u2026");
    search=search.replace(/\x86/g,"\u2020");
    search=search.replace(/\x87/g,"\u2021");
    search=search.replace(/\x88/g,"\u02C6");
    search=search.replace(/\x89/g,"\u2030");
    search=search.replace(/\x8[aA]/g,"\u0160");
    search=search.replace(/\x8[bB]/g,"\u2039");
    search=search.replace(/\x8[cC]/g,"\u0152");
    search=search.replace(/\x8[eE]/g,"\u017D");
    search=search.replace(/\x91/g,"\u2018");
    search=search.replace(/\x92/g,"\u2019");
    search=search.replace(/\x93/g,"\u201C");
    search=search.replace(/\x94/g,"\u201D");
    search=search.replace(/\x95/g,"\u2022");
    search=search.replace(/\x96/g,"\u2013");
    search=search.replace(/\x97/g,"\u2014");
    search=search.replace(/\x98/g,"\u02DC");
    search=search.replace(/\x99/g,"\u2122");
    search=search.replace(/\x9[aA]/g,"\u0161");
    search=search.replace(/\x9[bB]/g,"\u203A");
    search=search.replace(/\x9[cC]/g,"\u0153");
    search=search.replace(/\x9[dD]/g,"\u009D");
    search=search.replace(/\x9[eE]/g,"\u017E");
    search=search.replace(/\x9[fF]/g,"\u0178");
    if (options.indexOf("l")>=0) {
      search=search.replace(/\b/g,"b");
      search=search.replace(/\f/g,"f");
      search=search.replace(/\n/g,"n");
      search=search.replace(/\r/g,"r");
      search=search.replace(/\t/g,"t");
      search=search.replace(/\v/g,"v");
      search=search.replace(/\x[0-9a-fA-F]{2}|\u[0-9a-fA-F]{4}/g,
        function($0,$1,$2){
          return String.fromCharCode(parseInt("0x"+$0.substring(2)));
        }
      );
      search=search.replace(/\B/g,"\");
    } else search=search.replace(/\B/g,"\\");
  }
  if (options.indexOf("l")>=0) {
    options=options.replace(/l/g,"");
    search=search.replace(/([.^$*+?()[{\|])/g,"\$1");
    if (!jexpr) replace=replace.replace(/$/g,"$$$$");
  }
  if (options.indexOf("b")>=0) {
    options=options.replace(/b/g,"");
    search="^"+search
  }
  if (options.indexOf("e")>=0) {
    options=options.replace(/e/g,"");
    search=search+"$"
  }
  var search=new RegExp(search,options);
  var str1, str2;

  if (srcVar) {
    str1=env(args.Item(3));
    str2=str1.replace(search,jexpr?replFunc:replace);
    if (!alterations || str1!=str2) if (multi) {
      WScript.Stdout.Write(str2);
    } else {
      WScript.Stdout.WriteLine(str2);
    }
    if (str1!=str2) rtn=0;
  } else if (multi){
    var buf=1024;
    str1="";
    while (!WScript.StdIn.AtEndOfStream) {
      str1+=WScript.StdIn.Read(buf);
      buf*=2
    }
    str2=str1.replace(search,jexpr?replFunc:replace);
    WScript.Stdout.Write(str2);
    if (str1!=str2) rtn=0;
  } else {
    while (!WScript.StdIn.AtEndOfStream) {
      str1=WScript.StdIn.ReadLine();
      str2=str1.replace(search,jexpr?replFunc:replace);
      if (!alterations || str1!=str2) WScript.Stdout.WriteLine(str2);
      if (str1!=str2) rtn=0;
    }
  }
} catch(e) {
  WScript.Stderr.WriteLine("JScript runtime error: "+e.message);
  rtn=3;
}
WScript.Quit(rtn);

function replFunc($0, $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10) {
  var $=arguments;
  return(eval(replace));
}

IMPORTANT UPDATE

I have ceased development of REPL.BAT, and replaced it with JREPL.BAT. This newer utility has all the same functionality of REPL.BAT, plus much more:

• Unicode UTF-16LE support via native CSCRIPT unicode capabilities, and any other character set (including UTF-8) via ADO.
• Read directly from / write directly to a file: no need for pipes, redirection, or move command.
• Incorporate user supplied JScript
• Translation facility similar to unix tr, only it also supports regex search and JScript replace
• Discard non-matching text
• Prefix output lines with line number
• and more…

As always, full documentation is embedded within the script.

The original trivial solution is now even simpler:

jrepl "foo" "bar" /f test.txt /o -

The current version of JREPL.BAT is available at DosTips. Read all of the subsequent posts in the thread to see examples of usage and a history of the development.

February 8th, 2005

Hey, JW. As we’ve found out numerous times when dealing with text files, there is no obvious way to do this; that is, there is no ReplaceText command that can open a text file and find and replace text. Fortunately, this problem is typical of text file questions in one other respect: although there’s no obvious way to carry out the task, we can still find a way to get the job done.

Although we can’t directly search and replace text inside a text file, we can do the next best thing. We can: 1) open up a text file; 2) read the text into a variable; 3) do a search-and-replace on that variable; and 4) re-save the text file. We can even do all that from the command line, although we’ll hold off on that for a moment. Instead, let’s start with a simple script that carries out the search and replace:

Const ForReading = 1
Const ForWriting = 2
Set objFSO = CreateObject(“Scripting.FileSystemObject”)
Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(“C:ScriptsText.txt”, ForReading)
strText = objFile.ReadAll
objFile.Close
strNewText = Replace(strText, “Jim “, “James “)
Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(“C:ScriptsText.txt”, ForWriting)
objFile.WriteLine strNewText
objFile.Close

We start off by creating two constants (ForReading and ForWriting), which we’ll use for the two occasions when we’ll open our text file. (Yes, we said two occasions). We create an instance of the FileSystemObject, and then use the OpenTextFile method to open the file C:ScriptsText.txt for reading.

With the file open, we use the ReadAll method to read the contents of the entire file into the variable strText. We then close C:ScriptsText.txt even though we’ll almost immediately reopen it, this time for writing. Seems silly, yes, but that’s the way the FileSystemObject works: you can open a file for reading or you can open a file for writing, but you can’t perform both operations at the same time. (As you should know by now, the FileSystemObject works in mysterious ways.)

Having stored the contents of the file in the variable strText, we then use the VBScript Replace function to replace all instances of Jim with James. That’s what we do in this line of code:

strNewText = Replace(strText, “Jim “, “James “)

Notice that we’re looking for each instance of “Jim ” (Jim followed by a blank space) and replacing those with “James ” (James followed by a blank space). Though hardly foolproof, this gives our script a tiny bit of intelligence; if the script encounters the name Jimmy it won’t try to replace the Jim with James (resulting in Jamesmy). The new file we create – the one where each Jim has been replaced by James – is stored in memory in the variable strNewText.

Next we reopen our file (for writing), call the WriteLine method to write the contents of strNewText to the file, and then close the file a second time. The net effect? If we started off with a text file that looked like this:

Jim Jones
Mary Smith
Jim Doe
Jim Johnson
Mary Johnston

we’ll end up with a text file that looks like this:

James Jones
Mary Smith
James Doe
James Johnson
Mary Johnston

As for doing this all from the command-line, we simply need to modify the script so that it will accept – in this order – three command-line arguments: the name of the file to open; the text we want to search for; and the text we want to replace. Here’s a script that does just that. Note that we store the command-line arguments in the variables strFileName, strOldText, and strNewText, and we use those variables when opening and saving the text file and when calling the Replace function:

Const ForReading = 1
Const ForWriting = 2
strFileName = Wscript.Arguments(0)
strOldText = Wscript.Arguments(1)
strNewText = Wscript.Arguments(2)
Set objFSO = CreateObject(“Scripting.FileSystemObject”)
Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(strFileName, ForReading)
strText = objFile.ReadAll
objFile.Close
strNewText = Replace(strText, strOldText, strNewText)
Set objFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(strFileName, ForWriting)
objFile.WriteLine strNewText
objFile.Close




  


                       
  

To use this revised script (which we’ll call replace.vbs) just type a command similar to this from the command prompt:

cscript replace.vbs “C:ScriptsText.txt” “Jim ” “James ”

POWERSHELL

Example PowerShell syntax below for find and replacement of strings within a specific file.

EXAMPLE

(Get-Content "C:UsersuserDesktoptesttestzzz.txt") | 
Foreach-Object {$_.replace("\changeme", "\servershare name")} | 
Set-Content "C:UsersuserDesktoptesttestzzz.txt"

Resources:

• http://ss64.com/ps/replace.html
• http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2008/01/17/how-can-i-use-windows-powershell-to-replace-characters-in-a-text-file.aspx

F.A.R.T

For the F.A.R.T issue with spaces specifically, I think you just need to add double-quotes around the strings you’re passing to it. Give that a shot and then perhaps you can just continue to keep using it without further change.

EXAMPLE

"%~dp0Softwarefart" -i -r "%~dp0Softwareconfig.cfg" "\changeme" "%N%"

You can also add the capital -V switch (see below example) to get verbose detail of the error message if needed to troubleshoot further, but I’ve resolved this issue with F.A.R.T and a space in a replacement string by adding the double-quotes around it as in my below example #2.

Example #2

fart -i -C -V "C:UsersuserDesktoptesttestzzz.txt" "\changeme" "\servershare name"

You also may want to consider excluding the -r option if you’re only changing the text in a SINGLE file (i.e. config.cfg). Below is the FART /? options I see exaplaining the options.

Usage: FART [options] [--] <wildcard>[,...] [find_string] [replace_string]

Options:
 -h, --help          Show this help message (ignores other options)
 -q, --quiet         Suppress output to stdio / stderr
 -V, --verbose       Show more information
 -r, --recursive     Process sub-folders recursively
 -c, --count         Only show filenames, match counts and totals
 -i, --ignore-case   Case insensitive text comparison
 -v, --invert        Print lines NOT containing the find string
 -n, --line-number   Print line number before each line (1-based)
 -w, --word          Match whole word (uses C syntax, like grep)
 -f, --filename      Find (and replace) filename instead of contents
 -B, --binary        Also search (and replace) in binary files (CAUTION)
 -C, --c-style       Allow C-style extended characters (xFFtnr\ etc.)
     --cvs           Skip cvs dirs; execute "cvs edit" before changing files
     --svn           Skip svn dirs
     --remove        Remove all occurences of the find_string
 -a, --adapt         Adapt the case of replace_string to found string
 -b, --backup        Make a backup of each changed file
 -p, --preview       Do not change the files but print the changes

Задача замены строки или её части в текстовом файле в командной строке или в bat файле может быть решена различными способами, в зависимости от требований.

Варианты замены текста из командной строки

Утилита поиска и замены текста

Специализированный инструмент всегда даёт самый функциональный и быстрый для реализации способ: готовые утилиты поддерживают все кодировки файлов, имеют опции для разных вариантов замены, поддерживают регулярные выражения и не требуют отладки!

Единственная ситуация, когда вариант с готовой утилитой может не подойти – если есть непреодолимое требование не использовать нестандартные (не входящие в состав Windows) компоненты при развёртывании на большое число корпоративных компьютеров. Но такое встречается нечасто.

Поэтому применение готового, отлаженного и протестированного инструмента является предпочтительным вариантом!

Скрипт на JS или VBS

Возможности VBScript/JScript позволяют реализовать различные варианты замены, включая поддержку регулярных выражений, но всё-таки имеют ограниченные возможности: поддержку меньшего числа кодировок файлов, отсутствие массовой замены, отсутствие подкаталогов и т.д. Любое изменение необходимо отлаживать и тестировать. В общем, очередной «велосипед».

Вариант со скриптом оптимально использовать в случае, когда по каким-то причинам нельзя использовать готовую утилиту.

Bat файлы

О серьёзных возможностях программирования bat файлов говорить не приходится – собственно, bat файл потому и называется пакетным файлом, что предназначен для запуска списка команд по очереди, а не для программирования циклов и обработки переменных.

Сильные стороны bat файлов – удобная форма запуска команд по списку, простое перенаправление вывода и использование переменных окружения, но лучше в bat файлах не программировать.

Ладно раньше, когда предустановленной альтернативы не было, но сейчас, когда на всех компьютерах есть WSH с VBScript/JScript и PowerShell…

Замена текста в файле скриптом JScript

Чтобы сделать замену текста в текстовом файле, в том числе, с использованием регулярных выражений, можно использовать следующий скрипт JScript, который:

• открывает указанный текстовый файл
• читает его построчно
• для каждой строки выполняет замену по регулярному выражению

Код скрипта замены текста

// Имя файла, искомый текст и текст замены берём из аргументов
var file_name = WScript.Arguments(0);
var text_sample = WScript.Arguments(1);
var text_replace = WScript.Arguments(2);

var fso=WScript.CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject");
// Переносим исходный файл во временный
var file_name_tmp = file_name+".tmp";
if (fso.FileExists(file_name_tmp))
    fso.DeleteFile(file_name_tmp);
fso.MoveFile(file_name,file_name_tmp);

var fo = fso.OpenTextFile(file_name_tmp,1,false,false);
var fr = fso.OpenTextFile(file_name,2,true,false);

// Выполняем замену текста, с построчной обработкой
var re=new RegExp(text_sample);

while (!fo.AtEndOfStream) {
    var line = fo.ReadLine();
    var line_replace = line.replace(re,text_replace);
    fr.WriteLine(line_replace);
}
fo.Close();
fr.Close();
// Удаляем временный файл
fso.DeleteFile(file_name_tmp);

Запуск скрипта замены текста

При запуске скрипта необходимо параметрами передать имя файла, строку поиска (регулярное выражение), строку замены:

cscript //nologo replace_text.js content.txt Foo Bar

Примечания к скрипту

Скрипт обрабатывает файлы в ANSI кодировке. Для Unicode файла необходимо заменить 4-й аргумент в вызовах OpenTextFile c false на true.

Поскольку обработка ведётся по строкам, то регулярные выражения сработают только в пределах одной строки.

Примеры использования скрипта replace-text-script-samples.zip

Замена текста программой nhrt

Больше возможностей и гибкости: поддержка всех кодировок файлов с автоматическим определением, пакетная обработка и многое другое в программе nhrt.

1. Use Batch Script To Replace Text From the File
2. Use Windows PowerShell To Replace Text From the File

In this article, we will introduce some methods through which you can replace texts in a file. We are going to see two different ways.

Our first method contains only the batch script to perform the task and the second method provides the solution by Windows PowerShell.

Suppose we have a text file with the content below.

Test.txt:

This is text that is saved in a text file. This is an update. ,,,,,,,,,,,,

We are going to replace these commands with empty characters.

Use Batch Script To Replace Text From the File

Batch Script:

@echo off
FOR /f "tokens=*" %%s IN (Test.txt) DO (
  SET Texts=%%s
)
set Texts=%Texts:,=%

FOR /F "tokens=* delims=" %%x IN (Test.txt) DO SET text=%%x
ECHO %Texts% > "G:BATCHTest.txt" :: the path location of the txt file

We first read the file using the line FOR /f "tokens=*" %%s IN (Test.txt) DO ( and then through the line SET Texts=%%s, we initialize a string variable with the texts of the file. We replaced each comma with an empty character through the line set Texts=%Texts:,=%.

Lastly, we put the text into the file again. When we run the code above, we will see changes in our file content below.

This is text that is saved in a text file. This is an update.

Use Windows PowerShell To Replace Text From the File

This method will also provide the same result as our previous method did. In this method, we used PowerShell in our batch script. The example code for this method will look like this,

powershell -Command "(gc Test.txt) -replace ',', '' | Out-File -encoding ASCII Test.txt"

When we run the code, we’ll see changes in our file content below.

This is text that is saved in a text file. This is an update.

Remember that the commands we discussed here are only for the Windows command prompt or CMD environment.

Notepad++ is an excellent light-weight text editor with many useful features. With Notepad++, you can find and replace text in the current file or in multiple files in a folder recursively. You can also find and replace text using regex.

This post has many Notepad++ find & replace examples and other useful Notepad++ tips for different scenarios.

Remove Path from the File name in a text file

If you have full paths for files in a text file and want to remove the path (i.e., only want the file name), use the following Find & Replace technique:

1. Bring up the Replace dialog (Ctrl + H) and use the following replace method:
2. In the Find box, type ^.*\
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Leave the Replace box blank.
5. Uncheck matches newline
6. Click Replace All

::Before::

C:UsersrameshPicturesScreenshotsScreenshot 90.png
C:UsersrameshPicturesScreenshotsScreenshot 97.png
C:UsersrameshPicturesScreenshotsScreenshot 10.png
C:UsersrameshPicturesScreenshotsScreenshot 15.png

::After::

Screenshot 90.png
Screenshot 97.png
Screenshot 10.png
Screenshot 15.png

Remove File name from Full Path in a text file

To remove the file name from a full path, use this search operator:

• Find what: \[^\]+$
• Replace with: Leave empty
• Set the Search mode to Regular expression
• Uncheck matches newline
• Click Replace All

::Before::

D:ToolsSysinternalsaccesschk.exe
D:ToolsSysinternalsAccessEnum.exe
D:ToolsNirSoftAddrView.exe
D:ToolsOthersactivehotkeys.exe

::After::

D:ToolsSysinternals
D:ToolsSysinternals
D:ToolsNirSoft
D:ToolsOthers

Tip: If you need the trailing slash after the folder path, you can use the following regex search instead.

• Find what: (.*\).*
• Replace with: 1

Remove a fixed number of characters from the beginning of each line

To remove a fixed number of characters at the beginning of each line in a text file, use this regex search & replace query:

1. Find what: ^.{11}(.*)$
2. Replace with: $1
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Uncheck matches newline
5. Click Replace All

This deletes the first 11 characters from the starting of each line.

::Before::

File Path: D:ToolsSysinternalsaccesschk.exe
File Path: D:ToolsSysinternalsAccessEnum.exe
File Path: D:ToolsNirSoftAddrView.exe
File Path: D:ToolsOthersactivehotkeys.exe

::After::

D:ToolsSysinternalsaccesschk.exe
D:ToolsSysinternalsAccessEnum.exe
D:ToolsNirSoftAddrView.exe
D:ToolsOthersactivehotkeys.exe

Delete characters that exceed the number of characters

To delete characters that exceed the number of characters in a text file, use this:

1. Find what: ^.{19}K.*$
2. Replace with: Leave blank
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Uncheck matches newline
5. Click Replace All

This deletes the characters that exceed 19 characters in each line.

::Before::

The Quick Brown Fox is lazy
The Quick Brown Fox is very cute
The Quick Brown Fox jumps over the lazy dog

::After::

The Quick Brown Fox
The Quick Brown Fox
The Quick Brown Fox

Remove text after a specific character from each line in a text file

To remove text after a specific character — e.g., a hyphen, from each line in a text file, use:

1. Find what: (.+)s*-s*(.+)
2. Replace with: $1
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Uncheck matches newline
5. Click Replace All

Alternatively, to remove text after a specific character or word, you can use the following, which looks easier:

1. Find what: -.*
2. Replace with:  leave it empty
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Uncheck matches newline
5. Click Replace All

::Before::

accesschk.exe - from Sysinternals
AccessEnum.exe - from Sysinternals
AddrView.exe - from NirSoft
activehotkeys.exe - from another vendor

::After::

accesschk.exe 
AccessEnum.exe 
AddrView.exe 
activehotkeys.exe

You can also use it to remove text after a specific word (e.g., “from”).

1. Find what: from.*
2. Replace with:  leave it empty
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Uncheck matches newline
5. Click Replace All

::Before::

accesschk.exe from Sysinternals
AccessEnum.exe from Sysinternals
AddrView.exe from NirSoft
activehotkeys.exe from another vendor

::After::

accesschk.exe 
AccessEnum.exe 
AddrView.exe 
activehotkeys.exe

Remove leading or trailing space from each line in a text file

To remove the trailing and/or leading whitespace from each line in a text file, use the Blank Operations menu.

From the Edit menu in Notepad++, click Blank Operations

Choose one of the three options:

• Trim Trailing Space
• Trim Leading Space
• Trim Leading and Trailing Space

Delete blank lines in a text file

To delete empty/blank lines in a text file, from the Edit menu in Notepad++, select Line Operations, and click Remove Empty Lines

To also remove lines containing blank characters or white spaces, click Remove Empty Lines (Containing Blank characters) option instead.

::Before:

The Quick Brown Fox is lazy


The Quick Brown Fox is very cute


The Quick Brown Fox jumps over the lazy dog

::After::

The Quick Brown Fox is lazy
The Quick Brown Fox is very cute
The Quick Brown Fox jumps over the lazy dog

Delete empty lines only in the selected rows

Note that the above command removes empty lines in the entire text file. To remove empty lines only within the text selection, use this search operator:

1. Select the rows where you want to remove empty lines.
2. Bring up the Replace dialog (Ctrl + H)
3. In the Find what: box, type nr
4. Leave the Replace with: box empty
5. Enable the In selection checkbox
6. Select Search Mode to Extended
7. Click Replace All

That’s it! It deletes the empty rows within the selected rows only rather than the entire file.

Remove text after ‘n’th occurrence of comma or symbol

Suppose you have text in each line delimited by a comma or any other symbol. Example below:

::Before::

------------------------------
name,address,pin,landmark
------------------------------
ramesh,10 san jose avenue,11011,near museum
pete,1 sf marg,45089,near childrens park
john,7 rcr,11909,near metro station

To remove text after the 3rd occurrence of the comma, use this find and replace search operator:

1. Find what: ^([^,]*,[^,]*,[^,]*),.*$
2. Replace with: $1
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Uncheck matches newline
5. Click Replace All

::After::

--------------------------
name,address,pin
--------------------------
ramesh,10 san jose avenue,11011
pete,1 sf marg,45089
john,7 rcr,11909

Prefix each line with a word or phrase in a text file

To add a word or phrase (prefix) at the beginning of each line in a text file, use the following search & replace operator:

1. Find what: ^
2. Replace with: Some word or phrase
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Uncheck matches newline
5. Click Replace All

The above can be especially useful when creating a HOSTS file to block a list of certain Ad servers. Use 0.0.0.0 with a trailing space in the Replace with: text box, and click Replace All. This adds the prefix string for each line (Ad server) in the text file.

::Before::

ssp.adriver.ru
r.adrolays.de
adrotate.se
www.adrotate.net
adrunnr.com

::After::

0.0.0.0 ssp.adriver.ru
0.0.0.0 r.adrolays.de
0.0.0.0 adrotate.se
0.0.0.0 www.adrotate.net
0.0.0.0 adrunnr.com

Suffix each line with a word or phrase in a text file

To add a word or phrase (suffix) at the end of each line in a text file, use the following search & replace operator:

1. Find what: $
2. Replace with: Some word or phrase
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. Uncheck matches newline
5. Click Replace All

::Before::

D:ToolsSysinternalsaccesschk.exe
D:ToolsSysinternalsAccessEnum.exe
D:ToolsSysinternalsProcexp.exe

::After::

D:ToolsSysinternalsaccesschk.exe (your word or phrase here)
D:ToolsSysinternalsAccessEnum.exe (your word or phrase here)
D:ToolsSysinternalsProcexp.exe (your word or phrase here)

Remove duplicate rows in a text file using Notepad++ without sorting the lines

To remove duplicate rows in a text file using Notepad++ without sorting the rows, use this search and replace operator:

1. Find what: ^(.*?)$s+?^(?=.*^1$)
2. Replace with: Leave blank
3. Set the Search mode to Regular expression
4. *Enable* matches newline
5. Click Replace All

This removes all the duplicate lines leaving out the original. As a bonus, it also removes blank lines automatically.

Important: You must enable matches newline for this to work. Credits to stema

The above is a brilliant method that doesn’t need sorting of the lines. The duplicate rows can be located anywhere in the text file and they’re not reordered.

::Before::

12345
23456
34567
45678

12345
23456
34567
45678

12345
23456
34567
45678

::After::

12345
23456
34567
45678

Remove consecutive duplicate lines

If the duplicate rows are located immediately after each other, to remove the consecutive duplicate rows, from the Edit menu in Notepad++, click Line Operations, and select Remove Consecutive Duplicate Lines

::Before::

12345
12345
12345
23456
23456
34567
34567
45678
45678

::After::

12345
23456
34567
45678

Insert new line (carriage return) at a specific character or string

To insert a new line (carriage return) after at a specific character or string — e.g., after a Comma, use this search and replace operator:

1. Find what: ,
2. Replace with: rn
3. Set the Search mode to Extended
4. Click Replace All

The above search & replace operation adds a new line wherever the comma appears.

::Before::

Cecilia Chapman,711-2880 Nulla St.,Mankato Mississippi 96522,(257) 563-7401,Iris Watson,P.O. Box 283 8562 Fusce Rd.

::After::

Cecilia Chapman
711-2880 Nulla St.
Mankato Mississippi 96522
(257) 563-7401
Iris Watson
P.O. Box 283 8562 Fusce Rd.

If you want to retain the trailing comma after every line, use ,rn in the Replace with: text box.

Example 2:

To insert a new line at a specific string ( named GUID:), use this example:

1. Find what:  GUID:
2. Replace with: rn
3. Set the Search mode to Extended
4. Click Replace All

::Before::

Documents GUID:{D3162B92-9365-467A-956B-92703ACA08AF}

Downloads GUID:{088E3905-0323-4B02-9826-5D99428E115F}

Music GUID:{3DFDF296-DBEC-4FB4-81D1-6A3438BCF4DE}

Pictures GUID:{24AD3AD4-A569-4530-98E1-AB02F9417AA8}

Videos GUID:{F86FA3AB-70D2-4FC7-9C99-FCBF05467F3A}

::After::

Documents 
GUID:{D3162B92-9365-467A-956B-92703ACA08AF}

Downloads
GUID:{088E3905-0323-4B02-9826-5D99428E115F}

Music
GUID:{3DFDF296-DBEC-4FB4-81D1-6A3438BCF4DE}

Pictures
GUID:{24AD3AD4-A569-4530-98E1-AB02F9417AA8}

Videos
GUID:{F86FA3AB-70D2-4FC7-9C99-FCBF05467F3A}