Using wildcard search/replace in Notepad++

Solution 1:

Sorry folks, I just find other answers complicated. (No disrespect intended towards the original posters.)

As this always shows up as the first search result, I'll add this in:

1. Open the search/replace dialog (CTRL+F then the replace tab)
2. Tick "Regular Expression" down the bottom
3. Use .* as the wildcard

For example, I wanted to remove all instances of abp="1314", abp="1313", abp="1312" etc (basically the numbers are all different, which is why you want a wildcard to get rid of them).

In the replace dialog:

Find in what: abp=".*"
Replace with:

(You're replacing anything within those quotes with nothing to get rid of it)

Source: https://www.organicweb.com.au/17226/general-technology/notepad-wildcard/

Solution 2:

Yes it can! Notepad++ has a RegEx search mode that you can select for all of your RegEx replacement needs.

The example below is a basic replace for anything between (see (a...)) with the exception of a line break. You may need to modify the RegEx or write your own to fit your needs. Here's a great place to help you along with experimenting.

RegEx: \(see \(a.+\)\)

Matched strings:

(see (a053007djfgspwdf))
(see (a053007djfgspwdf) and (a54134xsedgeg))
(see (a053007djfgspwdf), (a9554xsdfgsdfg) and (a54134xsedgeg))

Solution 3:

Try this pattern: \(see \(a(.*)\) and make sure you have ". matches newline" unchecked and "wrap around" checked.