Search and Replace

You can search for any text or replace all occurrences of a string of text with other text. Each of these operations can be performed on the whole document, on a marked block or on a column range. A number of special character sequences allow you to search for and replace a variety of different types of strings.

To Search for Text

  1. Give the Search command:
Menu Command Tool Key Cmd-sequence
Blocks Search Search icon F4 BSE

To Find the Next or Previous Match After a Search Command

Give the Next Match or Previous Match command:

Menu Command Tool Key Cmd-sequence
Blocks Next match Adj-Search icon F6 BNM
Previous match BPN

When PipeDream can find no more strings that match, you will be told how many strings were found.

To Replace Text

  1. Give the Search command.
  2. You will see the Search dialogue box. Type the text you want to change in the String to search for input field.
  3. Select the Replace with option and type the text with which you want to replace the first string.

If you do not want to stop at each occurrence of the string, turn off the Ask for confirmation option.

Otherwise, when PipeDream finds a string, it will ask you what you want to do. Click the Yes button or press Y if you want to change the string. Click the No button or press N if you do not want to change the string. Click the All button or press A to change this and all subsequent strings automatically. Click the Stop button or press Escape to stop the process.

The other dialogue box options do the following:

Equate upper and lower case

If you do not select this option, the case of the characters in a search will be ignored and the case of the replacement is matched to the original word by word.

For example, if you wanted to change the to this, The would be changed to This, THE to THIS and the to this. If you select this option, you can specify exact matches and replacements. For example, you could change basic to BASIC.

Search number cells

If you select this option, number cells will be searched as well as text cells.

Search only marked block

If you select this option, only the marked block will be searched.

Search Special Sequences

The following special sequences can be used in the search string:

Sequence Matches

^^       ^

^?       A single character (not space)

^#       Any sequence of characters not containing spaces

^B       Beginning of a cell

^S       A space

^1 .. ^8 Highlight character

||       | (vertical bar)

|n       Character Ctrl-n

space    One or more spaces or across cells

Replace Special Sequences

The following special sequences can be used in the replace string:

Sequence Matches

^^       ^

^?n      The nth character that was matched by ^? in the search string

^#n      The nth string that was matched by ^# in the search string

^S       A space

^1 .. ^8 Highlight character

||       | (vertical bar)

|n       Character Ctrl-n

space    Matching spaces or cell boundary