editing:search:find_replace

Find and Replace

HippoEDIT has a combined Find and Replace dialog, which can be used for search and replace operations. The switch between dialog styles is optimized for search or replace. Just use the Replace… button, if opened as the Find dialog.

Find What - in this field shall be entered text/pattern for searching. Mandatory field.

Replace With - here placed text to replace pattern from Find What.

Both fields implemented using history combo boxes that remember your last searches and can suggest your already known entries, taking into account case settings.

Scope in which search shall be done (search types). List of available scopes is dynamic and depends on current editor state and installed plugins.

  • Document - search in current document. The cursor position is taken into account depending on Wrap Search flag. Only available if some document open.
  • Block - search in current code block (scope/folding area). Only “named” blocks taken into account (e.g. function, method, etc). Not available, if outlining is not defined for syntax.
  • Selection - search inside of selected text in current document. Only available if some document open and text selection exist. Only stream selection is taken into account.
  • Open Documents - search among all open files. Active if any file is open.
    Find in Open Files configuration
  • Files - search in files in specified directory.
    Find in Files options
To search in multiple directories, enter directory names separated by “;” in Directory field. C:\Test;C:\Test2 - means search in directory C:\Test and in “C:\Test2”.
But there is a restriction - you can not search directories with symbol “;” in the name.
To search in specific file, without opening it, you can enter its name in Directory field directly - 'C:\Test\file.txt' will search if file.txt file directly.
  • File Directory - search in directory of current file.
    Find in current directory configuration
  • Recent Files - search among recent files. Can be checked in File→Open.
  • Favorite Directories - search in files from favorite directories.
  • Bookmarked Lines - search in bookmarked lines of current document. Only active if some document is open and lines are bookmarked.
  • FTP Site - search on current FTP site connected. Only available if FTP plugin is installed and some site is connected.
    Find on FTP site configuration
  • Project - search in current project. Only available if Project Explorer plugin is enabled and some project is open.

Depending on selected scope, search dialog can be extended with additional settings specific for selected search type (scope).

  • Match Whole Word - if set, only matches that surrounded by delimiters will be collected. Can not be combined with Regular Expression Mode.
  • Regular Expression - indicates that Find What contains regular expression pattern and results in regular expression search. Can not be combined with Match Whole Word or Fuzzy mode. If Regular Expression is turned on, you can use helper menu, right side to Find What field, with most common regular expression commands.
  • Match Case - if set, editor performs a case sensitive search.
  • Fuzzy Mode search - allows you to use approximate text search in Find dialog. Fuzziness of the algorithm can be controlled by XML flag.
  • Search Up - sets direction of search Up → backward, otherwise forward.
  • Wrap Search - if enabled, editor continues search to cursor position after reaching end/start of the document (depends on Search Up flag). Default is ON.
  • Extend Selection - if set, the editor will extend current selection till found match position (start or end of the match depends on search direction).
  • Search Collapsed Text - if set, the editor will search also in folded/collapsed areas of the text. If not set, collapsed areas will be skipped. Default is ON.
You can notice Regular Expression is turned on not only by flag itself but also by changed font of the Find What field.

This option sets match filters that allow you to limit search only for some specific code areas as search only in comments, search only in code, only in strings etc. By default the search scope set to Everywhere, that indicates → no filters.

  • Everywhere - do not limit search to some code areas
  • Code - search only in code (opposite to Text)
  • Text - search only in text, as comments, strings, documentation etc
  • Normal - search only in not “syntax highlighted” text, for example variables etc
  • Comment - search only in comments
  • Number - search only among numbers
  • String - search only inside of strings
  • Formatting Tags - search only in Formatting tags

Managing of Search Favorites

In addition to history combo boxes for Find What and Replace With fields, you can save current search options as Favorite. The action is available under Favorites button right side to Find What field.

  • Find Window - editor outputs all found matches in Search Output window. May be disabled, if Search Results plugin will be disabled in Tools→Options→Plugins.
  • New Document - editor outputs all found matches in new document.
  • Count Only - editor just counts matches, but do not collect them.
  • Mark Search Results in Text - highlight all matches in the document with the highlight color.
  • Bookmark Found Lines - sets unnamed bookmarks to all lines in the document, where a match is found. You can operate than on bookmarked lines using dedicated command for working with bookmarks (Edit→Bookmarked Lines).
  • Close when Finished - closes search dialog automatically when search is finished

Status area on the bottom of the search dialog shows information message in-place (matches count, not found etc) in addition to displaying in the main window status bar.

The best search speed can be achieved by using Match Case search and all other flags disabled (except Wrap Search)
If you paste text with white space in input field in Search dialog you will be informed with a warning information message in status bar.