Find Pattern
Search text for the first match to a specified pattern using regular expressions.
Input
| Field | Definition | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| look in | String value within which a search for a text pattern is performed. | String | TRUE |
| look for | Specified text pattern. A pattern must use a regular expression. | String | TRUE |
Output
| Field | Definition | Type |
|---|---|---|
| position |
Position of the first match found, where 0 is the first position. Returns -1 if no match is found. |
Number |
Regular Expressions
Unlike the Find function card, Find Pattern supports regular expressions.
| Regular Expression | Definition |
|---|---|
| \w |
Finds any alphanumeric character (for example, a letter or number). |
\s
|
Finds any whitespace character (for example, a blank or tab). |
\d
|
Finds any digit. |
[1-5]
|
Finds a number between 1 and 5. |
[aeiou]
|
Finds a, e, i, o, or u. |
hello|test
|
Finds hello or test. Either side of the | operator is a regular expression. |
colou?r
|
Finds color or colour. The ? signifies that there can be zero or one of the preceding element. |
\d{5}
|
Finds five consecutive digits. The {number} signifies a number of consecutive instances of the preceding element. |
[^\w]
|
Finds any character that is not an alphanumeric character. You can add the negative operator
|
Many characters have special meaning in regular expressions, such as ., +, *, and \. To search for any such characters, place \ before the character. For example, \. - finds a period.
You can combine any of the above patterns and fixed text. For example, test\.\d{3} finds the word test followed by a period followed by three consecutive digits.
Example
For simple searches, the Find Pattern function card performs like the Find.
If the look in field contains testing_123, the following input values in the look for produce these results:
| look for | position | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
test
|
0 |
String found at beginning of input value. |
ing
|
4 |
String appears after the 4th position and starts in the 5th position. |
hello
|
-1 | No match found. |
\d
|
8 | First digit found. |
\w_\d
|
6 | Any character found that is followed by an underscore then a digit. |
esting_\d{3}
|
1 | String "esting" followed by any three digits. |
The Find Pattern card is often used in combination with Text Segment to get the text that matched the pattern.