Notepad++ Regex Replace doesn't work on Notepad++

Question

I tried to search for every word that has
bar-foo and switch them to foo-bar
so I wrote on the find (\w+)-(\w+)
and on the replace $2-$1
and instead of writing foo-bar it wrote $2-$1.

Yes, Regular Expression in search mode is on.
It seems that the Replace Regex doesn't work and been taken literally

How is SO less appropriate of a place to answer this question than SU? — BoltClock, Aug 24 '10 at 12:54
who said it was less appropriate ? I guess it's a borderline topic, since notepad++ is used 99% for programming.. and Regex could be considered as programming... dunno :I — Asaf, Aug 24 '10 at 13:26
I was referring to the two people who voted to move to Super User. — BoltClock, Aug 27 '10 at 21:01
***Update:*** For Notepad++ version 6.0 or newer (=> 6.0), you can use `\1` **and** `$1` [(a detailed explanation)](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11970405/notepad-backreference-regex-syntax-in-search-replace-1-or-1/11970406#11970406). — amiregelz, Aug 25 '12 at 17:40

score 54 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 24 '10 at 12:53

54

With notepad++ you'll need to use \2-\1 as the replacement string.

Sources :
Mark's Speechblog

answered Aug 24 '10 at 12:53

Colin Hebert

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For instance, why when I try to search for (empty|isset) it doesn't find anything although there's 'empty' inside the doc? – Asaf Aug 24 '10 at 13:41

score 9 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 23 '18 at 07:17

9

Use \2 \1 in the replace field.

Notepad++ uses the linux like \1 syntax instead of $1

edited Aug 23 '18 at 07:17

Pang

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answered Aug 24 '10 at 12:54

Amarghosh

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Notepad++ Regex Replace doesn't work on Notepad++

2 Answers2

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