Regex and () in directory name

[anmac1789]

How to use Regex with brackets in folder names ? When finding duplicates using folder name brackets, Regex rejects the folder.

[therube]

regex:"C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \(2007\)"

regex:"C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \[2007\] - Copy"

[anmac1789]

regex:"C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \(2007\)"

regex:"C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \[2007\] - Copy"

Does \\ need to be added at the end of the path string ?

[anmac1789]

What if there is a subfolder inside the path with ( ) ?

[void]

Use ^ to match the start of the filename and improve regex performance:

regex:"^C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \(2007\)"
regex:"^C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \[2007\] - Copy"



Use a trailing $ to match the end of the filename:

regex:"^C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \(2007\)$"
regex:"^C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \[2007\] - Copy$"

-or-

Use a trailing \\ to match anything under the specified path

regex:"^C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \(2007\)\\"
regex:"^C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \[2007\] - Copy\\"

without the trailing \\, these searches will match:

C:\TMP\BRU\7eventy 5ive (2007) Backup"
C:\TMP\BRU\7eventy 5ive [2007] - Copy - Copy (2)"



If you are trying to capture the name in the specific path, use:

regex:"^C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \(2007\)\\([^\\]*$)"
regex:"^C:\\TMP\\BRU\\7eventy 5ive \[2007\] - Copy\\([^\\]*$)"

( ) = capture group.
[^\\] = match any character except \\
* = match previous element zero or more times.



Use \( or \) to match a literal ( or )
[^\\] will also match ( or )

[anmac1789]

Could you give an example with results of

1. Use a trailing $ to match the end of the filename:
2. Use a trailing \\ to match anything under the specified path and without trailing \\
3. Using \\([^\\]*$)"

[horst.epp]

Could you give an example with results of

1. Use a trailing $ to match the end of the filename:
2. Use a trailing \\ to match anything under the specified path and without trailing \\
3. Using \\([^\\]*$)"

Why not looking on the examples Void gave you one post above your question.

[void]

Please try adding the Regular Expression Match 1 column to see what is being captured.

Experiment with:

regex:^C:\\FolderA\\([^\\]*)$
regex:^C:\\FolderA\\(.*)$

Adjust C:\\FolderA as needed.



Typically ^ will go at the start of your regex search and $ will go at the end to match the whole path and filename.

$1: used with fileexists: is replaced for each file/folder with the value shown in the Regular Expression Match 1 column.

Perl Compatible Regular Expressions

[anmac1789]

So it seems that this expression matches folders only while,

regex:^C:\\FolderA\\([^\\]*)$

this expression gives the folder and the file that it contains in the regular expression match 1 column

regex:^C:\\FolderA\\(.*)$

so the reg exp 1 column1 captures the filename and the subfolder but not just the filename itself...

[NotNull]

The first one should capture just the filename (without path)

The second one should capture the complete path of a file/folder, minus "C:\FolderA\"

[anmac1789]

The first one should capture just the filename (without path)

The second one should capture the complete path of a file/folder, minus "C:\FolderA\"

Let's say I wanted to match files from 2 folders in different subfolders at different levels ? and to further complicate things..what if a subfolder has ( ) in them ? will it automatically add \ to subfolder names with ( ) to different levels ?

[NotNull]

I haven't read this thread; just responded on your (then) last post.

[anmac1789]

I haven't read this thread; just responded on your (then) last post.

Ok...

[void]

To match subfolders and files, please try the following:

<regex:^C:\\FolderA\\(.*)$ fileexists:C:\\FolderB\\\1> | <regex:^C:\\FolderB\\(.*)$ fileexists:C:\\FolderA\\\1>

(.*) will capture ( and ) without issues.
any ( or ) text replaced with \1 is handled without any issues.

[anmac1789]

To match subfolders and files, please try the following:

<regex:^C:\\FolderA\\(.*)$ fileexists:C:\\FolderB\\\1> | <regex:^C:\\FolderB\\(.*)$ fileexists:C:\\FolderA\\\1>

(.*) will capture ( and ) without issues.
any ( or ) text replaced with \1 is handled without any issues.

So, the brackets will be captured within subfolders too ?

[void]

Yes, ( and ) will be captured with .*

Please make sure you escape any special regex characters in the path that you substitute with C:\\FolderA.

For example:

Instead of C:\FolderA you want to use C:\Program Files (x86)
use the following regex:
regex:"^C:\\Program files \(x86\)"

If unsure, use the following search preprocessor:

regex:^[regexescape:"C:\Program Files (x86)"]

[anmac1789]

Yes, ( and ) will be captured with .*

Please make sure you escape any special regex characters in the path that you substitute with C:\\FolderA.

For example:

Instead of C:\FolderA you want to use C:\Program Files (x86)
use the following regex:
regex:"^C:\\Program files \(x86\)"

If unsure, use the following search preprocessor:

regex:^[regexescape:"C:\Program Files (x86)"]

Thanks I will try this out

[anmac1789]

To match subfolders and files, please try the following:

<regex:^C:\\FolderA\\(.*)$ fileexists:C:\\FolderB\\\1> | <regex:^C:\\FolderB\\(.*)$ fileexists:C:\\FolderA\\\1>

(.*) will capture ( and ) without issues.
any ( or ) text replaced with \1 is handled without any issues.

Is this supposed to match files inside subfolders with other files in a directory in different level subfolders ? Here is a screenshot of

U:\regex test folder 1\

and

U:\regex test folder 1 (brackets)\

folder

Screenshot 2023-04-14 220906.jpg (79.96 KiB) Viewed 5672 times

When I use the syntax from the above quote into these 2 types of folders then the following results is produced:

<regex:^"U:\\regex test folder 1 (brackets)\\(.*)$" fileexists:"U:\\regex test folder 1\\\1"> | <regex:^"U:\\regex test folder 1\\(.*)$" fileexists:"U:\\regex test folder 1 (brackets)\\\1">

Screenshot 2023-04-14 222210.jpg (61.73 KiB) Viewed 5672 times