Replace selected matches in text

replace_text() is the in-memory counterpart of replace_files(). It applies the replacements stored in a seekr_match object to text and returns the modified text.

It does not read files, write files, or create backups. Use replace_files() for the usual file-based workflow.

Usage

replace_text(text, x)

Arguments

text

Text content as a single string.

x

A seekr_match object with replacement values. All matches in x must be associated with the same file and must refer to positions in text.

Value

A single character string containing text after applying the replacements stored in x.

Details

replace_text() verifies that the current text has the same hash as the text that was searched when the matches were created. If the text has changed, replacement is considered unsafe and the function aborts.

Matches are replaced from the end of the file to the beginning, so earlier replacements do not shift the recorded positions of later replacements.

replace_text() requires x to contain matches from a single source, the one corresponding to text.

See also

• match_text() to create matches from already-read text.

• replace_files() to apply replacements directly to files.

• filter_match() to keep only some matches before replacing.

Examples

text <- "hello old_name\nbye old_name"

x <- match_text(
  text = text,
  path = "example.txt",
  pattern = "old_name",
  replacement = "new_name"
)

replace_text(text, x)
#> [1] "hello new_name\nbye new_name"