Description

The RegExpr.Substitute method returns the ATemplate string where the special characters are replaced with text that matches the regular expression or it’s part:

Character	Replaced with
$&	A text matching the whole regular expression.
$0	A text matching the whole regular expression.
$nn (where nn is a non-zero positive integer)	A text matching the nn-th sub-expression.

To place a dollar sign that should not be treated as a special character use \$: 'The price is $& \$.'

To place a digit right after the $nn delimit nn with curly braces '{}': 'a${1}2bc'

Declaration

RegExprObj.Substitute(ATemplate)

RegExprObj	An expression, variable or parameter that specifies a reference to a RegExpr object
ATemplate	[in]	Required	String
Result	String

Applies To

The method is applied to the following object:

RegExpr

Parameters

The method has the following parameter:

ATemplate

Specifies the text template.

Result Value

The string with substituted text.

Remarks

You should call the Exec, ExecNext or ExecPos method before calling the Substitute method to define the matching text.

Example

This sample code illustrates how to use this method. It extracts the phone number and parses it into sub-groups.

DelphiScript

procedure SubstituteSample;
var
  MyRegExp: OleVariant;
  ResStr: String;
begin
  MyRegExp:=HISUtils.RegExpr;
  ResStr:='';

  //This expression specifies a phone number pattern
  MyRegExp.Expression:='(\+\d *)?($\d+$ *)?(\d+(-\d*)*)';
  if MyRegExp.Exec('Jack, when you arrive, phone me +1(234)567-89-01.') then
    ResStr := MyRegExp.Substitute('The phone number $& consists of these parts:'+#13
    +'Zone code $1, city code $2 and number itself $3.');
  Log.Message(ResStr);
  //Posts the following to the log:
  //'The phone number +1(234)567-89-01 consists of these parts:
  // Zone code +1, city code (234) and number itself 567-89-01.'
end;

Substitute Method