OpenOffice.org BASIC Guide.pdf - OpenOffice.org wiki

Editing Text Documents 106
"meter", "thru")
Doc = StarDesktop.CurrentComponent
Replace = Doc.createReplaceDescriptor
For I = 0 To 5
Replace.SearchString = BritishWords(I)
Replace.ReplaceString = USWords(I)
Doc.replaceAll(Replace)
Next I
The expressions for searching and replacing are set using the SearchString and
ReplaceString properties of the ReplaceDescriptors. The actual replacement process is
finally implemented using the replaceAll method of the document object, which replaces all
occurrences of the search expression.
Example: searching and replacing text with regular expressions
The replacement function of OpenOffice.org is particularly effective when used in
conjunction with regular expressions. These provide the option of defining a variable search
expression with place holders and special characters rather than a fixed value.
The regular expressions supported by OpenOffice.org are described in detail in the online
help section for OpenOffice.org. Here are a few examples:
• A period within a search expression stands for any character. The search expression
sh.rt therefore can stand for both for shirt and for short.
• The character ^ marks the start of a paragraph. All occurrences of the name Peter that
are at the start of a paragraph can therefore be found using the search expression
^Peter.
• The character $ marks a paragraph end. All occurrences of the name Peter that are at
the end of a paragraph can therefore be found using the search expression Peter$.
• A * indicates that the preceding character may be repeated any number of times. It can
be combined with the period as a place holder for any character. The temper.*e
expression, for example, can stand for the expressions temperance and temperature.
The following example shows how all empty lines in a text document can be removed with
the help of the regular expression ^$:
Dim Doc As Object
Dim Replace As Object
Dim I As Long
Doc = StarDesktop.CurrentComponent
Replace = Doc.createReplaceDescriptor
Replace.SearchRegularExpression = True
Replace.SearchString = "^$"
Replace.ReplaceString = ""