Community

I'm doing a RE Replace, and here are the results I get.

Scenario #1
Find what: \xFF
Replace with: \
Result: Replaces ÿ with \

Scenario #2
Find what: \xFF
Replace with: \\
Result: Replaces ÿ with \

Scenario #3
Find what: \xFF
Replace with: \\\\
Result: Replaces ÿ with \\

The Replace with value would seem to resolved from RE into a literal if it's a valid RE (Scenarios #2 and #3), but otherwise it's treated as a literal (Scenario #1).

I am guessing it has always been that way, but should it?

When regular expression is selected, certain characters in the replacement expression (the "replacement format string") have special meanings.

TextPad's help, under Reference Information | Replacement Format Strings, states:

These format strings treat all characters as literals except for '$', '\', '(', ')', '?', and ':'. To output any of those characters as a literal, precede it with a '\'.

It would appear that, as a convenience to the user, if a backslash stands alone in a replacemnet expression (or is unpaired at the end of a replacemnet expression), so that it plainly is not quoting anything, it's treated as a literal. The alternative would be to treat it as an error and annoy the user.

Note that a replacement format string is not a regular expression.