Find specific string in a text file with VBS script

Question

I need to find the string "Test Case " & index in a txt file.

I give you an example of the lines you can find in this file:

<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1A1">Log_ in_U1A1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>

As you can see in the second line I have an occurrence of the string "Test Case".

What I want to do is to add another particular string in the line which preceeds the one where "Test Case 5" appears. For example:

<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1A1">Log_ in_U1A1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Logs/DD/Beginning_of_DD_TC5.html">Beginning_of_DD_TC5</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>

It's also important that the line I add has an index i which depends on the Test Case number, and i need to add it before the first occurrence of "Test Case" & i, i dont care about the following occurrences.

I tested if InStr function worked with an example:

Dim objFSO, filepath, objInputFile, tmpStr, substrToFind
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
filepath = "C:\VBS\filediprova.txt"
substrToFind = "<tr><td><a href=" & chr(34) & "../Test case 5"
Set objInputFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(filepath)
tmpStr = objInputFile.ReadLine
If InStr(tmpStr, substrToFind) <= 0 Then
   WScript.Echo "No matches"
Else
   WScript.Echo "Found match"
End If

And it works, it recognizes my substring. In this small example the txt file only contans the followingline:

<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>

Now, when I try to loop over a file with much more lines I have some problem, I use the same InStr function. I wrote the following loop:

Do until objInputFile.AtEndOfStream
   strToAdd = "<tr><td><a href=" & chr(34) & "../../Logs/DD/Beginning_of_DD_TC" & CStr(index) & ".html" & chr(34) & ">Beginning_of_DD_TC" & CStr(index) & "</a></td></tr>"
   substrToFind = "<tr><td><a href=" & chr(34) & "../Test case " & index
   firstStr = "<?xml version" 'my file always starts like this
   tmpStr = objInputFile.ReadLine
   If InStr(tmpStr, substrToFind) <= 0 Then
       If Instr(tmpStr, firstStr) > 0 Then
          text = tmpStr 'to avoid the first empty line
       Else
          text = text & vbCrLf & tmpStr
       End If
   Else
      text = text & vbCrLf & strToAdd & vbCrLf & tmpStr
      index = index + 1
   End If
Loop

What's wrong?

Ansgar Wiechers · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-25 17:02:59Z

6

I'd recommend using a regular expressions instead of string operations for this:

Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

filename = "C:\VBS\filediprova.txt"

newtext = vbLf & "<tr><td><a href=""..."">Beginning_of_DD_TC5</a></td></tr>"

Set re = New RegExp
re.Pattern = "(\n.*?Test Case \d)"
re.Global  = False
re.IgnoreCase = True

text = f.OpenTextFile(filename).ReadAll
f.OpenTextFile(filename, 2).Write re.Replace(text, newText & "$1")

The regular expression will match a line feed (\n) followed by a line containing the string Test Case followed by a number (\d), and the replacement will prepend that with the text you want to insert (variable newtext). Setting re.Global = False makes the replacement stop after the first match.

If the line breaks in your text file are encoded as CR-LF (carriage return + line feed) you'll have to change \n into \r\n and vbLf into vbCrLf.

If you have to modify several text files, you could do it in a loop like this:

For Each f In fso.GetFolder("C:\VBS").Files
  If LCase(fso.GetExtensionName(f.Name)) = "txt" Then
    text = f.OpenAsTextStream.ReadAll
    f.OpenAsTextStream(2).Write re.Replace(text, newText & "$1")
  End If
Next

edited May 25, 2013 at 17:02

answered May 25, 2013 at 16:44

Ansgar Wiechers

202k27 gold badges286 silver badges363 bronze badges

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2 Comments

Luceye85 Over a year ago

I was also thinking about using reg expressions, but I didn't know where to start from, they seem like aramaic to me! Even though I know java and visual basic I never dared using them. I'll keep in consideration this possibility, but can you give me a good link for a tutorial (for dummies) about regex?

Ansgar Wiechers Over a year ago

Try this, and of course the documentation.

Luceye85 · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-05 12:25:00Z

Wow, after few attempts I finally figured out how to deal with my text edits in vbs. The code works perfectly, it gives me the result I was expecting. Maybe it's not the best way to do this, but it does its job. Here's the code:

Option Explicit

Dim StdIn:  Set StdIn = WScript.StdIn
Dim StdOut: Set StdOut = WScript


Main()

Sub Main()

Dim objFSO, filepath, objInputFile, tmpStr, ForWriting, ForReading, count, text, objOutputFile, index, TSGlobalPath, foundFirstMatch
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
TSGlobalPath = "C:\VBS\TestSuiteGlobal\Test suite Dispatch Decimal - Global.txt"
ForReading = 1
ForWriting = 2
Set objInputFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(TSGlobalPath, ForReading, False)
count = 7
text=""
foundFirstMatch = false

Do until objInputFile.AtEndOfStream
    tmpStr = objInputFile.ReadLine
    If foundStrMatch(tmpStr)=true Then
        If foundFirstMatch = false Then
            index = getIndex(tmpStr)
            foundFirstMatch = true
            text = text & vbCrLf & textSubstitution(tmpStr,index,"true")
        End If
        If index = getIndex(tmpStr) Then
            text = text & vbCrLf & textSubstitution(tmpStr,index,"false")
        ElseIf index < getIndex(tmpStr) Then
            index = getIndex(tmpStr)
            text = text & vbCrLf & textSubstitution(tmpStr,index,"true")
        End If
    Else
        text = text & vbCrLf & textSubstitution(tmpStr,index,"false")
    End If
Loop
Set objOutputFile = objFSO.CreateTextFile("C:\VBS\NuovaProva.txt", ForWriting, true)
objOutputFile.Write(text)
End Sub


Function textSubstitution(tmpStr,index,foundMatch)
Dim strToAdd
strToAdd = "<tr><td><a href=" & chr(34) & "../../Logs/CF5.0_Features/Beginning_of_CF5.0_Features_TC" & CStr(index) & ".html" & chr(34) & ">Beginning_of_CF5.0_Features_TC" & CStr(index) & "</a></td></tr>"
If foundMatch = "false" Then
    textSubstitution = tmpStr
ElseIf foundMatch = "true" Then
    textSubstitution = strToAdd & vbCrLf & tmpStr
End If
End Function


Function getIndex(tmpStr)
Dim substrToFind, charAtPos, char1, char2
substrToFind = "<tr><td><a href=" & chr(34) & "../Test case "
charAtPos = len(substrToFind) + 1
char1 = Mid(tmpStr, charAtPos, 1)
char2 = Mid(tmpStr, charAtPos+1, 1)
If IsNumeric(char2) Then
    getIndex = CInt(char1 & char2)
Else
    getIndex = CInt(char1)
End If
End Function

Function foundStrMatch(tmpStr)
Dim substrToFind
substrToFind = "<tr><td><a href=" & chr(34) & "../Test case "
If InStr(tmpStr, substrToFind) > 0 Then
    foundStrMatch = true
Else
    foundStrMatch = false
End If
End Function

This is the original txt file

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
  <meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="content-type" />
  <title>Test Suite</title>
</head>
<body>
<table id="suiteTable" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="1" class="selenium"><tbody>
<tr><td><b>Test Suite</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/TC_Environment_setting">TC_Environment_setting</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/TC_Set_variables">TC_Set_variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/TC_Set_ID">TC_Set_ID</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_in_Admin">Log_in_Admin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Set_Roles_Dispatch_Decimal">Set_Roles_Dispatch_Decimal</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1A1">Log_ in_U1A1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/contrD1">contrD1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1B1">Log_ in_U1B1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Search&OpenApp">Search&OpenApp</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/FormEND">FormEND</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Controllo END">Controllo END</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1A1">Log_ in_U1A1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 6 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 6 DD/contrD1">contrD1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1B1">Log_ in_U1B1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Search&OpenApp">Search&OpenApp</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/FormEND">FormEND</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Controllo END">Controllo END</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1A1">Log_ in_U1A1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 7 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Controllo DeadLetter">Controllo DeadLetter</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Set_Roles_Dispatch_Decimal">Set_Roles_Dispatch_Decimal</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout_BAC">Logout_BAC</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</body>
</html>

And this is the result I'm expecting

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
  <meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="content-type" />
  <title>Test Suite</title>
</head>
<body>
<table id="suiteTable" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="1" class="selenium"><tbody>
<tr><td><b>Test Suite</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/TC_Environment_setting">TC_Environment_setting</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/TC_Set_variables">TC_Set_variables</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/TC_Set_ID">TC_Set_ID</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_in_Admin">Log_in_Admin</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Set_Roles_Dispatch_Decimal">Set_Roles_Dispatch_Decimal</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1A1">Log_ in_U1A1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Logs/CF5.0_Features/Beginning_of_CF5.0_Features_TC5.html">Beginning_of_CF5.0_Features_TC5</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/contrD1">contrD1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1B1">Log_ in_U1B1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Search&OpenApp">Search&OpenApp</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 5 DD/FormEND">FormEND</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Controllo END">Controllo END</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1A1">Log_ in_U1A1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Logs/CF5.0_Features/Beginning_of_CF5.0_Features_TC6.html">Beginning_of_CF5.0_Features_TC6</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 6 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 6 DD/contrD1">contrD1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1B1">Log_ in_U1B1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Search&OpenApp">Search&OpenApp</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Controllo END">Controllo END</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Log_ in_U1A1">Log_ in_U1A1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Logs/CF5.0_Features/Beginning_of_CF5.0_Features_TC7.html">Beginning_of_CF5.0_Features_TC7</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../Test case 7 DD/Form1">Form1</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Controllo DeadLetter">Controllo DeadLetter</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout">Logout</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Component/Set_Roles_Dispatch_Decimal">Set_Roles_Dispatch_Decimal</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="../../Login/Logout_BAC">Logout_BAC</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</body>
</html>

matzone · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-28 09:27:59Z

1

Try to change like this ..

firstStr = "<?xml version" 'my file always starts like this

Do until objInputFile.AtEndOfStream  

    strToAdd = "<tr><td><a href=" & chr(34) & "../../Logs/DD/Beginning_of_DD_TC" & CStr(index) & ".html" & chr(34) & ">Beginning_of_DD_TC" & CStr(index) & "</a></td></tr>"  

   substrToFind = "<tr><td><a href=" & chr(34) & "../Test case " & trim(cstr((index)))

   tmpStr = objInputFile.ReadLine

   If InStr(tmpStr, substrToFind) <= 0 Then
       If Instr(tmpStr, firstStr) > 0 Then
          text = tmpStr 'to avoid the first empty line
       Else
          text = text & vbCrLf & tmpStr
       End If
   Else
      text = text & vbCrLf & strToAdd & vbCrLf & tmpStr

   End If
   index = index + 1
Loop

edited May 28, 2013 at 9:27

answered May 26, 2013 at 9:22

matzone

5,7293 gold badges19 silver badges20 bronze badges

4 Comments

Luceye85 Over a year ago

Hello matzone, thank you for making me realize how dumb I was!! I didn't realize I forgot to write CInt(index). I'll check if the script will work with this modification and let you know.

Luceye85 Over a year ago

In truth the correct modification was CStr(index), I checked if it works like this, but it doesn't. There might be some other reason why...

Luceye85 Over a year ago

Maybe the problem is the loop

Luceye85 Over a year ago

Dim index As Integer Integer is then used to create the string with CStr(index)

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