Javascript string replace with dynamically created pattern

Question

My code only replaces the first match, ignoring the flags (global and multi line). What am I doing wrong?

for (var i = 0; i < values.length; i++) {
        template = template.replace('{' + i + '}', values[i].toString().trim(), 'gm');
    }

As you can see, my placeholders have this format: {0}, {1} etc

Unless there's some new feature I don't know about, the .replace() method doesn't accept regex modifiers. Maybe you meant to use the RegExp constructor? — user2437417
– user2437417, Commented Jul 11, 2013 at 20:02

voithos · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-11 20:02:58Z

5

According to MDN, the flags are non-standard for the normal .replace() method. Instead, you can pass in a RegExp with the same result.

template.replace(new RegExp('\\{' + i + '\\}', 'gm'),
    values[i].toString().trim());

Since curly braces have special significance in regular expressions, you have to escape them.

answered Jul 11, 2013 at 20:02

voithos

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4 Comments

Terje Hauger Over a year ago

Well, it turns out this RegEx doesn't work at all. This string: <input type="text" name="Name" value="{1}" /> is returned as: <input type="text" name="Name" value /> Can anyone fix it? I think RegEx is evil myself, I hate it :-)

voithos Over a year ago

@TerjeHauger: I don't see how that's possible, the regex isn't even capturing = or ". What was the value of values[i].toString()?

Terje Hauger Over a year ago

var test = "<label>Active:</label><input type="checkbox" name="Active"{10} />"; document.write(test.replace(new RegExp('\\{1\\}', 'gm'), ''));

Output: <input type="checkbox" name="Active" =""=""> Huh?!

Terje Hauger Over a year ago

Now I get it. This html: <.. name="Name"{0} /> is recognized as an html attribute, and at least in Chrome, {0}="" is added automagically. My idea was to insert 'checked="checked" based on passed value. I guess I should try a different template placeholder, <% %> will probably work.

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