Regex replace word in string if it is not a link

Question

I am using the following to find and replace words within string $content:

$replacedcontent = preg_replace('/\b'.$term_name.'\b/u', '<a class="highlight">'.$term_name.'</a>', $content);

Is there a simple way using regex to only replace words if they are not immediately preceded by an <a href="[link to somewhere]"> tag?

Avinash Raj · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-02 09:55:33Z

3

Use a negative lookahead assertion. This would replace all the $term_name which was not present inside the anchor tag.

preg_replace('/\b'.$term_name.'\b(?!(?:(?!<\/?a\b[^>]*>).)*?<\/a>)/u', '<a class="highlight">'.$term_name.'</a>', $content);

answered Aug 2, 2015 at 9:55

Avinash Raj

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