Replacing colons between spaces in Javascript

Question

I am using Javascript to manipulate items in ZOTERO.

I have multiple items whose title contains " : " (a colon between spaces).

I want to replace this with ", " (a comma and a space).

For example:

This is : an example

should be

This is, an example

Can anyone tell me if the .replace statement in my code is correct?

var fieldName = "title";
 
var fieldID = Zotero.ItemFields.getID(fieldName);
var s = new Zotero.Search();
s.libraryID = ZoteroPane.getSelectedLibraryID();
s.addCondition(fieldName, 'contains', '  ');
var ids = await s.search();
if (!ids.length) {
    return "No items found";
}
await Zotero.DB.executeTransaction(async function () {
    for (let id of ids) {
        let item = await Zotero.Items.getAsync(id);
        let mappedFieldID = Zotero.ItemFields.getFieldIDFromTypeAndBase(item.itemTypeID, fieldName);
        let fieldID = mappedFieldID || fieldID;
        item.setField(fieldID, item.getField(fieldID).replace(/[\s:\s]/g, ', '));
        await item.save({
            skipDateModifiedUpdate: true
        });
    }
});
return ids.length + " item(s) updated";

[\s:\s] is whitespace or :. You'd want \s[:]\s or probably more likely space:space (SO won't format spaces in code blocks correctly). \s is any white space, not just a space. — user3783243
– user3783243, Commented Mar 8, 2021 at 17:49
Looks fine at first glance; did you test this? Are you encountering errors? Unexpected results? Please clarify the issue you have. — user5734311
– user5734311, Commented Mar 8, 2021 at 17:50
No, I did not test my script yet because I will be changing hundreds of items and would like to avoid setting the whole DB back to the latest backup. If I understood @user3783243 correctly, [\s:\s] would replace any colon with a comma, not just colons between spaces? — OnceUponATime
– OnceUponATime, Commented Mar 8, 2021 at 17:59

0stone0 · Accepted Answer · 2021-03-08 17:59:22Z

5

String.prototype.replaceAll() should work just fine in this case

const test = 'This is : an example'
console.log(test.replaceAll(' : ', ', '));

Note IE does not support this JavaScript built-in: Can I use...

As an alternative, you can use a global //g regex:
const test = 'This is : an example'
console.log(test.replace(/\ :\ /g, ', '));

edited Mar 8, 2021 at 17:59

answered Mar 8, 2021 at 17:51

0stone0

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5 Comments

Nir Alfasi Over a year ago

Good answer: no regex needed!

cseitz Over a year ago

You can also use String.split(' : ') and Array.join(', '). Not the best way to solve this problem, but its still a useful tool in some other situations if you don't know about it!

OnceUponATime Over a year ago

This looks straightforward, but not sure this is supported in ZOTERO. I am using the in-built "Run JavaScript" console: zotero.org/support/dev/client_coding/javascript_api

3limin4t0r Over a year ago

There is no need to escape the spaces in the regex, / : /g works fine. Escaping spaces is only needed when "free-spacing" mode (x flag) is active (not supported in JavaScript).

OnceUponATime Over a year ago

.replaceAll produced an error, so I will try regex again: TypeError: item.getField(...).replaceAll is not a function

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