How to replace Strings in Windows Batch file - batch-file

Question

I would like to replace the following String in a file:
android:versionName="anyStringHere" >
*anyStringHere represents any possible string
With:
android:versionName="1.04.008" >
How would I do this in a clean, reusable way, and preserve the new lines, tabs, and indentation in the file?

Answer 1

Not even close to the fastest option, and not 100% bulletproof, but this is pure batch and will handle spacing and indentation while do the replacement.
#echo off
setlocal enableextensions disabledelayedexpansion
rem File to process
set "file=data.txt"
rem How to find lines
set "match=public static String CONST = \"abc\";"
rem String to replace and replacement
set "findStr=abc"
set "replaceStr=def"
rem temporary file to work with lines
set "tempFile=%temp%\repl.tmp"
rem All the output goes into the temporary file
(
rem Process input file extracting non matching lines
for /f tokens^=^1^*^ delims^=^:^ eol^= %%a in ('findstr /n /v /c:"%match%" ^< "%file%"') do (
set /a "n=1000000+%%a"
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
< nul set /p "n=!n!"
endlocal
echo :%%b
)
rem Process input file extrancting matching lines and changing strings
for /f tokens^=^1^*^ delims^=^:^ eol^= %%a in ('findstr /n /c:"%match%" ^< "%file%"') do (
set /a "n=1000000+%%a"
set "data=%%b"
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set "data=!data:%findStr%=%replaceStr%!"
echo !n!:!data!
endlocal
)
)> "%tempFile%"
rem Sort the output file to get the final file
(for /f tokens^=^1^*^ delims^=^:^ eol^= %%a in ('sort "%tempFile%"') do (
if "%%b"=="" (
echo.
) else (
echo %%b
)
)) > "%file%.repl"

Answer 2

This is the simplest way to do this that I could come up with. It takes a String and searches for it in a file, then replaces the entire line that contains the string. It won't only replace parts of a line, which can be done with a bit more effort.
#echo off
:: file containing string to replace
set file=test.txt
:: string to replace in file
set searchString=line 4
:: string to write to file
set repString=line 4 edited
setLocal enableDelayedExpansion
set count=0
if not exist %file% echo cannot find file - %file% & goto :EOF
:: Search for string - and get it's line number
for /F "delims=:" %%a in ('findstr /N /I /C:"%searchString%" "%file%"') do set searchLine=%%a
if not defined searchLine echo cannot find string - %searchString% - in file - %file% & goto :EOF
:: Read file into variables - by line number
for /F "delims=~!" %%b in ('type %file%') do (
set /a count=!count!+1
set line!count!=%%b
)
:: Edit the one line
set line%searchLine%=%repString%
:: Empty file and write new contents
del %file%
for /L %%c in (1,1,!count!) do echo !line%%c!>>%file%
pause
You can change the echo on the last for loop to output to a different file, maybe %file%.new or something, and then remove the del command.

Answer 3

This is a robust solution that retains all formatting. It uses a helper batch file called repl.bat - download from: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qidqwztmetbvklt/repl.bat
Place repl.bat in the same folder as the batch file or in a folder that is on the path.
type "file.txt" | repl "(public static String CONST = \q).*(\q.*)" "$1def$2" x >"newfile.txt"

Answer 4

I found that using sed was the cleanest solution
http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/sed.htm
sed "s/android:versionName=\".*\" >/android:versionName=\"%NEW_VERSION%\" >/g" %ORIG_FILE_NAME% > %TEMP_FILE_NAME%
#move /Y %TEMP_FILE_NAME% %ORIG_FILE_NAME% >nul