Add character with GREP

Andrea,

that’s totally possible with GREP, try this. I’m using a capturing groups which is represented by the parenthesis which says “group this content” and I can later call that group in the replace field by referring to it with a back reference which is a GREP variable which always starts with the dollar sign and number (1-9). So below I’m capturing all the text in the paragraph, then adding the double quotes to either side of the back reference.

Find: ^(.+?)$
Replace: ~{$1~}

Let me know if that works for you and/or if it needs tweaking

You can explore the GREP section here itself. Just search for “grep”, and you’ll get a page full of references and other useful links to start with.

Best of luck :)

No problem, I’m glad that worked!

I started learning Regex with the O’Reilly GREP Pocket Reference (https://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596153618.do) to learn the basics, then I moved on to O’Reilly’s Mastering Regular Expressions (https://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596528126.do) which explains more advanced features like capture groups, call backs, lookahead/lookbehind assertions and more, which really take your GREP to the next level. I would totally recommend both books for learning GREP. you might also look into the InDesign plugin WhatTheGrep by Jongware (https://www.jongware.com/idgrephelp.html) which will break down a Regular Expression and explain everything that’s going on. I could even send you some GREP searches that I use almost daily in InDesign and you could then use that script to break it down and see what each piece is doing. Also look up the InDesign metacharacters list (there are characters for double/single quotes, non-breaking spaces, even clipboard content) and print out a copy, those are invaluable to doing GREP in InDesign.

Anyway, I’m glad that helped, and good luck with GREP it’s a great way to up your InDesign skills!! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Hello

I would also like to add the character “|” to a list of names.

Andy Johnson Johnnie Walker -> Should become: Andy Johnson | Johnnie Walker

Preferably that Indesign inserts the character after each 2 words.
Is this possible using GREP or some other method?

Thanks a lot in advance,
Reiner

Try:

F: ((\u\l+\h){2})(?=(?2))
R: $0|

Best,
Michel, from FRIdNGE

Finally, I prefer this one:

F: ((\u\l+)\h(?2))\K\h(?=(?1))

It just selects the space! …

;-)