Editing General Text Format Data Linked to a Parameter

You can edit the data associated with a parameter (highlighted text or swipe) in a General Text data source. You can edit a line, part of a line, or a range of lines.

This task shows you how to:

Edit the Data by Searching for a Specific String

  1. Double-click the Data Exchanger component icon .
    The Data Exchanger Component Editor appears.
  2. From the Data Exchanger Component Editor, select a General Data section.
  3. In the Parameters table, click the parameter that is bound to the swipe that you want to update.
  4. In the Swipe Details area, select Find from the first list.
  5. In the Find text box, enter text from the file.

    The matching text in the data source is highlighted automatically.

  6. Click the button to adjust the search direction (forward/backward).
  7. In the from list, select where the search starts:
    OptionDescription
    Start of File Start the search from the beginning of the file. This is the default.
    Current Start the search from where the last read/write occurred. This can be much more efficient when working near the end of a large file. Be aware of where the statement will be inserted in the list of actions—the “last read or write” is the last one before the new statement—which can be an unexpected value if the insertion point is not at the end of the list of actions.
    End of File Start the search backward from the end of the file.
  8. From the list in the center of the General Data Swipe area, select String or Regexp (regular expression). Regular expressions are a way to specify patterns that match similar strings. For example, the regular expression ‘a *b’ matches an ‘a’, zero or more spaces, and a ‘b’.
  9. In the Occur text box, determine the match to use if the search string occurs multiple times. The default is the first match 1, searching from the value you selected in the from list. If you enter a 2 in this text box, the second match will be used, etc.
  10. In the Offset Lines text box, enter the number of lines you want to add before or after the location of the found data. Negative numbers select a line before the matched line; while positive numbers select a line after the matched line. You can also select an offset from a marker.
  11. Click OK to save your changes and to close the Data Exchanger Component Editor.

Edit the Data by Selecting the Line Number

  1. Double-click the Data Exchanger component icon .
    The Data Exchanger Component Editor appears.
  2. From the Data Exchanger Component Editor, select a General Data section.
  3. In the Parameters table, click the parameter that is bound to the swipe that you want to update.
  4. In the Swipe Details area, select Line from the first list.
    The line number of the data appears. It is updated automatically based on the results of the Find operation. Typically, the line number is relative to the start of the file, but you can specify a line number as an offset from the current location, a marker, or as a negative offset from the end of the file.
  5. Verify that the correct line is highlighted. If desired, change the line number in the Line text box. You can also enter an expression or click the expression button to open an expression editor. The matching item in the text file is highlighted automatically.
  6. Select how you want the data selected using the list at the bottom of the Swipe Details area:
    OptionDescription
    Whole Line Highlights the entire line in the file that contains the information specified.
    Word # Highlights the specified word number in the text file. The count is based on the number of words from the left margin.
    Character Highlights the characters in the specified range, which is specified in the corresponding text boxes.
  7. Click OK to save your changes and to close the Data Exchanger Component Editor.