# Find and replace
## Description
This operation allows you to search for specific patterns within your input data and replace them with new text.
***
## Data types
These are the input/output expected data types for this operation:
### Input data
 - Text or data where you want to perform find-and-replace operations.
### Output data
 - Output strings after the find-and-replace operations.
***
## Parameters
These are the parameters you need to configure to use this operation (mandatory parameters are marked with a **\***):
Substring to find*
Enter the text or pattern you want to find in the input.
Replacement*
Enter the text with which you want to replace each match. You can use RegEx patterns here.
Global Match*
Set `true` if you want to replace all matches found. If this is set to `false`, only the first match will be replaced. The default value is `true`.
Case Insensitive*
Set `true` if you want to ignore case when matching. The default value is `false`.
Multiline*
Set `true` to enable multiline mode. This feature controls how to treat line breaks in the input. Specifically, it affects the behavior of the `^` and `$` anchors in the RegEx patterns you use in the **Substring to find** parameter.
* When **Multiline** is enabled:
* `^` matches the **start of a line**, not just the start of the whole input.
* `$` matches the **end of a line**, not just the end of the whole input.
* This means the regex treats the input as **multiple lines**, and you can match patterns at the beginning/end of each line.
* When **Multiline** is disabled:
* `^` and `$` only match the **start and end of the entire input**, respectively.
* This is useful for matching patterns that span across the whole input or aren't line-sensitive.
The default value is `false`.
### **Example**
Example with **Multidata** **activated**:
**Input data:**
```
Info: All systems operational
Error: Disk space low
Warning: CPU usage high
Error: Memory leak detected
```
* **Substring to find** - `^Error:.*`
* **Replacement** - `ALERT`
* **Multiline** - `true`
**Output data:**
```
Info: All systems operational
ALERT
Warning: CPU usage high
ALERT
```
***
Example with **Multidata** **deactivated**:
**Input data:**
```
Info: All systems operational
Error: Disk space low
Warning: CPU usage high
Error: Memory leak detected
```
* **Substring to find** - `^Error:.*`
* **Replacement** - `ALERT`
* **Multiline** - `false`
**Output data:**
```
Info: All systems operational
Error: Disk space low
Warning: CPU usage high
Error: Memory leak detected
```
Because `^` only applies to the **start of the whole input** with multiline off, the pattern never matches.
Dot Matches All*
Set `true` to match new line characters. Specifically, this affects how the `.` (dot) behaves in the RegEx patterns you use in the **Substring to find** parameter.
When **Dot Matches All** is enabled, the dot (`.`) **also matches newline characters**, allowing patterns to match across **multiple lines**.
The default value is `false`.
### **Example**
Example with **Dot Matches All** **activated**:
**Input data:**
```
line 1
line 2
```
* **Substring to find** - `.*`
* **Replacement** - `[BLOCK]`
* **Dot Matches All** - `true`
**Output data:**
```
[BLOCK]
```
`.*` **includes newlines**, so everything from `` to `` is matched and replaced.
***
Example with **Dot Matches All** **deactivated**:
**Input data:**
```
line 1
line 2
```
* **Substring to find** - `.*`
* **Replacement** - `[BLOCK]`
* **Dot Matches All** - `false`
**Output data:**
```
line 1
line 2
```
`.*` does **not** match across newlines, so no match occurs.
***
## Examples
Suppose you want to **replace all the occurrences** of the word "error" with "issue". To do it:
1. In your Pipeline, open the required [Action](https://docs.onum.com/the-workspace/pipelines/actions) configuration and select the input **Field**.
2. In the **Operation** field, choose **Find and replace**.
3. Set **Substring to find** to `error`.
4. Set **Replacement** to `issue`.
5. Set **Global Match** to `true`.
6. Set **Case Insensitive** to `true`.
7. Set **Multiline** to `false`.
8. Set **Dot Matches All** to `false`.
9. Give your **Output field** a name and click **Save**. The count will be displayed in the output field.
{% hint style="info" %}
You can try out operations with specific values using the **Input** field above the operation. You can enter the value in the example above and check the result in the **Output** field.
{% endhint %}
In this example, given the following string:
"The server encountered an error while processing your request"
you'll get this output:
```
"The server encountered an issue while processing your request"
```
---
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