Regular expressions in formulas
Regular expressions are patterns that can be used to include single or multiple characters in search. While Wildcards can be used for simple searches, regular expressions can be applied for advanced use cases.
The patterns used in regular expressions can consist of a combination of characters, operators, and constructs. Let's look at each category of patterns and their use in regular expressions.
Characters
Below are the frequently used characters for search via regex. The backslash indicates that the following character has a special meaning during search.
Character | Description | Sample Pattern | Sample Matches |
\d | Matches any digit character from 0 to 9. | \d | 2 in a2z 0 in a-a=0 |
\D | Matches any character that is not a digit. | \D | a and z in a2z a and a in a-a=0 |
\n | |||
\s | Matches any whitespace character like space, tab, new line. | .\s. | o and S in Zoho Sheet n and 5 in Version 5 |
\S | Matches any non-whitespace character. | \S | Zoho and Sheet in Zoho Sheet Version and 5 in Version 5 |
\t | Matches a tab. | .\t | o in Zoho\tSheet |
\w | Matches any alphanumeric character including ASCII letters, digits, and underscore. | \w | Hello in Hello! email in @email |
\W | Matches any character excluding alphanumeric characters and underscore. | \W | ! in Hello! @ in @email |
. | Matches any single character except line break. | .en | hen, pen, ten, @en |
\ | Escapes the special meaning of a character during search. Eg., "\." can be used to search for "." | \w+\. | Mr. and Mrs. |
Character Classes
Character classes can be used to match anyone of the given set of characters, including letters, digits, and symbols. By default, the matches are case-sensitive.
Character Class | Description | Sample Pattern | Sample Matches |
[characters] | Matches any single character given in the brackets. | h[iu]t | hit, hut |
[^characters] | Matches any single character not given in the brackets. | h[^iu]t | h@t, hat, hot |
[from-to] | Matches any single character in the range given in brackets. | [a-z] [A-Z] [0-9] | Any letter in lowercase Any letter in uppercase Any digit from 0 to 9 |
Quantifiers
Quantifiers specify the number of occurrences of a character/character class/a group for a match. Applies to the preceding character.
Quantifier | Description | Sample Pattern | Sample Matches |
* | Matches previous element zero or more times. | she* | sh, she, shee in sheet |
+ | Matches previous element one or more times. | she+ | she, shee in sheet |
? | Matches previous element zero or one time. | br?at | brat, bat |
*? | Matches the previous element zero or more times, but as few times as possible. | she*? | sh in sheet |
+? | Matches the previous element one or more times, but as few times as possible. | she+? | she in sheet |
?? | Matches the previous element zero or one time, but as few times as possible. | br??at | bat |
{n} | Matches the previous element "n" times. | ab{4} Order10{3} | abbbb Order1000 |
{n,} | Matches the previous element "n" or more times. | ab{2,} Order10{1,} | abb, abbb,... Order10, Order100, Order1000,... |
{n,m} | Matches the previous element between "n" and "m" times. | ab{2,4} Order10{0,1} | abb, abbb, abbbb Order1, Order10 |
{n,}? | Matches the previous element "n" or more times, but as few times as possible. | \d{3,}? | 123, 1234 |
{n,m}? | Matches the previous element between "n" and "m" times, but as few times as possible. | \d{2,5}? | 12, 123 |
Anchors
Anchors can be used to specify a position in the given string for a match.
Anchor | Description | Sample Pattern | Sample Matches |
^ | The match must occur at the start of the given string. In multiline strings, it must occur at the start of the line. | ^\d{1} | 2 in 2 Orders |
$ | The match must occur at the end of the given string, or before \n at end of string. In multiline strings, it must occur at the end of the line or before \n at the end of line. | \d{4}$ | 1234 in Emp ID 1234 |
\A | The match must occur at the start of the given string. | \A\d{1} | 2 in 2 Orders |
\b | The match occur within a boundary between a /w and a /W character. | \bsheet\b | sheet in zoho sheet but not in spreadsheet |
\B | The match must not occur within a \b boundary. | \bsheet\b | sheet in spreadsheet but not in zoho sheet |
\G | The match must occur at the position where the previous match ended. In case of no previous match, then at the position in string where the matching started. | ||
\z | The match must occur at the end of the string. | \d{4}\z | 1234 in Emp ID 1234 |
\Z | The match must occur at end of the string or before \n at the end of string. | \d{4}\Z | 1234 in Emp ID 1234 |
Zoho Sheet supports both Wildcards and regular expressions for match. Click here to learn more about the wildcard characters and their examples.
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