Replace Method

The Replace method in the RegExp object is used to search for a pattern in a string and replace it with a specified replacement string.

Syntax: RegExpObject.Replace(string, replacement)

Arguments:

• string: The input string where the search and replace will take place.

• replacement: The string that will replace the matched patterns. This can also include special substitution tokens (like $1, $2, etc.) to refer to captured groups in the regular expression.

Example 1: Simple Replace

Dim regEx, inputStr, result
' Create a new RegExp object
Set regEx = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")

' Set the pattern to match the word "cat"
regEx.IgnoreCase = True
regEx.Global = True
regEx.Pattern = "cat"

' Input string
inputStr = "The cat sat on the cat mat."

' Replace "cat" with "dog"
result = regEx.Replace(inputStr, "dog")

'Now result has the value "The dog sat on the dog mat."

Example 2: Using Capturing Groups in Replacement

Dim regEx, inputStr, result

' Create a new RegExp object
Set regEx = CreateObject("VBScript.RegExp")

' Set the pattern to match a date in MM-DD-YYYY format
regEx.IgnoreCase = True
regEx.Global = True
regEx.Pattern = "(\d{2})-(\d{2})-(\d{4})"

' Input string
inputStr = "Today's date is 05-19-2025."

' Swap the date format to YYYY-MM-DD
result = regEx.Replace(inputStr, "$3-$1-$2")

' Display the result
'Now result has the value "Today's date is 2025-05-19."