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How to search text with regular expressions

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Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW)

The following regular expressions can replace characters or digits in the Find what field of the SQL Server Management Studio Find and Replace dialog box.

Prerequisites

How to enable regular expressions

Here are steps to enable regular expressions in search.

  1. Go to Edit > Find and Replace > Quick Find.
  2. Next to the search bar select the down arrow > Find in Files.
  3. In the Find and Replace window expand Find options and select Use Regular Expressions.

The Expression Builder button next to the Find what field then becomes available. Select this button to display a list of the available regular expressions. When you choose any item from the Expression Builder, it's inserted into the Find what string.

The following table describes some of the regular expressions in the Expression Builder.

Expression Description
. Match any single character (except a line break)
.* Match any character zero or more times
.+ Match any character one or more times
[abc] Match any character in the set abc
[^abc] Match any character not in the set abc
\d Match any numeric character
(?([^\r\n])\s) Match any whitespace character
\b Match at the beginning or end of the word
^ Match at beginning of line
.$ Match any line break
\w\r?\n Match a word character at end of line
(dog | cat) Capture and implicitly number the expression dog | cat
(?<pet>dog | cat) Capture subexpression dog | cat and name it pet

Examples

Some examples of using regular expressions.

Example 1: Finding All Select Statements

You want to find all SELECT statements in your SQL scripts.

SELECT\s+.*\s+FROM

Explanation for example 1

  • SELECT\s+: Matches the word "SELECT" followed by one or more whitespace characters.
  • .*: Matches any character (except for line terminators) zero or more times.
  • \s+FROM: Matches one or more whitespace characters followed by the word "FROM".

Example 2: Finding Procedures with Specific Naming Patterns

You want to find all stored procedures that start with "usp_" in your SQL scripts.

CREATE\s+PROCEDURE\s+usp_[A-Za-z0-9_]+

Explanation for example 2

  • CREATE\s+PROCEDURE\s+: Matches the words "CREATE PROCEDURE" followed by one or more whitespace characters.
  • usp_: Matches the literal string "usp_".
  • [A-Za-z0-9_]+: Matches one or more alphanumeric characters or underscores.

Example 3: Finding Comments in SQL Scripts

You want to identify all single-line comments (starting with --) in your SQL scripts.

--.*

Explanation for example 3

  • --: Matches the literal string "--".
  • .*: Matches any character (except for line terminators) zero or more times.

Example 4: Finding All Update Statements

You want to find all the UPDATE statements in your SQL scripts.

UPDATE\s+.*\s+SET

Explanation for example 4

  • UPDATE\s+: Matches the word "UPDATE" followed by one or more whitespace characters.
  • .*: Matches any character (except for line terminators) zero or more times.
  • \s+SET: Matches one or more whitespace characters followed by the word "SET".

Example 5: Finding Table Names in DDL Statements

You want to extract table names from CREATE TABLE statements in your SQL scripts.

CREATE\s+TABLE\s+(\w+)

Explanation for example 5

  • CREATE\s+TABLE\s+: Matches the words "CREATE TABLE" followed by one or more whitespace characters.
  • (\w+): Matches one or more word characters (alphanumeric and underscore) and captures them for extraction.

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