Another Date Formatting RegEx

steppinwolf · 2010-08-22 18:19

Hello, I'm using the following regex, but in Renamer preview or analyser nothing changes:

Expression: ^(Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Apr|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec)\s{1}(\d{2})\s{1}(\d{4})$
Replace: $3-$1-$2

Example of Expected Behavior:
Before: Coast to Coast - Apr 01 2010 - Hour 2.mp3
After: Coast to Coast - 2010-Apr-01 - Hour 2.mp3

Actually I plan to write another rule to change MMM to mm, but would like to get this working first.

Update: regexlib.com's tester confirms the expression is working as expected--detecting the date and putting the correct piece in each variable. I've used this replace metacharacter string successfully with other expressions...

Last edited by steppinwolf (2010-08-22 18:51)

Stefan · 2010-08-22 20:53

Hi wolf, welcome.

steppinwolf wrote:

Hello, I'm using the following regex, but in Renamer preview or analyser nothing changes:
Expression: ^(Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Apr|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec)\s{1}(\d{2})\s{1}(\d{4})$
Replace: $3-$1-$2
Example of Expected Behavior:
Before: Coast to Coast - Apr 01 2010 - Hour 2.mp3
After: Coast to Coast - 2010-Apr-01 - Hour 2.mp3
Actually I plan to write another rule to change MMM to mm, but would like to get this working first.
Update: regexlib.com's tester confirms the expression is working as expected--detecting the date and putting the correct piece in each variable. I've used this replace metacharacter string successfully with other expressions...

You have to know that the RegEx meta sign
"^" means "Start of string" (or start of file name here) and
"$" means "End of String".

So your expression would work on an file name like "Apr 01 2010"

For an file name like "Coast to Coast - Apr 01 2010 - Hour 2.mp3" you should use
Expression: ^(.+)(Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec)\s{1}(\d{2})\s{1}(\d{4})(.+)$
Replace: $1$4-$2-$3$5

but with ReNamer you could also match an part of an string (instead of the whole string between "^" and "$") so you may just use
Expression: (Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec)\s{1}(\d{2})\s{1}(\d{4})
Replace: $3-$1-$2

All with "[X] Skip extension" enabled.

- - -

Additional note (in case you or an other don't know):
"{1}" means: one amount of the regex just before.
But an regex expression itself match every time only ONE occurrences already, so using the regex without the {1} would work too.
Expression: (Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec)\s(\d{2})\s(\d{4})
Replace: $3-$1-$2

or even this will work:
Expression: (Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec) (\d{2}) (\d{4})
Replace: $3-$1-$2

or, if you like to know, your example file names looks like you could use:
Expression: " (\w{3}) (\d{2}) (\d{4}) "
Replace: $3-$1-$2
too.

- - -

Regarding the "MMM to mm,"

you could use an Replace Rule:
Find: Jan*|*Feb*|*Mar*|*Apr*|*May*|*Jun*|*Jul*|*Aug*|*Sep*|*Oct*|*Nov*|*Dec
Repl: 01*|*02*|*03*|*04*|*05*|*06*|*07*|*08*|*09*|*10*|*11*|*12

HTH?

Last edited by Stefan (2010-08-22 21:06)

steppinwolf · 2010-08-23 05:27

Thanks Stefan, your post is like getting a regex class for free! Actually I just made a small donation through PayPal in appreciation for ReNamer and your expert assistance.

I just started playing around with regular expressions yesterday, so there's a lot I didn't know. Will give these a try.

steppinwolf · 2010-08-24 02:26

The regex variations I tried worked perfectly as did the replace rule. No surprise to you I'm sure. Saved me a lot of time with 354 files to rename. Thanks again.

Stefan · 2010-08-24 06:28

Many thanks for the feedback, great ReNamer could help you.

Thanks for the donation also in behalf of Denis.

den4b Forum

#1 2010-08-22 18:19

Another Date Formatting RegEx

#2 2010-08-22 20:53

Re: Another Date Formatting RegEx

#3 2010-08-23 05:27

Re: Another Date Formatting RegEx

#4 2010-08-24 02:26

Re: Another Date Formatting RegEx

#5 2010-08-24 06:28

Re: Another Date Formatting RegEx

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