Mass
Text Replacer
End User Guide
Copyright
Information
Mass Text Replacer is the copyright of Syntax Rebels. You can copy,
distribute and install the trial version of Mass Text Replacer without
infringing any copyright. However, after the trial period runs out,
you have to purchase a license to continue using the product. The
license key cannot be given away, lent or broadcast over file sharing
networks. Doing so will become a breach of copyright and will result
in Syntax Rebels taking legal action to prevent such activities that
will harm its interests.
Section
1 — Installing Mass Text Replacer
This
section describes how to install Mass Text Replacer on all versions
of Microsoft Windows.
Installation
Instructions
To
install this program, follow these steps:
-
Double-click
on the file named install_mtr.exe.
The installation window comes up.
-
Click
the Next button to proceed to the folder selection screen.
-
Choose
a destination folder or just click on Next to accept the default
setting.
-
Click
on the Finish button to end the installation process.
Running
Mass Text Replacer
The
above installation procedure should now have put a shortcut on your
Start menu in order to be able to launch the program.
To
run MTR, follow these steps:
-
Click
on Start, then Program Files (All Programs in Windows XP), Syntax
Rebels, Mass Text Replacer.
-
If
you are running the program for the
first time, the welcome window comes up.
-
The
welcome window prompts you to enter a license key which you can
obtain by registering your version of Mass Text Replacer at http://www.syntaxrebels.com/mtr
or more simply by pressing the Buy Me button.
-
However,
you can still use the trial version of MTR for 15 days, after
which time it will not be possible to access the software without
entering the proper key.
Section
2 — Using Mass Text Replacer
This
section describes how to use the various elements and features of
the MTR program.
Program
Layout
The
layout of Mass Text Replacer contains the following parts:
-
The
file selection part lets you select which files you want to modify.
-
The
text search and replace part allows you to enter the text to search
for and the one you wish to replace it with.
-
The
Action part finally sets the system going once every selection
is set as desired.
Fig. 2-1: Mass Text Replacer layout
Mass
Text Replacer has two operating modes depending on the level of detailed
searching that the user wants. By default, the program starts in Advanced
mode, where all the search and replace options are available. In Easy
Mode, the options available to you will be limited to basic searching
and replacement, but this mode is easier for beginners to handle.
Switching between modes is done by clicking on the button at the bottom
left of the main MTR window.
The
File Selection Part
In
the File Selection Part, you can select the files that you need to
modify. This is done by selecting the drive, folder and the files
themselves in that order. The files can be added to the Selection
List either by double clicking on them individually or by first selecting
the folder and then clicking on the Add All button.
You
can have MTR display files by cascading through the currently selected
folder branch. By enabling the option Scan Subfolders, you will display
all the files in the current folder and also all the files from the
folders within and so on.
If
you need to work only with particular file types, you can use the
File Filter text box to specify the file extensions. File extensions
have to be entered as an asterisk, followed by a dot, followed by
the extension itself (e.g. *.htm). Multiple entries are allowed, however
they have to be separated by a semicolon (;). To make your life easier,
clicking on the button with the three dots will make the filtering
window pop up, where you will be able to add some common file types
just by clicking on the related button.
Fig. 2-2: The File Filtering Window
Mass
Text Replacer also allows you to select files depending on the date
that they have been last modified on. The timestamp feature is located
where the words 'Add Files' are shown. This can be done by first choosing
the date by clicking the button containing three dots, selecting the
date from the calendar that pops up, and then choosing whether to
display files older than that date or the more recent ones. The R
button will reset the timestamp function so that all files will be
displayed without taking their date into account.
Fig. 2-3: The Timestamp Calendar Popup
The
Search & Replace Part
The
Search & Replace part is where you actually select which text
you want to replace with what. The text to look for is entered in
the text box named Text to Find, while the modified text is entered
in the Replace With box. If you want to exclude documents containing
certain words, you can enter these words in the box named Exclude
Pages Containing. Those files containing the word or phrase entered
in the exclusion text box will not be processed by Mass Text Replacer.
Just
under the Preview box, you can select whether to simply replace the
found text, or else put in the replacement text before or ofter the
found text. Only one of these options can be selected at any one time.
An
option is available to choose if case matching is enabled or not.
If you have a file containing the word 'Widget' and enter 'widget'
in the Text to Find box, with Match Case enabled the text will not
be replaced as one word starts in upper case and the other does not.
Another
option allows you to select if the search takes into consideration
parts of words or whole words only. With the option Match Whole Words
selected, if for example you search for the word of, MTR will change
all instances of the word of, but not of the words offer or often.
The
Action Part
The
Action part is where you set everything off by clicking on the Start
button, sit back and watch MTR do its work. Unless you notice a mistake
half way that is, where you can click the Stop button to end the process.
You
can choose to make a copy of your modified files, just in case that
the search and replacement operation does not bring the desired results.
This is set by clicking the option 'Backup Modified Files'.
The
Simulate function allows you to see the result of a search and replace
operation on only one file. This is useful because you can see the
modified test file before starting the replacement function proper.
To use this feature, set your options as needed, then select one file
from the Selected Files list for simulation, and finally click on
the Simulate button. MTR will then show you the results on a temporary
file. After closing the result window, click on the OK button to return
to the Main window. You can keep using this feature until you are
satisfied with the results and can then start the real text replacement.
The
Preview Text Box
You
can preview the files before doing any actual modifications by first
adding them to the Selected Files list and then clicking on them to
view them in the Preview box.
Saving
And Opening Your Search Options
By
means of the template saving feature, the current search options can
be saved to disk so that the same settings can be used at a later
date. Saving is done by first clicking the Save Template button, and
then selecting a folder and a filename to save into. Similarly, the
Open Template button lets you select a previously saved template so
that you can use its preset settings.
Fig. 2-4: The Template Saving Dialog Box
A
Step by Step Procedure of a Standard Search Request
The
following procedure guides you through a standard text replacement
query on your chosen files:
-
In
the file selection part, select the drive and folder containing
the files that you wish to modify.
-
A
list will appear with the folder contents. You now have to select
which files will be modified by moving them into the Selection
Box. You can do this either by clicking on a file name and then
pressing the Add One button or just select the entire folder by
clicking Add All.
-
If
you have put an unwanted file in the Selection Box by mistake,
you can select it and press the Remove button. Pressing the Clear
button will empty the contents of the selection box.
-
Return
to step 1 again if you wish to select more files from different
drives or folders. Once all files have been selected, proceed
to step 5.
-
Now
we go to the search & replace part. Enter the text that you
want to change in the box named Text to Find, and the replacement
text in the box named Replace With.
-
Once
that all the options are set, press the Start button to get the
text replacement process going. As the process starts, you will
notice that the names of the files being processed will get highlighted
one by one until the process is finished and the program can be
used again with different parameters.
Appendix
— Frequently Asked Questions
This
appendix answers some frequently asked questions about the MTR program.
Please check here before requesting assistance. These questions can
help you by offering hints for using the program more efficiently.
Question:
What kind of files can MTR support?
Answer:
It is important to know that Mass Text Replacer is targeted for text
files. We can guarantee no results if it is used with other file types
and in fact MTR can make your files unusable if not used properly.
If you must use it with non-text files, we suggest that you make a
backup of your files until you have tested the results of this particular
kind of file with MTR.
Question:
MTR is not replacing the text on my web pages. Why?
Answer:
Webpage documents will sometimes contain extra non-visible characters
called white space which you still have to enter into the search box
for MTR to find it. To be sure that the text is the same, copy it
from the original text by pressing Ctrl-C and paste it inside MTR
by pressing Ctrl-V.
Question:
I have been using MTR for some days. What will I gain with registering
the software?
Answer:
The Trial version of MTR is actually a fully working version that
will however expire within 15 days. There are no additional features
with registration. Your license key will get you however lifetime
upgrades free of charge.
Question:
Can I change text from different parts of text files?
Answer:
Yes, but not at the same time. Select your files and choose the first
part of the text you wish to replace. After the first process ends,
you can choose different text with the same selection of files as
before.
Question:
MTR is asking me to change the attributes of one of my files. What
does this mean?
Answer:
You can set some files on your hard disk to be read only. This is
generally done to stop other software or other persons to overwrite
or modify your protected files. However, you can also come across
read-only files when copying them from CDs or other media. Anyway,
when MTR encounters this kind of file, it will ask you if you really
want to modify a read-only file, which can only be done by letting
MTR change the file attributes to enable reading and writing.
Mass
Text Replacer
Try the 15-day trial version now or
buy
the fully registered version
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Text Replacer is fully compliant with FTC Advertising
and Disclosure
Rules.
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Discover & JCB
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