Find and Replace
Basic Find
Ctrl+F on any grid opens the find bar. Search is across:
- Item names.
- Descriptions.
- Notes.
- Resource names.
- WBS codes.
- Custom column text values.
Matching rows highlight (IsSearchHighlighted — a NotMapped UI-only property).
Keyboard navigation:
F3/Shift+F3— next / previous match.Esc— close find bar.
Advanced Find
Ctrl+Shift+F or toolbar Advanced Find:
- Case sensitivity toggle.
- Whole word toggle.
- Regex toggle.
- Scope: Current view / Current project / All projects you can see.
- Type filter: items / breakdowns / resources / overheads / notes.
Find and Replace
Ctrl+H opens the replace dialog.
- Find text / Replace text.
- Same options as Advanced Find.
- Preview (shows every match with context).
- Replace current / Replace all.
Replace all is undoable as a single Ctrl+Z.
Replace Resource
A specialised variant — Resources → Replace Resource:
- Pick a source resource (e.g. old concrete spec).
- Pick a target resource (e.g. new concrete spec).
- Preview which items / breakdowns will be updated.
- Apply.
The cascade re-prices items, updates breakdowns, and invalidates code-set allocations where needed.
Regex Examples
Regex mode uses .NET syntax:
| Pattern | Matches |
|---|---|
\b\d{4}\b | Four-digit numbers (for finding year references). |
^Excavate | Items whose name starts with "Excavate". |
(?i)steel | Any case of "steel". |
Services
IFindReplaceService drives the operation:
- Scope-aware.
- Returns match counts before committing.
- Logs every replace for audit.
Gotchas
- Replacing formula text is literal —
= L5 * 2is just a string to the replace engine. - Replacing a project parametric's name does not update references automatically — use the Parametrics panel to rename (which updates refs transactionally).
- Replace all across projects requires permission on every target project.