wReplace

Working with an abundance of text files is never easy, especially if you only need to modify bits of text, leaving the rest of content intact. Some word processors have dedicated features which can find, and replace text strings, but there are also applications like wReplace with this sole purpose.

Once installed, and launched, the main window shows up, and you only need to spend a few seconds getting acquainted with the set of features, thanks to the simple, intuitive design. Most of the default space is empty, because is where the content of the file you load goes. Unfortunately, the application is only capable of processing TXT files.

You’re free to edit content directly in the preview area. It’s also possible to modify font options like size, style, or type, and even page alignment options. On the other hand, these only serve for your own, temporary satisfaction, because saving the file discards all changes, since the only possible output is also a plain TXT file.

If you want to know whether or not there’s a specific string of interest in the file you load, there’s a built-in search function you can use. Oddly enough, it’s not fitted with an option to also replace, and only shows occurrences one by one, not highlighting them all for a better view.

The “replace many” function is responsible for changing items of interest with other characters, or text strings. On the one hand, you can create a list of characters, or words to search for, and even use some preset options like punctuation, HTML code, or ASCII.

You don’t necessarily have to fill in the replace field, and leaving it blank simply removes all occurrences. On the other hand, there’s no highlight of target items here either, and the operation is finished at the press of a button. The original file isn’t overwritten, but the option exists, or you can create a new TXT file.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that wReplace manages to live up to expectations, letting you search for characters, or even entire phrases in order to delete them, or replace with updated content. Even though the replace function isn’t integrated in the search feature, it’s complexity, and ease of use make the application worth your while.