Ecobyte Replace Text

Since the majority of important documents are found as text files on computers, fast processing must be an advantage. Some specialized activities require standard forms, which can be a pain to manually write down for multiple files. However, using applications such as Replace Text you can simultaneously edit multiple text files according to various criteria.

Unfortunately, the application's development has reached a halt, with no future updates planed. This can affect your overall performance if you find the application suitable for your needs, because its core function is only properly applied to TXT files. Even though you can manually specify extensions to look up and modify, tested out on DOC, ODT and even RTF corrupted the whole text it had to process.

On the other hand, if you're only interested in applying it to TXT files, the application is quite intuitive and fast. Based on a series of groups, you can set up folders for input and output, or you can simply have the result generated in the default path.

Adding files is easily done through the dedicated menu, with the possibility to specify formats of interest, files to exclude from processing, as well as the options to use single files, whole directory root and have a backup created so you don't end up with inaccessible or corrupt files.

Once you've set up target files, all that's left to do is specify replacement criteria. The neat part is that you are not limited to a single field, with the possibility to almost completely alter content. There are three main methods, to look for specific text and have it replaced with something else, or insert given text either at the beginning or the end of the document.

The input field put at your disposal must be handled with a little care though, because even spaces must be included, otherwise you end up with mixed text. Structure is also important, with the result being inserted or replaced exactly as it appears in the input field. Since you only work with TXT files, customization options are out of the question.

The application lets you save your groups for later processing, as well as replacement criteria that you can easily load and apply to other groups. What's missing though, and would have come in handy is the possibility to schedule automatic replacement processes.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that Replace Text greatly enhances batch text file editing, with multiple applicable criteria and groups. Backups are created so you don't risk losing data, and even though the project is discontinued and only properly used on TXT files, it can still come in handy, with little system requirements and compatibility with latest Windows iterations.