Best way to change styles en masse?

[ccardimon]

I have several folder with topics containing H1 headings.

I need to change these to H2, but I don't want to change each heading individually.

Is there a way to do all H1 headings at once, kind of like search-and-replace?

[Nita Beck]

The fastest way I've done this is using something other than Flare with which you can craft regular expressions. My favorite tool is FAR HTML. I can make changes throughout an entire project, or folder by folder.

Before doing any kind of sweeping code change like this, make a FULL BACKUP of your Flare project. It is VERY easy to seriously muck up code.

[ccardimon]

Thanks, Nita!

[dorcutt]

I may be wrong, but I think FAR is a paid tool. I've done the same thing with Notepad++'s "Find in Files" feature for free. However, you have to have a bit more regular expression "kung fu" because it doesn't have the same helpful user interface as FAR to make things easier.

I would agree that it's very easy to mess things up badly. In addition to backing up first, I would make sure to do a "find all" first and scan through the results before actually replacing everything. Additionally, performing a "find next" an "replace" before you hit the Big Bad Replace All button is a good idea to make sure you get the results you expect.

[ccardimon]

Thanks, dorcutt!

[Nita Beck]

Yes, FAR HTML runs about $50-$60 US. A particularly handy feature is that one can save the find-and-replace routines in a file. That means, for any of my Flare projects in which I might want to replace H1s with H2, all I have to do is run that routine again, but I don't have to invent it from the ground up. Right now, I've probably got close to 30 different find-and-replace routines stored in a file. Additionally, I can share that file with any colleagues who also have FAR HTML. It's a very handy tool for post-migration cleanup.

[dorcutt]

Yes, 50-60$ USD plus the cost of dealing with your company's IT requisitions, reimbursement and/or software installation process!

So far I've been coping with Notepad++. Instead of using FAR's save feature, which seems awesome, I'm just storing each regex that I use on my department's wiki page along with a description of what it does and why I used it. Not as slick as FAR, but it gets the job done for free and without any bureaucracy.

Maybe someday...

[Nita Beck]

I have the "luxury" of a boss who lets me buy whatever I need. And my IT director is great, too! (For those who don't realize I'm joking... I'm joking! *I'm* my boss and my IT director!)