How do I separate a Filepath containing backslashes by replacing only the rootlevel backslash with a tab?

Question

I have a list of Filepaths, each row includes the filesize and creationdate.

The Filepaths are separated by backslashes, some files in the root folder, others in sub-folders or even in sub-sub-folders.

I am trying to use RegEx in Notepad++ to achieve the desired results.

I merely wish to replace the backslash immediately after the root folder with a tab character.

Example:

Current:

   289399    13/12/2021    ALLEN Alan - 12.05.2014 - A\File in Root Folder.JPG
    67795    21/12/2021    JONES Jess - 14.09.2010 - B\SUB\File in Level 1 Sub Folder.TXT
   110842    27/05/2020    SMITH Alex - 08.01.2006 - C\SUB\SUB\File in Level 2 Sub-Sub Folder.PDF

Desired:

   289399    13/12/2021    ALLEN Alan - 12.05.2014 - A <Tab> File in Root Folder.JPG
    67795    21/12/2021    JONES Jess - 14.09.2010 - B <Tab> SUB\File in Level 1 Sub Folder.TXT
   110842    27/05/2020    SMITH Alex - 08.01.2006 - C <Tab> SUB\SUB\File in Level 2 Sub-Sub Folder.PDF

Tab separation required at Root Level ONLY

Various methods I have tried using RegEx in Notepad++ fail to achieve the desired result. The tab character almost always replaces the very last backslash character, not the one immediately after the root foldername.

Find:

^(.*\t.*\t.*)\\((.*)$|(.*\\.*)$|(.*\\.*\\.*)$)$

RegEx:

\1\t\2

Result:

   289399    13/12/2021    ALLEN Alan - 12.05.2014 - A <Tab> File in Root Folder.JPG
    67795    21/12/2021    JONES Jess - 14.09.2010 - B\SUB <Tab> File in Level 1 Sub Folder.TXT
   110842    27/05/2020    SMITH Alex - 08.01.2006 - C\SUB\SUB <Tab> File in Level 2 Sub-Sub Folder.PDF

The above RegEx (and variations of this) result in only the final backslash being replaced with a Tab.

I need to replace the first backslash after the Root Foldername only to be replaced, leaving the rest intact.

Note: Some rows will not have a letter immediately before the first backslash, e.g.

   289399    13/12/2021    ALLEN Alan - 12.05.2014\File in Root Folder.JPG

Please can somebody advise of a simple solution for this?

Answer 1

• Ctrl+H
• Find what: ^[^\\]+\K\\
• Replace with: \t
• TICK Wrap around
• SELECT Regular expression
• Replace all

Explanation:

^           # beginning of line
[^\\]+      # 1 or more any character that is not a backslash
\K          # forget all we have seen until this position
\\          # a backslash

Replacement:

\t          # a tabulation

Screenshot (before):

Screenshot (after):