Matching both \d and \. in a regular expression

Question

I'm trying to match any combination of float numbers with a regular expression in VBA inside of Microsoft Word.

Example:

<text="">
<text="1">
<text="2">
<text="3">
<text="3.5">
<text="4">
<text="44">

I've tried the following patterns:

regex.Pattern = "<text=" & Chr(34) & "\d*\.*\d*" & Chr(34) & ">"
regex.Pattern = "<text=" & Chr(34) & "[\d\.]*" & Chr(34) & ">"

What's interesting is neither of these patterns will match the 44 either.

fyi: `*` will match "0 or more". If you want ONLY elements with numbers, then use `+` (1 or more). — Marc B, Nov 14 '12 at 16:09
I don't know about word and VBA in perl i'd do something like this: "(\d+(\.\d+)?)?" — Mithrandir, Nov 14 '12 at 16:14
[This question](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5917082/regular-expression-to-match-numbers-with-or-without-commas-and-decimals-in-text) and its answers should tell you all you need to know, and more. — eirikdaude, Apr 24 '15 at 11:47

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 14 '12 at 16:16

0

from the regex tester site,

Positive Integers --- ^\d+$
Negative Integers --- ^-\d+$
Integer --- ^-{0,1}\d+$
Positive Number --- ^\d*\.{0,1}\d+$
Negative Number --- ^-\d*\.{0,1}\d+$
Positive Number or Negative Number - ^-{0,1}\d*\.{0,1}\d+$

to test for the empty result being valid, and assuming all positive numbers, you would end up with

regex.Pattern = "<text=" & Chr(34) & "\d*\.{0,1}\d*" & Chr(34) & ">"

answered Nov 14 '12 at 16:16

SeanC

15,695
5
45
66

You'll notice this isn't different from my pattern other than you say 0 or 1 decimals, and I allow any. Also, doesn't work for me still. – Joel Nov 14 '12 at 16:21
a float will only have 0 or 1 decimals. 1.1.1 is not a valid number – SeanC Nov 14 '12 at 16:22
Additionally, you're very off base with your use of ^ and $, as my sample text shows it's clearly not the beginning or end of line. – Joel Nov 14 '12 at 16:23
fixed example. the $ and ^ were from me testing the number part only – SeanC Nov 14 '12 at 16:23

qstebom · Answer 2 · 2012-11-14T16:30:59.273

Let's break it down. A floating point number has two parts, integral and decimal. There are some choices on the format:

Here is pattern for a pretty common notation:

regex.Pattern = "<text=" & Chr(34) & "(-?\d+(\.\d+)?)?" & Chr(34) & ">"

Some choices:

Do you want to support omitting the integral part? (e.g. '.001')
Use * instead of + in the first number match: (-?\d*(\.\d+)?)?
Do you want to support leading zeros? (e.g. 000.)
This is gonna be more tricky :)
Do you want to support decimal point without decimal part? (e.g. '12.')
Then add ? after the decimal point match: (-?\d*(\.?\d+)?)?
Is the decimal part mandatory?
Remove the very last ?: (-?\d*(\.?\d+))?

Matching both \d and \. in a regular expression

2 Answers2