Adding Bulk Text to the Beginning and End of Lines with Notepad++ (Illustrated Explanation)

Notepad++ is a powerful and free text editor that offers a wide range of features for developers and anyone who works with text files. One of its most useful features is the ability to add bulk text to the beginning and end of lines, saving you a significant amount of time and effort when editing large files. This blog post will guide you through the process with clear explanations and illustrative examples.

Why Add Text to the Beginning and End of Lines?

There are many situations where you might need to add text to the beginning or end of multiple lines simultaneously. Some common examples include:

• Adding HTML tags: Quickly wrap multiple lines of text with HTML tags like <p> and </p>.
• Prefixing log lines: Add timestamps or other identifying information to log entries.
• Creating SQL queries: Add prefixes and suffixes to database fields for creating complex queries.
• Formatting data: Easily format data for import into spreadsheets or databases.
• Commenting out code: Quickly comment out multiple lines of code for debugging.

Using the Replace Dialog in Notepad++

The primary method for adding bulk text to the beginning and end of lines in Notepad++ involves using the "Replace" dialog with regular expressions. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Open the Replace Dialog

Press Ctrl+H or go to Search > Replace... to open the Replace dialog.

<img src="data:image/png;base64,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