VSCode How to _enable_ Regex Find by command, rather than "toggle" - visual-studio-code

Question

I want to write a macro to search for a Regex in VSCode.
Examining the different functionalities available in the editor I find toggleFindRegex, (bound to key Alt-R by default) which works well for interactive use.
However, for a macro a "toggle" won't do. The result could be "on" or "off", fifty-fifty random from the macro's point of view.
Ideally I would need an enableFindRegex function, which doesn't seem to exist, or alternatively a way for the macro to detect the current findRegex state before deciding whether to toggle it or not.
So could anybody point me in the right direction on this?

Answer 1

This can be done with a Joyride function
(defn find-with-regex-on []
(let [selection vscode/window.activeTextEditor.selection
document vscode/window.activeTextEditor.document
selectedText (.getText document selection)
regexp-chars (js/RegExp. #"[.?+*^$\\|(){}[\]]" "g")
newline-chars (js/RegExp. #"\n" "g")
escapedText (-> selectedText
(.replace regexp-chars "\\$&")
(.replace newline-chars "\\n?$&"))]
(vscode/commands.executeCommand
"editor.actions.findWithArgs"
#js {:isRegex true
:searchString escapedText})))
And binding a keyboard shortcut to that function:
{
"key": "cmd+ctrl+alt+f",
"command": "joyride.runCode",
"args": "(my-lib/find-with-regex-on)",
},
Here's the full example: https://github.com/BetterThanTomorrow/joyride/blob/master/examples/README.md#find-in-file-with-regexp-toggled-on

Answer 2

You can use this command in a macro since support for its arguments has recently been added:
{
"command": "editor.actions.findWithArgs",
"args": {
// "findInSelection": false,
// "isCaseSensitive": true,
// "matchCaseOverride": 0, // appears to not be implemented
// "preserveCase": true,
// "preserveCaseOverride": 0, // appears to not be implemented
"isRegex": true
// "regexOverride": 1, // appears to not be implemented
// "replaceString": "asdasd",
// "searchString": "qweqwe",
// "matchWholeWord": true,
// "wholeWordOverride": 0 // appears to not be implemented
}
}
This will open the Find Widget with the regex option chosen. Of course, you can utilize the other args if you want - some have not been implemented and intellisense is poorly done on this command in the keybindings - I have indicated which args have not been implemented and/or the correct key names.
----- Previous answer --------------
In v1.46 is the ability to open a new search editor (not the search panel), with various arguments including whether the regex button should be on or off.
See
SearchEditor: Open new editor with args
. So this works:
{
"key": "ctrl+shift+g",
"command": "search.action.openNewEditor",
"args": {
"query": "\\w*",
"regexp": true,
"includes": "${fileDirname}", // restrict to current editor's directory
// "includes": "${file}", // restrict search to current file
"showIncludesExcludes": true,
"contextLines": 3,
},
"when": "editorTextFocus"
},
whether the regex option was previously selected or not. Other arguments available:
{
query: string,
includes: string,
excludes: string,
contextLines: number,
wholeWord: boolean,
caseSensitive: boolean,
regexp: boolean,
useIgnores: boolean,
showIncludesExcludes: boolean,
// triggerSearch: boolean, // to be in v.47
// focusResults: boolean // to be in v.47
}
Prior to triggerSearch and focusResults being added to the Stable version (presumably 1.47) here is a macro that immediately runs the search and focuses the first result:
"multiCommand.commands": [
{
"command": "multiCommand.runSearchEditorwithArguments",
"interval": 200, // needs a small delay so results are loaded before focusing them
"sequence": [
{
"command": "search.action.openNewEditor",
"args": {
"query": "(TODO|NOTE|BUG):",
"regexp": true,
"includes": "${fileDirname}",
"showIncludesExcludes": true,
"contextLines": 3,
}
},
"rerunSearchEditorSearch", // runs the search
"search.action.focusNextSearchResult" // focus first result
]
}
]