String-O-Matic 34.0

Overview

Whenever you need to search and replace strings in text files, HTML files, source codes and virtually in any kind of files, String-O-Matic is your solution. Apart from replacing strings in the files’ contents, it can be used as a file renaming tool to rename individual files or perform mass file renaming. Before performing string replacement, the program can backup the source files in order to undo any changes in case something goes wrong.

Installation

There is nothing in this installation that might confuse you, the instructions are simple and the setup steps are few. The package is clean from malware and doesn’t include any additional software.

The program can be installed in any Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 and 7 machine.

Interface

The interface is neat, without many options and elements covering the main window. Below the menu bar and the toolbar is a third bar with 6 different tabs that represent the program’s main features: Files, Strings, Options, Exclusions, Logging and Batch. Each one changes the screen with the corresponding settings and options. In the first tab you select the items you want to edit, as well as back them up, copy them and perform operations regarding the files themselves. The actual string replacement happens in the second tab, where you search for the desired strings first and then replace them. Options, Exclusions and Logging are pretty much self-explanatory. The last tab, Batch, is used when you want to run MS-DOS commands before or after the search and replace operation takes place.

Pros

Instead of searching and replacing strings in the files’ contents, you can also rename files too.

Wildcards, whole word, case sensitive searches and prompt on replace options are all included in String-O-Matic.

Before applying the replacement, you have the ability to backup the source files so that you can easily bring them back if there is a problem after the replacement. An auto-backup option is available that automatically creates a backup before replacing strings. Even if you don’t want to create a backup beforehand, the program stores the source files temporarily, verifies that the new files are not corrupt, and then deletes the temporary files. If the new files are corrupt, the old ones are brought back.

You can set the program to run command line arguments before or after every operation.

A log is kept for every action that you make.

The program is highly customizable, as there is a Configuration Editor feature for editing its interface.

Cons

There aren’t many downsides here; however there are a couple worth noting. First off, 16-bit Unicode characters are not supported (only 8-bit characters are supported). Secondly, for many file formats such as MS Word, Excel and Access documents, the file can easily become corrupt if the string that you are replacing is not the same length with the new string.

The limitation in the trial version is that the replace function is disabled. You can only search for strings.

Alternatives

Find and Replace (free) is a utility used to find and replace text in multiple files. Even though it doesn’t have a rich list of features like String-O-Matic, it still has some of its functions (such as support for running command lines). Another similar application is FAR (short for Find and Replace), an open source software for applying string replacement and shares many common features with String-O-Matic, like the backup feature.

Conclusion

It really comes down to whether String-O-Matic can meet your expectations, which is the case in most times since it has so many functions and features. The only real disadvantage is that the trial version will not help you test the program’s full potential, as it doesn’t allow you to replace strings, but even then you can still get an idea of how it works and see if it’s suitable for you.