Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

dnGREP VS RegExr

Compare dnGREP VS RegExr and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

dnGREP logo dnGREP

dnGrep allows you to search across files with easy-to-read results.

RegExr logo RegExr

RegExr.com is an online tool to learn, build, and test Regular Expressions.
  • dnGREP Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-23
  • RegExr Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-28

dnGREP features and specs

  • Open Source
    dnGREP is open-source software, which means it is free to use and its source code is publicly available for inspection, modification, and enhancement.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    dnGREP offers a graphical user interface that makes it easier for users to perform complex search and replace operations without needing to remember command-line syntax.
  • Powerful Search Capabilities
    The tool supports a variety of search options, including regular expressions, XPath, and phonetic search, providing powerful and flexible search functionality.
  • Advanced Features
    It includes advanced features like file encoding support, search inside archives and support for multiple file types, making it a versatile tool for different use cases.
  • Integration with Plugins
    dnGREP can integrate with various plugins, enhancing its functionality and allowing for greater customization based on user needs.

Possible disadvantages of dnGREP

  • Limited Platform Support
    dnGREP is primarily designed for Windows environments, which can be limiting for users who work on other operating systems like macOS or Linux.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic functions are user-friendly, leveraging its advanced features such as regular expressions and XPath searches can require a steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Performance Issues with Large Files
    Users may experience performance issues, such as slow search times, when working with very large files or extensive directories.
  • Limited Community Support
    As a smaller open-source project, dnGREP might not have as large a community or as extensive documentation compared to more widely-used alternatives.
  • Dependency on .NET Framework
    The tool requires the .NET framework to run, which could be an additional overhead for users who do not already have this installed.

RegExr features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    RegExr offers an intuitive and visually appealing interface that makes it easy for users to write, test, and understand regular expressions.
  • Real-time Feedback
    Changes to the regular expression and input text are reflected immediately, allowing users to see the effects of their adjustments in real-time.
  • Built-in Cheatsheet
    RegExr includes a handy cheatsheet that provides quick access to common regex patterns and syntax, making it easier for users to learn and reference rules.
  • Community Examples
    Users can explore and share community-generated regex patterns, which can serve as valuable examples or starting points for creating their own regex.
  • Detailed Explanation
    Each part of the regex pattern can be hovered over to display detailed tooltips explaining its function, aiding in the understanding of complex expressions.
  • Cross-Platform Accessibility
    As a web-based tool, RegExr can be accessed from any modern browser without the need for installation, making it convenient to use on multiple devices.

Possible disadvantages of RegExr

  • Limited Offline Use
    Since RegExr is a web-based application, it requires an internet connection, limiting its utility for users who need to work offline.
  • Learning Curve
    While the tool is user-friendly, users still need to have a foundational understanding of regular expressions to use RegExr effectively.
  • Performance Issues
    For extremely large inputs or very complex regular expressions, the tool may experience performance lags or slowdowns.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    RegExr may lack some advanced features found in more specialized or professional regex tools, such as integration with development environments or extensive scripting capabilities.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Users inputting sensitive data need to be cautious, as the web-based nature of the tool could raise privacy or data security concerns.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to dnGREP and RegExr)
File Manager
100 100%
0% 0
Programming Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Note Taking
100 100%
0% 0
Regular Expressions
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, RegExr seems to be a lot more popular than dnGREP. While we know about 367 links to RegExr, we've tracked only 9 mentions of dnGREP. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

dnGREP mentions (9)

  • IrfanView
    Chipping in dnGrep. Allows to grep inside XLSX and Word files. http://dngrep.github.io/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Research aid, multiple text file searching.
    You can try Recoll (https://www.lesbonscomptes.com/recoll/pages/index-recoll.html - instant result when searching, but needs indexing first and you might want to donate a little for windows version) or dnGrep (https://dngrep.github.io/ - slower but free and do not need much setup). Source: over 2 years ago
  • What are the best apps you've been using for a long time on Windows?
    DnGrep - TL;DR : grep with less headaches, a gui, and less features. Source: over 2 years ago
  • IT Pro Tuesday #192 - Windows Search, Fiber How-To, Autopsy Tutorial & More
    DnGrep is a Windows tool that allows you to search text, Word, Excel, PDF and archive files using text, regular expression, XPath and phonetic queries. Features include search/replace, whole-file preview, right-click search in File Explorer and more. Kindly suggested by majkinetor. Source: about 3 years ago
  • What tool(program or cli) did you wish you knew about earlier
    - dnGrep – Powerful search for Windows - https://dngrep.github.io/. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

RegExr mentions (367)

  • The importance of the environment in Regex pattern matching
    However - here it becomes weird - when testing the original regex rule (the first one, without the \u00A0 part) on the same string in an interactive visualiser (https://regexr.com/ for instance), there is a match:. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: How did you learn Regex?
    Learned regex in the 90's from the Perl documentation, or possibly one of the oreilly perl references. That was a time where printed language references were more convenient than searching the internet. Perl still includes a shell component for accessing it's documentation, that was invaluable in those ancient times. Perl's regex documentation is rather fantastic. `perldoc perlre` from your terminal. Or... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Ask HN: How did you learn Regex?
    I read a lot on https://www.regular-expressions.info and experimented on https://rubular.com since I was also learning Ruby at the time. https://regexr.com is another good tool that breaks down your regex and matches. One of the things I remember being difficult at the beginning was the subtle differences between implementations, like `^` meaning "beginning of line" in Ruby (and others) but meaning "beginning of... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Ask HN: How did you learn Regex?
    Mostly building things that needed complex RegEx, and debugging my regular expressions with https://regexr.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Form Validation In TypeScipt Projects Using Zod and React Hook Form
    For username: You are using the min() function to make sure the characters are not below three and, then the max() function checks that the characters are not beyond twenty-five. You also make use of Regex to make sure the username must contain only letters, numbers, and underscore. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing dnGREP and RegExr, you can also consider the following products

grepWin - grepWin is a simple search and replace tool which can use PCRE regular expressions to search for...

regular expressions 101 - Extensive regex tester and debugger with highlighting for PHP, PCRE, Python and JavaScript.

DocFetcher - DocFetcher is a portable German/English open source desktop search application.

rubular - A ruby based regular expression editor

Agent Ransack - Agent Ransack is a tool for finding files and information on your hard drive fast and efficiently.

Expresso - The award-winning Expresso editor is equally suitable as a teaching tool for the beginning user of regular expressions or as a full-featured development environment for the experienced programmer with an extensive knowledge of regular expressions.