Using Find and Replace from a Command Line

Canvas supports a command-line interface to find and replace strings in Canvas files stored in either a CygNet APPS or BSS folder or a local folder. Be aware that there is no undo for find and replace. Make a backup of your files before editing. See other important notes here.

To find and replace a string in a Canvas file

Open a Command Prompt window.
Navigate to the directory where the Canvas application is installed, typically CygNet\Bin.
Type the command using the syntax described below.

Usage

Canvas -Find=[FindString] -Replace=[ReplacementString] -Files=[File1;File2;File3] -Source=[BSS|Local] -Options=[Controls;Metadata;Screen;Script]

Note: Command-line commands are not case sensitive.

Parameters

All parameters require additional data; follow each parameter with "=additional data"; see usage and examples.

Parameter Required Description

-Find

Yes

Specify the string you want to find. Wrap multiple words in quotation marks.

Example

-Find="find this string"

-Replace

Yes

Specify the replacement string. Wrap multiple words in quotation marks.

Example

-Replace="replace with this string"

-Files

Yes

Specify the full path and file name of any file(s) you want to edit in a semi-colon separated list wrapped in quotation marks.

Do not use -Path to specify the path to a file. The presence of both -Path and -Files invalidates the command line.

Example

-Files="C:\temp\MyScreen1.can;C:\temp\MyScreen2.can;C:\temp\MyScreen3.can"

-Source

Yes

Specify the source type for the file you want to edit. Options include:

BSS — Indicates that the file is stored in a CygNet APPS or BSS folder
Local — Indicates that the file is stored in a local or network Windows file-system folder

Examples

-Source=BSS

-Source=Local

-Options

Yes

Specify where in the file you want to make the substitution. These options can be combined in any order; they can be separated with any separator (a semi-colon (;) or a pipe (|)) or no separator at all. Options include:

Controls — Find and replace any string found in a Canvas control property
Metadata — Find and replace any string found in a screen's Metadata
Screen — Find and replace any string found in a screen (or object) property
Script — Find and replace any string found in a screen's script

Examples

-Options=Controls;MetaData;Screen;Script

-Options=Controls|Screen|Script

-Options=Controls Screen Script

-Help

Displays a dialog box showing command-line usage. "help", "\help", "/help", and "?" are also valid.

The Command Line Usage dialog box will be displayed when any invalid options are typed at the command line.

Examples

`canvas help`	`canvas.view help`	`canvas.view.lite help`
`canvas ?`	`canvas.view ?`	`canvas.view.lite ?`
`canvas /help`	`canvas.view /help`	`canvas.view.lite /help`

Command-Line Usage

You can get user assistance for the relevant command-line options for Find and Replace.

Command-line help for Canvas

Type Canvas -Help at the command-line prompt to see usage tips

Examples

C:\CygNet\Bin>Canvas -Find=YYYYY -Replace=ZZZZZ -Files=C:\Canvas_Screens\MyScreen.can -Source=Local -Options=Controls;Screen;Script

C:\CygNet\Bin>Canvas -Find=YYYYY -Replace=ZZZZZ -Files=CYGDEMO.BSS\Canvas_Screens\MyScreen.can -Source=BSS -Options=Script Controls Screen

C:\CygNet\Bin>Canvas -Find=YYYYY -Replace=ZZZZZ -Files=C:\Canvas_Screens\MyScreen.can -Source=Local -Options=Metadata|Script

C:\CygNet\Bin>Canvas -Help

Note: You cannot combine the Find/Replace parameters and other Canvas command-line parameters in the same command line. But you could do a find and replace and then open the file on the next command line.