The following regular expressions can be used to search documents for parentheses.

Search for text in parentheses

Paste the following regular expression to the "Find what" box of the Find/Replace panel of the Control Board to match any text in parentheses in your document:

\([!()]{0,}\)

For example, this expression would match the text highlighted below:

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson) was as iconic as her life was tragic.

Search for text in parentheses (not including the parentheses)

\(|[!()]{0,}|\)

For example:

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson) was as iconic as her life was tragic.

Replace parentheses with square brackets

With the following "find what" pattern:

\(([!()]{0,})\)

and the following "replace with" pattern:

[\1]

you could replace parentheses:

The study participants showed no improvement in cholesterol levels (McLellan and Frost, 2012).

with square brackets:

The study participants showed no improvement in cholesterol levels [McLellan and Frost, 2012].

Replace parentheses with figure brackets

With the following "find what" pattern:

\(([!()]{0,})\)

and the following "replace with" pattern:

{\1}

you could replace parentheses:

The study participants showed no improvement in cholesterol levels (McLellan and Frost, 2012).

with figure brackets:

The study participants showed no improvement in cholesterol levels {McLellan and Frost, 2012}.

Replace parentheses with commas

With the following "find what" pattern:

(^w)\(([!()]{0,})\)(^w)

and the following "replace with" pattern:

,\1\2,\3

you could replace parentheses:

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson) was as iconic as her life was tragic.

with commas:

Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, was as iconic as her life was tragic.

Replace parentheses with long dashes

With the following "find what" pattern:

(^w)\(([!()]{0,})\)(^w)

and the following "replace with" pattern:

\1— \2 —\3

you could replace parentheses:

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson) was as iconic as her life was tragic.

with long dashes:

Marilyn Monroe — born Norma Jeane Mortenson — was as iconic as her life was tragic.

Search for nested (double) parentheses

\([!()]{0,}\([!()]{0,}\)[!()]{0,}\)

For example:

Australia's Parliament House (architects Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp (New York)) opened on 9 May 1988.

Search for text inside nested (interior) parentheses

\([!()]{0,}\(|[!()]{0,}|\)[!()]{0,}\)

For example:

Australia's Parliament House (architects Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp (New York)) opened on 9 May 1988.

Replace nested (interior) parentheses with square brackets

With the following "find what" pattern:

(\([!()]{0,})\(([!()]{0,})\)([!()]{0,}\))

and the following "replace with" pattern:

\1[\2]\3

you could replace nested (interior) parentheses:

Australia's Parliament House (architects Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp (New York)) opened on 9 May 1988.

with square brackets:

Australia's Parliament House (architects Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp [New York]) opened on 9 May 1988.

Replace nested (interior) parentheses with long dashes

With the following "find what" pattern:

(\([!()]{0,}^w)\(([!()]{0,})\)(^w[!()]{0,}\))

and the following "replace with" pattern:

\1— \2 —\3

you could replace nested (interior) parentheses:

Fauna populations declined in industrial areas (pollinators in the study (bees and hummingbirds) were tracked separately).

with long dashes:

Fauna populations declined in industrial areas (pollinators in the study — bees and hummingbirds — were tracked separately).

Note: Before searching with a regular expression, make sure that the "Use wildcards" option is enabled in the Find/Replace panel of the Control Board:

or in the Find/Replace dialog:

Tip:

• You can add your commonly used regular expressions to the saved searches.

See also...