How to analyze a file with regular expressions

If your team regularly opens attached files to find specific details they need  - such as a specific error in a log file or a serial number from a customer photo - you can automate that pulling of those details using the Analyze File steptype so that they are immediately presented to your team without them needing to open the file themselves.

The Analyze File steptype can extract details from the file types listed below using Regular Expressions, also known as Regex.

Supported documents

CSV, DOC, DOCX, JSON, LOG, MD, TXT and WPD

Supported images

JPEG, JPG, PNG, HEIF, and TIFF

If you're unfamiliar with Regex, a regular expression is a sequence of characters that specifies a search pattern in the text. Watch this beginner's guide to Regex Basics to learn more. 

To write your regex, we recommend using testers with syntax highlighting like Regexr or Regex101.

With the correct regex and by completing the fields of this steptype in Flow Builder, you can look for specific text in a given document or image, pull out that text, and return it as a variable you can use throughout your flows.

With that variable, you can show that detail to your team using the Rich Text instruction steptype, write it to a ticket field, use it with Criteria Logic to make automated decisions, or do anything else you can do with FlowEQ variables.

Title

The value in this field will appear up top in Sidekick when your team reaches this step in the flow. We recommend something like  Extracting details from file attachment...

Automatically completed after files are analyzed

When you're confident you have this steptype configured correctly, you can check this box to automatically run the regex function as soon as your team reaches this step in the flow, rather than waiting for your team to start the function manually in Sidekick.

Regular Expressions Input and Outputs

Use this table to write your regular expression, define what it does, and give it a variable name.

Order column

Use this field to set the order of the regular expressions.

Type column

Use this field to define what kind of search result you want from your regex function

• First Match Result
  • Finds the first match, and so therefore only returns one result.
• First match first group result
  • Finds the first match in the first regex group, and so also returns only one result.
• All matches array
  • Finds all matches and so can multiple results.
• All first group matches array
  • Finds all matches in the first specified regex group and can also return multiple results.

Input Regular Expression column

Enter your regular expression here. We recommend writing your regex in Regexr or Regex101 and then copy/pasting the result into this field.

Output Label

Use this field to describe what this output is or does. Shorter is better.

Output Variable column

Use this field to enter the value you want to wrap to produce the output variable. All variables must be unique. Once entered, click the blue copy button to copy the total variable to your clipboard.

Hidden column

Check this box to hide a particular regex function from appearing to your team in Sidekick.