A Puzzle for Learning Regular Expressions

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Well, now that we have put in a few hard-working days this year already, it’s time for a break, don’t you think? And why not something that’s fun, that we could also—maybe if we stretch the rules a bit—count as work. This is a fun game that I’ve become quite intent on winning. I’m not doing so well, but I’m having a blast. Ready? It’s a RegEx crossword! Well, more like sudoku. Using regular expressions. Um, what?

For any of you GREP-ophiles like myself, you’re already jumping up and down. If the idea of GREP scares you, or you’re thinking, “GREP? RegEx?!” pay attention. RegEx is short for Regular Expressions—the “RE” in GREP—and in its simplest definition is the sequence of characters that define a pattern. GREP is used in InDesign to find patterns of text, then do something to that found text. This online puzzle challenge forces you to see those patterns.
RegexCrossword
RegexCrossword3.
The RegEx Crossword puzzle challenge is done a bit like a crossword puzzle with clues running across and down, but it also feels a bit like sudoku. Start with the tutorial’s easy 2 x 2 grid to help you get the feel for how it works. If you are not sure of an expression’s meaning, use the handy pop-out help menu. I’ve had to reference this a bit, as InDesign uses a subset of GREP and some of the puzzle’s expressions differ from what I’m familiar with. There are multiple levels, each one adding more rows, columns, and more involved expressions. Each puzzle has a hint which the final puzzle spells out. I’d love an option to hide that, as I’ve inferred the answer from seeing the hint.
RegexCrossword-LEVELSPROGRESS
You know you need a break from all this new year’s momentum, so get thee to a web browser! Last one to solve the “Hamlet” level is a rotten egg.

Erica Gamet has been involved in the graphics industry for over 35 years. She is a speaker, writer, trainer, and content creator focusing on Adobe InDesign, Apple Keynote, and varied production topics. She is a regular presenter at CreativePro Week, regular contributor to CreativePro Magazine, and has spoken at Canada’s ebookcraft, Adobe MAX, and Making Design in Oslo, Norway. Find Erica online at the CreativePro YouTube channel, CreativeLive.com and through her own YouTube channel. When she isn’t at her computer she’s probably daydreaming about travel or living in a Nordic noir landscape.

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  • Alan Gilbertson says:

    Love it! Reminds me why InDesign’s special version used to mess with my head once in a while. :)

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