ShipScript has been an eBay Community volunteer since 2003, specializing in HTML, CSS, Scripts, Photos, Active Content, Technical Solutions, and online Seller Tools.
@shipscript wrote:
The new version of Find/Replace differs from the old version of BEAR in one critical aspect. The old version allowed HTML entry, while the new version accepts only text entry.
The new Find/Replace will finish without any errors, but nothing will be changed because the tool will not find any matches.
In both old and new, plain text will fail when the description contains hidden HTML. If the text is a single sentence, the editor might successfully find a match if there is no styling within the sentence. But if the text crosses a paragraph boundary or contains styling (or even the entity code for an ampersand or hardspace), the tool will not find a match. Some can get around the problem by using find/replace on smaller bits of text (targeting text that is between HTML codes).
In the old version, at least there was the ability to provide the entire HTML paragraph, and the bulk editor would replace it. That option is gone; and both old and new Find/Replace tools were almost useless without the HTML input. The HTML input feature is what must be restored. I have tried entering the HTML in the "Find" slot, but that won't find a match. I extensively tested this failure over a month ago, and briefly just now to verify it has not changed.
Similar issue last week:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Ask-a-Mentor/template-creation/m-p/33044048
Until this issue is resolved, I think I will again recommend that sellers with hundreds or thousands of listings look to the Active Content editor for bulk description editing. It can accept (regex) wildcards or can find text within a range (starts with - ends with), so exact matches are not essential; and various parts of the description can be changed in one pass. The editor will make copies of the descriptions, change them in bulk, and save to a spreadsheet (along with a backup copy of the originals). The resulting spreadsheet can be uploaded to eBay through Seller Hub > Reports > Uploads. If anyone needs help with this powerful online tool, please let me know.
Thanks for this feedback @shipscript! I'll be sure to pass it on in case there are changes/improvements they want to make to the way this feature currently works.
One workaround is the use the third party Bulk Active Content Editor, which has the ability to use wildcards, or to bracket text you want to remove and replace. The tool will create a spreadsheet of listing descriptions that can be uploaded to Seller Hub for a bulk revision.
Test how the tool works on a single listing description by using the Active Content Sandbox tool:
https://www.isdntek.com/ebaytools/ActiveContentSandbox.htm
Paste your item number into the tool. Then click the "Custom" button to open a page with input-slots where you can paste your find/replace strings.
Either paste the exact clause you want to remove, or, if your clause contains variable text, styling, or HTML, you can bracket the text with a unique starting phrase and an ending phase. The bracketing text and anything in between will be removed. The tool looks at the HTML (whereas eBay's bulk tool now looks only at text and will miss anything with underlying HTML).
You can enter replacement text for your Find/Replace. Or, if you want to add text or code to the beginning or end, start a new row and open the "?" in the "starts with" slot for instructions, and place your text in the "replacement" slot.
After setting your parameters, click the SCAN button.
The MARKUP tab farther down will show you what the tool found and how it was replaced.
The FILTERED tab will show the description with the changes applied, which can be previewed (Be sure to checkmark the "Custom" checkbox on the FILTERED tab to include your custom changes). This revised text can be copied and pasted back into the description; but for 1000 listings, it is just a tool to help you figure out which find/replace phrases to use.
Those same find/replace phrases from the Sandbox tool can be used in the Bulk Active Content Editor to scan all of your listing descriptions in bulk, and a spreadsheet of descriptions can be created. That bulk spreadsheet can then be uploaded to eBay in Seller Hub > Reports > Uploads.
If you have questions, or need help, feel free to ask.
The find/replace feature has changed significantly over the past year, since HTML has now been added back as an option. Therefore, the premise of this thread may no longer apply to your issue. Could you point to at least one listing that you are trying to change (that fails) and provide what you are "finding" and what you are "replacing"? I should be able to offer guidance.
