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RegEx Search Field Expression Plugin

Speed up your troubleshooting and analysis by extracting specific data from messages using powerful Regular Expressions (RegEx). With Nodinite's RegEx Search Field Expression Plugin, you can find and display key values in your logs — all without writing code in advance.

✅ Quickly extract values from the payload (message body) ✅ Target multiple values using advanced RegEx patterns ✅ Perfect for log views, search filters, and self-service diagnostics ✅ Works across BizTalk, Logic Apps, and other integration systems

🎯 Design Note: Designed for business users and integrators — no developer required as you can use AI to get help with patterns!

Use Case: Surface meaningful data in log views — like Order IDs, Customer Numbers, or Error Codes.

What does the RegEx plugin do?

The RegEx plugin allows you to define patterns that extract one or more unique values from a message's content. These extracted values are shown in Log Views, making it easier to filter and analyze Log Events.

Key Features:

  • Extract values using Regular Expression patterns
  • Support for capturing groups
  • Display unique values in Log Views
  • Works with XML, JSON, and plain text messages

Input Example Example: Sample XML message containing orders with multiple city IDs.

How it works

The RegEx plugin processes messages in three steps:

  1. Input: The message (XML, JSON, or plain text)
  2. Expression: A RegEx pattern to match values
  3. Result: Unique value(s) extracted from the message
graph LR A["Input: Message Payload"] --> B["RegEx Pattern"] B --> C["Result: Unique Values"]

The RegEx pattern scans the message payload and extracts matching values.

Example

Message Input:

<Order>
  <Id>101</Id>
  <City CityId="054">Karlstad</City>
</Order>
<Order>
  <Id>102</Id>
  <City CityId="08">Stockholm</City>
</Order>

RegEx Expression:

CityId="([0-9]+)"

Extracted Values:

CityId="054"
CityId="08"

Tip: You can use capturing groups to extract just the numeric value, e.g. ([0-9]+) → 054, 08. See RegEx with capturing groups for more details.

Expression Example Example configuration with RegEx pattern to extract CityId values.

How to use the RegEx plugin

  1. Open the Search Field Wizard from a Log View and either create a new Search Field or edit an existing one
  2. Choose the RegEx plugin from the Expression Type dropdown
  3. Enter your RegEx pattern in the Expression field
  4. Select the Message Type(s) to apply the field
  5. Save the configuration
  6. Re-index existing data (optional)
  7. The extracted data is now available in your Log Views!

Select RegEx plugin Example: Selecting the RegEx plugin in the Search Field configuration.

Tip: You can test everything in the built-in Test Expression tool before saving!

Testing your expression

You don't need to guess — use the Test Expression tab to validate your pattern before saving:

  1. Paste a sample message in the Message Body tab
  2. Select the RegEx plugin
  3. Enter your pattern
  4. View matched values and total count

Successful Match: ✅ Shows matched values and extraction count.

No Match: ❌ Occurs when the expression is invalid or doesn't match the message content.

Additional pattern examples

Feature Pattern Sample Input Match Description
Alternatives dog\|cat the cat loves the dog cat, dog Use pipe to match alternatives
Grouping a(ero\|ir)plane aeroplane, airplane both Use parentheses to group conditions
Wildcards go*gle google, gooogle multiple matches Asterisk matches zero or more
Length ... longword lon, gwo Each dot matches any character
Character Set [lsh]and land, sand, hand all three Match on specific characters

Important considerations

Performance:

  • This plugin loads the entire message into memory
  • Use only for small to medium payloads to avoid performance issues

Alternatives for large messages:

  • Use [XPath][] if the payload is XML
  • Use Formula expressions for conditional logic
  • Consider [JSON Path][] for JSON payloads

Next steps