Regular Expression help: complicated remaming of titles

[Ersatzreifen]

I'm trying to rename a few hundred magazines using regular expressions in the EDIT METADATA|SEARCH & REPLACE, but I'm not getting anywhere. I read the reference, but the more I read it the more confused I get.

Here's a sample of three titles I now have:

202 (Winter 2009) Tools & Shops
025 (Dec 1980)
178

The numbers are actually issue (series) numbers. I want to use the search and replace to change them all to look like this:

Fine Woodworking 202: Fine Woodworking Magazine № 202 (Winter 2009) Tools & Shops
Fine Woodworking 025: Fine Woodworking Magazine № 025 (Dec 1980)
Fine Woodworking 178: Fine Woodworking Magazine № 178

(The "Fine Woodworking NNN:" part sets the series number, which I can later use the "Clean Metadata" plugin to move it to the series column.)

So, I'm stumped. The part that I can't figure out is how to take the number and repeat it in prepended text as shown, followed by a colon. What's the most painless way to make this happen? I really have no clue.

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Here's my view of the tool I'm using, FYI:

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BR

[theducks]

1) you have no (capture) pattern so it ='s all
2) you have a destination the same as source without modification by #1. The source of the duplicate values. The default (no destination specified) is SAME field

IMHO your work order is flawed

0) Have a complete plan that avoids traps in the end. Like resulting Duplicate Titles after cleanup. Each case is Unique (see red item below)

1*) Map fragments to destination fields (1 pass per destination field, minimum). S&R does not have a true 'Move'. You add / insert, then clean up
Normalize data. #, No., Issue: could be dropped (must as an Index for series) or made consistent

2) Cleanup. Remove data that now has a proper home

Fine Woodworking 202: Fine Woodworking Magazine № 202 (Winter 2009) Tools & Shops
Fine Woodworking 025: Fine Woodworking Magazine № 025 (Dec 1980)
Fine Woodworking 178: Fine Woodworking Magazine № 178

Lime is Series and Index I have always seemed to have to do this as 2 passes: Series (name), then series_index

This will also become the Primary Title, since it always exists (Duplicate tie breaker)

Magazine(-period) is just a TAG eg Magazine-Quarterly, It need not be in the Title or Series

If you have a custom Sub-Title field, you could map the subject there
You could just leave (season) Subject in the title

BTW Issue number is a great Series_Index if you always have it.
Analog SF&F is a monthly (I use digits for month) EXCEPT the issue a Double Month issue every year that breaks the simple digit plan


So, Now
Show (and Tell ) us your mapping plan. With source examples. Remember Pattern matching is a precise task. Every variation counts as a needed solution

Normalize your existing {title} eg the #, No. .... problem. This will reduce the needed solutions for the 'Move -Copy' phase