- 4 minutes to read

Extract Unique Values with the RegEx Search Field 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.

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

  • ✅ 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

Use this plugin to surface meaningful data in log views — like Order IDs, Customer Numbers, or Error Codes.

What Does It 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.

Input Example
This example shows a sample XML message containing orders with multiple city IDs.

How It Works: Input ➜ RegEx ➜ Result

Below is a simple breakdown:

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 Expression"] B --> C["Result: Unique Value(s)"]

Example flow: Input message is processed with a RegEx expression to extract unique values.

✨ Quick 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]+)"

Expression Example
Example with RegEx pattern to extract CityId values.

Extracted Values:

CityId="054"
CityId="08"

You can use capturing groups to extract just the numeric value, e.g. ([0-9]+) → 054, 08

🔧 Step-by-Step: How to Use

  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
    Select RegEx plugin
    Example of selecting the RegEx plugin in the Search Field configuration.
  3. Enter your RegEx pattern
  4. Select the Message Type(s) to apply the field
  5. Save, re-index (optional)
  6. The data is now available in your Log Views!

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

🧪 Test Your Expression

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

  • Paste a sample message in the Message Body tab
  • Select the RegEx plugin
  • Enter your pattern
  • 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.

More RegEx Examples

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

⚠️ Things to Keep in Mind

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

For large messages, consider using XPath (if the payload is XML) or Formula expressions instead.

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