Replace First N Occurrences in the String

Question

How can I replace first N occurrences of many whitespaces and tabs in the following string:

07/12/2017  11:01 AM             21523 filename with         


        

Answer 1

Derek and Nina provide great answers for dynamically replacing N whitespace groups. If N is static, the non-whitespace token (\S) can be used to match and keep the groups between whitespace:

.replace(/\s+(\S+)\s+(\S+)\s+/, '|$1|$2|')