How do you tell Emacs to leave the case alone in a search and replace string?

Question

I\'m trying to perform a regex search and replace in Emacs (using M-x query-replace-regexp), but the usually helpful smart case is getting in the way. My sourc

Answer 1

Try adding this to your .emacs:

(setq case-replace nil)

C-h v case-replace RET:

Documentation: Non-nil means `query-replace' should preserve case in replacements.

And a link to the manual for Replace Commands and Case details all the interactions with case and the appropriate variables.

Or you could define a new command like:

(defun query-replace-no-case ()
   (interactive)
   (let ((case-replace nil))
       (call-interactively 'query-replace))))

And, if you were coding this up in a function, and only wanted to set the variable temporarily, you'd do something like:

(let ((case-replace nil))
   (while (search-forward ...)
       (replace-match ...)))

Answer 2

In a current emacs, you can find the option in the Options menu. Save Options, if you wish through the same menu.