RegExp.prototype.dotAll

The dotAll property indicates whether or not the "s" flag is used with the regular expression. dotAll is a read-only property of an individual regular expression instance.

Property attributes of RegExp.prototype.dotAll
Writable no
Enumerable no
Configurable yes

Description

The value of dotAll is a Boolean and true if the "s" flag was used; otherwise, false. The "s" flag indicates that the dot special character (".") should additionally match the following line terminator ("newline") characters in a string, which it would not match otherwise:

  • U+000A LINE FEED (LF) ("\n")
  • U+000D CARRIAGE RETURN (CR) ("\r")
  • U+2028 LINE SEPARATOR
  • U+2029 PARAGRAPH SEPARATOR

This effectively means the dot will match any character on the Unicode Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP). To allow it to match astral characters, the "u" (unicode) flag should be used. Using both flags in conjunction allows the dot to match any Unicode character, without exceptions.

You cannot change this property directly.

Examples

Using dotAll

var str1 = 'bar\nexample foo example';

var regex1 = new RegExp('bar.example','s');

console.log(regex1.dotAll); // Output: true

console.log(str1.replace(regex1,'')); // Output: foo example

var str2 = 'bar\nexample foo example';

var regex2 = new RegExp('bar.example');

console.log(regex2.dotAll); // Output: false

console.log(str2.replace(regex2,'')); // Output: bar
                                      //         example foo example

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript (ECMA-262)
The definition of 'RegExp.prototype.dotAll' in that specification.

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobileServer
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung InternetNode.js
dotAllChrome Full support 62Edge Full support 79Firefox Full support 78IE No support NoOpera Full support 49Safari Full support 12WebView Android Full support 62Chrome Android Full support 62Firefox Android No support NoOpera Android Full support 46Safari iOS Full support 12Samsung Internet Android Full support 8.0nodejs Full support 8.10.0
Full support 8.10.0
Full support 8.3.0
Disabled
Disabled From version 8.3.0: this feature is behind the --harmony runtime flag.

Legend

Full support
Full support
No support
No support
User must explicitly enable this feature.
User must explicitly enable this feature.

See also