Remove and strip html tag values

To remove the sizes and srcset attributes (along with their values) from <img> tags in your blog posts using WP Migrate DB Pro’s Find and Replace feature with regex, you can use the following approach:

Regex Solution

Use this regex pattern in the Find field to match and remove both sizes and srcset attributes, including their values:

\s*(sizes|srcset)="[^"]*"

• Explanation:
  • \s*: Matches zero or more whitespace characters (to account for formatting variations).
  • (sizes|srcset): Matches either the sizes or srcset attribute.
  • ="[^"]*": Matches the attribute value enclosed in quotes (e.g., "..."), capturing everything between the quotes.
• Replace field: Leave it empty ("") to remove the matched attributes entirely.

Steps in WP Migrate DB Pro

1. Go to the Find and Replace feature in WP Migrate DB Pro.
2. In the Find field, enter the regex pattern: \s*(sizes|srcset)="[^"]*"
3. Check the Regex option to enable regular expression mode.
4. In the Replace field, leave it blank ("").
5. Run a preview to ensure it matches the sizes and srcset attributes correctly.
6. Execute the replacement across your database.

Example

Before:

<img src="https://example.com/image.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://example.com/image-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://example.com/image-300x200.jpg 300w" alt="" width="1024" height="683" />

After:

<img src="https://example.com/image.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" />

Why Your Attempts Didn’t Work

Your patterns (<img[^>]+srcset="([^">]+)" and <img[^>]+sizes="([^">]+") had a few issues:

• The capture group ([^">]+) excludes > and ", but the values inside sizes and srcset can contain complex strings (e.g., commas, spaces, or parentheses), and it doesn’t account for all cases.
• The patterns were too restrictive and didn’t handle both attributes in a single pass.
• The [^>]+ might have been too greedy, potentially missing some matches due to attribute ordering or whitespace.

Alternative: PHP Script

If the regex in WP Migrate DB Pro doesn’t work as expected, you can run a PHP script to process the content directly in your WordPress database. Here’s an example:

<?php
// Connect to WordPress
require_once('wp-load.php');

global $wpdb;

// Query all posts
$posts = $wpdb->get_results("SELECT ID, post_content FROM {$wpdb->posts} WHERE post_type="post"");

foreach ($posts as $post) {
    // Remove sizes and srcset attributes
    $new_content = preg_replace('/\s*(sizes|srcset)="[^"]*"/i', '', $post->post_content);

    // Update the post content if changed
    if ($new_content !== $post->post_content) {
        $wpdb->update(
            $wpdb->posts,
            ['post_content' => $new_content],
            ['ID' => $post->ID]
        );
        echo "Updated post ID: {$post->ID}\n";
    }
}
?>

• Steps:
  1. Backup your database before running the script.
  2. Place the script in your WordPress root directory.
  3. Run it via the command line (php script.php) or a temporary admin page.
  4. Verify the changes in your posts.

Notes

• Test First: Always test regex or scripts on a staging site or a backup to avoid accidental data loss.
• Case Sensitivity: The regex is case-insensitive with the i flag in PHP (/i). WP Migrate DB Pro may not need this, depending on its regex engine.
• Other Attributes: If you need to remove additional attributes (e.g., width, height), add them to the (sizes|srcset|other) group in the regex.