Question

I need a preg_replace syntax to add something (anything) after the /> of an image tag that is within a string I have.

So for example

$string="here is a <img src="images/test.gif" /> string!"   

needs to become…

$string="here is a <img src="images/test.gif" /><br> string!"

Answer 1

$string = '<img src="test" />';
$result = preg_replace('/(<img[^>]+>(?:<\/img>)?)/i', '$1<br />', $string);

This will match

<img />
<img>
<img></img>

as well as any uppercase variations.

A breakdown of the expression:

• Outer parentheses – match the regular expression and capture into
  backreference 1
• Match the characters <img literally
• Match any character which is not > between 1 and unlimited times as many times as possible
• Match the character > literally (to account for stopping above when it was found)
• Match </img> literally between zero and 1 times (optional because of the ?)