---
title: FirstRegexMatch
slug: neurons-for-itsm/admin-user-help/enu/latest/firstregexmatch
createdAt: 2026-07-14T19:16:46.675Z
---

Returns the substring of text that is the first match of /regex/.

See [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular\_Expressions](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions) for information about regular expressions.

:::hint{type="info"}
This function can be used to replace the LastWord modifier as used in CSM.
:::

## Syntax

FirstRegexMatch(text, exp)

## Enabled For

For a description of the business object categories, see [Notes on "Enabled For"](docId\:u26v9feCFs6iLwA0-PVJd).

| Business Object Category                                                                    | Yes/No |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ |
| Business Rules: Before-Save Rules                                                           | Yes    |
| Business Rules: Calculation Rules (After Save, with or without Also Recalculate on Load)    | Yes    |
| Business Rules: Calculation Rules (Before Save or Always, without Also Recalculate On Load) | Yes    |
| Business Rules: Calculation Rules (Before Save or Always, with Recalculate On Load)         | Yes    |
| Business Rules: Editing Rules                                                               | Yes    |
| Business Rules: Initialization Rules                                                        | Yes    |
| Business Rules: Read Only Rules                                                             | Yes    |
| Business Rules: Required Rules                                                              | Yes    |
| Business Rules: Validation Rules                                                            | Yes    |
| Client Expressions                                                                          | Yes    |
| Object Permissions                                                                          | No     |
| Services                                                                                    | Yes    |
| LDAP                                                                                        | Yes    |
| Mobile                                                                                      | Yes    |
| Quick Actions (except UI Quick Actions)                                                     | Yes    |
| UI Quick Actions                                                                            | Yes    |
| Reports                                                                                     | Yes    |
| Search/Dashboard without field references                                                   | Yes    |
| Search/Dashboard with field references                                                      | No     |

## Parameters

| Parameter | Description                                           |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| text      | The text in which to look for the regular expression. |
| exp       | The regular expression to look for in the text.       |

## Return Value

:::Paragraph{indent="1"}
Returns a subset of text that is the first match of the regular expression.  Returns null if there is no match.
:::

## Example

FirstRegexMatch("Hello there! This is a test, isn't it?", /there.\*test/i)

:::Paragraph{indent="1"}
The example above returns "there! This is a test".
:::