Update URLs PRO: Dry Run, Undo & Table Control

Q: Is the dry run on by default?

Yes. In PRO, Run as dry run is checked by default, so your first pass computes all changes and shows a Table / Column / Row / Before / After preview without writing anything. You then apply the rows you want with Replace Selected or apply everything with Replace All.

Q: Can I undo a search and replace in PRO?

Yes. Every real run is recorded in Update URLS → History, and you can undo it. Undo restores each value only if it still matches what the run wrote, so rows edited afterward are skipped and reported rather than overwritten. See view history and undo changes.

Update URLs PRO turns search and replace from a one-shot, irreversible action into a safe, reviewable workflow. You preview every change with a dry run before anything is written, choose exactly which database tables to touch, run large jobs in the background, and undo a completed run from History. This page is an overview of the PRO capabilities and links to the detailed guide for each.

PRO feature

Everything on this page — dry-run preview, selective apply, table selection, case-insensitive and JSON matching, background execution, History, and undo — is part of Update URLs PRO. The background and undo engine was added in version 1.5.0. The free version runs an immediate, case-sensitive, whole-table replace with no preview or undo.

What PRO adds

Capability	What it does	Guide
Dry-run preview	Computes every change and shows a Table / Column / Row / Before / After preview without writing anything (on by default).	Dry run before search and replace
Selective apply	Apply only the rows you check with Replace Selected, or Replace All.	Dry run before search and replace
Table selection	Pick exactly which tables a run touches, including custom plugin and theme tables.	Run on selected tables
History & undo	Every real run is recorded and can be rolled back with a hash-verified undo.	View history and undo changes
JSON / serialized matching	Matches escaped slashes in JSON and safely rewrites serialized data.	Update serialized data
Profiles	Save a search, replace, and table set for reuse.	Save and load profiles
Backup & import	One-click database backup and restore, separate from undo.	Database backup and import

How a PRO run works

Go to Update URLS → Search & Replace.
Enter your Search For and Replace With values (use the swap button to exchange them). PRO accepts any string, not just URLs.
Under Select Tables, move the tables you want into Tables to Include. See running on selected tables.
Set the Additional Settings toggles — Case-Insensitive (off by default), Match escaped URLs in JSON data (on by default), and Run as dry run (on by default).
Click Run Search/Replace. With dry run on, you get a preview modal; apply the rows you want with Replace Selected or Replace All.

Additional settings

Option	Field	Default	Notes
Case-Insensitive	toggle	Off	Searches are case-sensitive unless enabled
Replace GUIDs	toggle	Off	Replaces post GUIDs — see what a GUID is
Match escaped URLs in JSON data	toggle	On	Matches JSON-escaped slashes (`https:\/\/…`)
Run as dry run	toggle	On	Computes changes without writing anything
Save as Profile	toggle	Off	Stores the current settings for reuse

Two settings tune large runs — Max Page Size and Max Results — along with backup compression. See PRO settings.

Best practice

Keep Run as dry run on and review the Before/After results before you apply anything.
Take a full backup before applying, even though undo is available. PRO includes one-click database backup and import.
On big sites, let the run proceed as a background job — it continues even if you close the tab, and you can Stop it from the progress modal.

Conclusion

Update URLs PRO makes database-wide search and replace safe to run on a live site: preview first, apply only what you want, and roll back from History if needed. Start with the dry-run preview, then read about running on selected tables and undoing a run.

FAQs

What is the difference between free and PRO search and replace?

The free version runs an immediate, case-sensitive replace across fixed content targets (posts, excerpts, attachments, links, custom fields, and GUIDs) with no preview and no undo. PRO adds a dry-run preview, table selection, case-insensitive and JSON matching, background execution, History, and one-click undo, so you can review and reverse changes.

Is the dry run on by default?

Yes. In PRO, Run as dry run is checked by default, so your first pass computes all changes and shows a Table / Column / Row / Before / After preview without writing anything. You then apply the rows you want with Replace Selected or apply everything with Replace All.

Can I undo a search and replace in PRO?

Yes. Every real run is recorded in Update URLS → History, and you can undo it. Undo restores each value only if it still matches what the run wrote, so rows edited afterward are skipped and reported rather than overwritten. See view history and undo changes.

Do I still need a backup if PRO has undo?

Yes, a full backup is still recommended. Undo reverses a recorded run value by value, but a separate, complete database backup protects you against anything undo cannot cover. PRO includes one-click database backup and import for exactly this.

Which Update URLs version added the PRO engine?

The background execution and undo engine was added in Update URLs 1.5.0, and the current stable version is 1.5.2. Table selection, dry run, History, undo, and profiles all rely on the custom database tables introduced in 1.5.0.