C# String extension method to escape characters for regular expressions (regex)

I needed a way to escape special regex characters in a string. These characters include the following: “.”, “$”, “^”, “{“, “[“, “(“, “|”, “)”, “*”, “+”, “?”, “\\” . This list was obtained from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/4edbef7e(v=vs.110).aspx

Here is a small string extension method that will accomplish this:

Edit*- 1/24/13 – I didn’t realize there was a built in method in the Regex library to do just this. I feel stupid, but anyhow, here is the revised extension method none the less :)

public static string EscapeCharactersForRegEx(this string instance)
        {
            return Regex.Escape(instance);
        }

Now all special regex characters in your string should be escaped. Feedback always welcome! Thanks!