const regex = /^(thedir[ ]*=[ ]*")(.)(:[\/\\])([a-zA-Z0-9]*)([\/\\]?.*)$/gm;
// Alternative syntax using RegExp constructor
// const regex = new RegExp('^(thedir[ ]*=[ ]*")(.)(:[\\\/\\\\])([a-zA-Z0-9]*)([\\\/\\\\]?.*)$', 'gm')
const str = `thedir="C:/oneFolder/subfolder"
thedir="C:/oneFolder/"`;
const subst = `$1Z$3Here$5`;
// The substituted value will be contained in the result variable
const result = str.replace(regex, subst);
console.log('Substitution result: ', result);
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for JavaScript, please visit: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions