I don't really see a problem with the code. In fact, copying your code to my machine and running it seems to give the result you are looking for.

Output:

match: before ..... <textarea class="FolderTxtArea" name="blah"><%=foo
+::doSomething%></textarea>
varmatch:  <%=foo::doSomething%>
match: after  .... <textarea class="FolderTxtArea" name="blah"></texta
+rea>
match: after testinsert  .... <testinsert<%=foo::doSomething%> class="
+FolderTxtArea" name="blah"></testinsert<%=foo::doSomething%>>

[download]

I did notice that the output you're giving in your question doesn't match the order in which the print statements appear in the code. Perhaps you're looking at old output?

~CubicSpline
"No one tosses a Dwarf!"

In reply to Re: can't get $& to remove value in a substitution by CubicSpline
in thread can't get $& to remove value in a substitution by zusuki-san

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.