To only find the first locations, use lapply() with min():
my_string <- c("test1", "test1test1", "test1test1test1")
unlist(lapply(gregexpr(pattern = '1', my_string), min))
#> [1] 5 5 5
# or the readable tidyverse form
my_string %>%
gregexpr(pattern = '1') %>%
lapply(min) %>%
unlist()
#> [1] 5 5 5
To only find the last locations, use lapply() with max():
unlist(lapply(gregexpr(pattern = '1', my_string), max))
#> [1] 5 10 15
# or the readable tidyverse form
my_string %>%
gregexpr(pattern = '1') %>%
lapply(max) %>%
unlist()
#> [1] 5 10 15