RegEx, replace if not inside tags

[Søren M. Olesen]

Hi

When using RegEx to replace a text within a string, how do I prevent it from
replacing the text if it's inside a tag...For example if I want to change
'small' to 'large' in the following text:

"This is <protect>a small test</protect> for a small application"

but only it it's NOT inside the 'protect' tags ??
Before replace:
"This is <protect>a small test</protect> for a small application"
replace small with larg...

After replace:
"This is <protect>a small test</protect> for a large application"

any help would be greatly appreciated....

TIA

Søren