How do I do something like DOS FIND with W/E search?

  • Thread starter Thread starter thuse
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T

thuse

I may not understand how Windows Explorer's Search (W/E Search) is supposed
to work. I know how the Find in the DOS Window works, so let me start with
an example using FIND. My expectation that both have similar capabilities
is perhaps misplaced. In the "search for content" thread below I describe
the steps I took to make sure the .DAT extension is in the index control
panel, and re-indexed several times to insure that .DAT files are in the
index.

I have a folder named TPL which I think has been indexed. It has about 5000
text files in it most of which happen to have the extension .DAT, and several
other text files, some of which have the extensions .INC and .TXT. I know
some of the files have the phrase GRID in them, some multiple times. I go to
the folder I want in DOS, and get to the point where the cursor is:

C:\Users\Owner\Documents\tpl

I then ask for all files that start with cy*.* and include the word GRID. I
pipe this to a file named srch5.dat because the output may overload the
screen.

C:\Users\Owner\Documents\tpl>find "GRID" cy*.*>srch5.dat

I look at this file with Word. A portion of this file is produced here,
with many repeated lines snipped out:
---------- CYL1HEX.INC
GRID 1 2. 0.0 0.0

GRID 2 5. 0.0 0.0

GRID 3 1.332-152. 0.0

GRID 4 8.882-165. 0.0

GRID 5 2. 0.0 6.

GRID 6 5. 0.0 6.

GRID 7 3.109-152. 6.

GRID 8 0.0 5. 6.


---------- CYLMD100.DAT
GRID* 1 0 1.223867901E-15 6.000000000E+00
ED00001
GRID* 2 0 1.223867901E-15 6.000000000E+00
ED00002
[snip]
GRID* 17030 0 -2.84947710E-01 5.993229914E+00
ED170308

---------- CYLST100.DAT
GRID* 1 0 1.223867901E-15 6.000000000E+00
ED00001
[snip]

Note that one .INC and two .DAT files were found.
When I repeat the same exercise in Vista Windows Explorer Search by putting
the following phrase in the search window:

"GRID"

The only file identified is the INC file, cyl1hex.inc. As discussed in
another thread, .dat files were not listed in my indexing control panel, so I
added that name, checked its box, and indexed everything over again. No
..dat files are listed.

When the search box contains only "GRID" it identifies two .INC files, and
one .txt file, but no .DAT files, of which there should be several thousand.

Apparent differences between DOS FIND and W/E Search:

1. Search does not list the content lines that contain the search phrase,
but DOS FIND does. I could live with that. I really only need the file
names. If I want to see the content lines I can do that some other way.
2. FIND lists all the files with content. Search lists only 1 in one case,
three in another case, and none with the .DAT extension. When I add NAME:DAT
to the search line no files are identified. I need a list with all the files
from Search. How do I get this? Is there anything analogous to the DOS pipe
function (>filename) that will make a text file that I can look at with a
word processor?
3. How can one confirm that a folder contains all indexed files, with known
extensions?

I've tried looking at the help files to answer these questions, and they
return lots of irrelevant data such as how to search with Internet Explorer,
and little or none on searching for content with W/E. I bought a book on
Vista that is one step above "Vista for Dummies" but that doesn't have much
relevant help either. Should I just live with DOS FIND, or is there a way to
get this type of search with a graphics user interface from Vista?
 
thuse said:
...
I've tried looking at the help files to answer these questions, and they
return lots of irrelevant data such as how to search with Internet
Explorer,
and little or none on searching for content with W/E. I bought a book on
Vista that is one step above "Vista for Dummies" but that doesn't have
much
relevant help either. Should I just live with DOS FIND, or is there a way
to
get this type of search with a graphics user interface from Vista?
Click to expand...

Hi Thuse,

simply download the free and almost fully functional trial of XYplorer, a
popular alternative file manager that does a speedy and reliable non-indexed
search:
http://www.xyplorer.com/download.htm
The software is portable, hence there's no installation and no changes to
your registry or system. Get the "No-install package", extract it to some
folder, and run XYplorer.exe.
Browse to the folder you want to search files in. Then, on the tabbed panel
on the bottom, select the Find Files tab, and enter your name pattern
(cy*.* ) into the Name field (tab Name & Location) and your contents (GRID)
into the Contents field (tab Contents). Press F3 (Find Now).

Hope this helps,
Donald
 
A reply is being added to move this thread to the top. I'd still appreciate
an answer on the questions raised in the first post.

Off topic, but the search feature hasn't worked the last two times I tried
it, at 4:00 and 9:43 PM LA time. It wouldn't find anything, even when "A"
was the search word, much less DOS FIND.
 
thuse said:
Off topic, but the search feature hasn't worked the last two times I tried
it, at 4:00 and 9:43 PM LA time. It wouldn't find anything, even when "A"
was the search word, much less DOS FIND.
Click to expand...
Which search feature are you referring to, XYplorer's?

Don
 
Retro,

Thanks for the EXT advice, and the link to the syntax examples. The EXT:
device worked. I tried to send a lengthier reply, but it may have gotten
lost. I'll get back after I look at the link.
 
Retro,
The url you posted led me to this url:
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/pages/advanced-search-techniques.aspx
It is a blog page found with the search phrase "search for content". It
does go on and on. The main thing I got out of it is that I'm not alone in
being frustrated by Vista Search for content, and other people are also
dropping back to good old Stone Age DOS FIND.
I think MS has a problem here, but I don't have a clue on how they could
solve it. I know you MVPs aren't responsible for solving it either, but I
expect you have a way to give them a heads up.
Maybe it is time for me to look for a DOS website. I hope that they aren't
all web software imposed on top of a usergroup database, or whatever the
correct term is for the underlying data under this web site.

Adios Vista Search. I'll come back in a year in the hopes that things have
improved.
 
Update to prior posts: Go to that url, hit the webblog icon, type "advanced
search" to get to the blog posts where the unhappy users really unload. I
quit this thread now, honest.

The url is the one Retroman posted, I noticed later. It takes you to
something like the home page. You have to hit the icons above to get to the
blogs.
 
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