Textual searches of Java files not working

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter Herrera
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Peter Herrera

Using the builtin Search facility (from START button or
from context menu of a WindowsExplorer folder entry), I
can scan *.c files for those containing text
(e.g., "abc"). But, when I try to scan *.java files, I
only see those with "abc" in the filename (not within the
file contents). In fact, if I rename my *.java files as
*.c files, the search works as expected.

It seems that XP doesn't regard Java files as "textual
files" - ones whose contents are worth scanning. (But
that is just a guess.)

Any known workarounds to this problem?
 
-----Original Message-----
Using the builtin Search facility (from START button or
from context menu of a WindowsExplorer folder entry), I
can scan *.c files for those containing text
(e.g., "abc"). But, when I try to scan *.java files, I
only see those with "abc" in the filename (not within the
file contents). In fact, if I rename my *.java files as
*.c files, the search works as expected.

It seems that XP doesn't regard Java files as "textual
files" - ones whose contents are worth scanning. (But
that is just a guess.)

Any known workarounds to this problem?
.
Click to expand...
I found a solution to this problem. This problem affects
a wide variety of files - not just Java files.

In a departure from Win2000, WinXP is a bit more selective
about scanning file contents. When searching files for
specified text, XP first determines if there is a "filter
component" associated with the file's extension. If there
is no such filter component, the search facility will
ignore the file contents.

In my case, I was searching *.java files - and there is no
XP filter for those files.

You can change this "default" search behavior so that the
contents of files of any file extension can be searched.
The search will be (of course) slower - but perhaps more
satisfying (and not as misleading). To make this change,
consult article #309173 within the MS Knowledge Base. It
offers different approaches for solving this problem.

Enjoy!
 
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