| |
| SearchMyFiles v1.40 - Alternative to 'Search For Files And Folders' module of Windows
Copyright (c) 2009 - 2010 Nir Sofer
|
Description
SearchMyFiles is an alternative to the standard "Search For Files And Folders" module of Windows.
It allows you to easily search files in your system by wildcard, by last modified/created/last accessed time, by file attributes, by file content (text or binary search),
and by the file size.
SearchMyFiles allows you to make a very accurate search that cannot be done with Windows search. For Example: You can search
all files created in the last 10 minutes with size between 500 and 700 bytes.
After you made a search, you can select one or more files, and save the list into text/html/csv/xml file, or copy the list to the clipboard.
SearchMyFiles is portable, and you can use it from a USB flash drive without leaving traces in the Registry of the scanned computer.
System Requirements
This utility works on any version of Windows starting from Windows 2000 and up to Windows 7.
Versions History
- Version 1.40:
- Added /StartSearch command-line option, which allows you to start a search without displaying the Search Options window.
- The 'Browse' button of 'Base Folders' and 'Excluded Folders' in the 'Search Options' window now allows you to add more than one folder, when one or more folders are already listed in the text-box.
- Added 'File Position' and 'File Content' columns for file content search.
When the 'File Contains' field is not 'None' (text or binary), the 'File Position' column displays the position (in bytes) that the data was found, and
the 'File Content' column displays the characters around the found text/binary data.
- Version 1.37:
- Fixed bug: On duplicate search, SearchMyFiles displayed zero size files.
- Version 1.36:
- Fixed the location of 'Read Only' and 'System' labels, which was mistakenly changed in v1.35 release.
- Version 1.35:
- New search mode: Duplicate Search - allows you to easily find duplicate files on your system. (See below)
- Changed the delete accelerator key to Shift+Delete, like Explorer.
- Version 1.30:
- Added 'Reset To Default' button that allows you to easily reset the 'Search Options' dialog-box.
- Added 'Open File On Double-Click' option. When this option is checked, double-clicking a file will open it with the default program, like double-click in Explorer.
- Added new actions that you can make on the selected files of the search result: Explorer Cut, Delete, Move To Recycle Bin, and Rename.
- In the search option of file times, added 'Today' and 'Since Last Reboot'.
- Added most-recently-used (MRU) list in combo-boxes of the search dialog-box.
SearchMyFiles automatically remembers the last 10 strings that you used for every field,
and allows you to easily select them from the Combo-Box.
If you don't want that your last search strings will be saved in the .cfg file (from privacy reasons),
you can select the "Don't Save MRU Lists" option in the Options menu.
- Fixed the 'Subfolders Wildcard' issue according to users request.
Just for example: In previous version, if you tried to search in c:\ with abc*.* as subfolders wildcard, and you had
a folder in c:\hello\bbbbb\abc123, SearchMyFiles utility didn't search in this folder even when abc123 folder matched the folder name,
and that's because the folder below, bbbbb, wasn't match the subfolders wildcard.
Starting from this version, SearchMyFiles scan all subfolders, even if they don't match the wildcard, but the actual file search is only made for subfolders that match the subfolders wildcard.
- Version 1.20:
- Added /sort command-line option for sorting the search result you save from command-line.
- Version 1.16:
- Added 'Copy Full Filenames Path' - Allows you to copy the list of selected filenames as a full path filenames list, delimited by enter (CRLF).
- Version 1.15:
- Added command-line support.
- Added 'Select File In Explorer' option.
- Version 1.10:
- Fixed bug: Base folder combo-box limited the number of characters that you could type.
- Added option to save/load all search option to .cfg file.
- Added 'Explorer Copy' option - Allows you to copy the selected files and then paste them inside a folder of Windows Explorer.
- Added 'Open With' option.
- Added option to choose the subfolders depth to scan.
- Version 1.00 - First release.
Future Versions
The following features might be added in future versions, according to user requests and my own ideas:
- Add Explorer-like context-menu that will allow to do some actions on the files appeared in the search result.
- Fix the folder wildcard feature to work like most users expect.
- Add 'Aggregate Reports' option - Instead of displaying all found files, display only summary of found files - count, total size, average file size, and so on.
- Search files by alternate stream data.
- Search the content of files by regular expressions.
- An option to search file names by regular expression, as alternative for wildcard search.
Using SearchMyFiles
SearchMyFiles doesn't require any installation process or additional DLL files.
In order to start using it, simply run the executable file - SearchMyFiles.exe
After running it, the 'Search Options' dialog-box is displayed.
Select the base folders or drives that you want to search, the wildcard, and
other search option that you need.
After choosing the right search option, click 'Ok' in order to start the search.
While in search process, the found files will be displayed in the main window.
If you want to stop the search, you can simply click the 'Stop' menu.
After the search is finished, you can select one or more files, and then save the list into
text/csv/html/xml file by using the 'Save Selected Items' option.
You can also select a single file and open it with the default program by using the 'Open Selected File' option.
Search Options
Here's a small explanation about all available search options:
- Base Folder:
Specifies the folder that you want to scan. if 'Scan Subfolders' option is also checked, all subfolders under this folder will also be scanned.
You can also specift multiple folders, delimited by semicolon. For example: c:\temp;d:\myfolder;d:\nirsoft
- Excluded Folders:
Allows you to specify one or more folders (delimited by semicolon) that you want to exclude from the scan.
For example: If you want to scan you entire C: drive, but without C:\Windows and C:\Documents and Settings,
you should type 'C:\' in the Base Folder, and 'C:\Windows;C:\Documents and Settings' in the Excluded Folders field.
- Files Wildcard:
Specifies the wildcard for scanning the files. You can specify multiple wildcards delimited by semicolon or by comma, for example:
*.exe;*.dll;*.ocx or *.exe,*.dll,*.ocx.
Be aware that if you want to search a filename containing semicolon or comma, you must put it in quotes.
For example: "Hello, World.txt". If you don't put it in quotes, SearchMyFiles will consider it as 2 separated files.
- Subfolders Wildcard:
Specifies the wildcard for scanning the subfolders. For example, If you want to only scan the subfolders beginning with 'a' letter,
you can specify a*.* in this field.
- File Contains:
Allows you to search by the content of the files. You can make a text search or binary search.
On binary search, you should specify the binary sequence that you want to search in Hex dump format, for example:
'A2 C5 2F 8A 9E AC'.
- File Size:
Specifies that you want to search files in specified size range (For example: search all files with size between 238 and 741 bytes).
- Attributes:
Specifies that you want to search files with specific attributes.
For example: if you want to find all files that are read-only but are not hidden, you should select 'Yes' for Read Only attribute and
'No' for Hidden attribute.
- File Time:
Allows you to search files that have been created, modified, or accessed in the specified time range.
You can specify an accurate time range (For example: 10/12/2008 12:32:11 - 12/12/2008 13:32:56) or you can specify the last
number of seconds/minutes/hours/days.
For example, you can search all files that have been modified in the last 10 minutes.
- Search Subfolders:
If this option is checked, SearchMyFiles will scan all subfolders under the specified base folders.
- Find Folders:
If this option is checked, SearchMyFiles will search for folders according to the other search options.
If this options is not selected, SearchMyFiles will only search for files.
Getting MD5/SHA hashes of the found files
If you want to get the MD5/SHA hashes of the files that you found with SearchMyFiles, you can easily do it with HashMyFiles utility.
First, in the SearchMyFiles window, select the desired files and press Ctrl+E (Explorer Copy).
In the HashMyFiles window, press Ctrl+V (Paste) to add the files that you previously selected in SearchMyFiles.
Duplicate Search Mode
Starting from version 1.35, SearchMyFiles also allows you to search duplicate files on your system.
In order to use this feature, simply change the search mode in the 'Search Options' window to 'Duplicates Search'.
When you switch to 'Duplicates Search' mode, all other search options are still relevant, and SearchMyFiles will scan your files according to these settings.
For example: if you choose to search for files larger than 500KB, SearchMyFiles will only search for duplicate files that their size is larger than 500KB.
In fact, it's highly recommended to narrow your duplicate search by using date/size restrictions, because if you don't do it, the duplicate search will be very slow, and it'll consume a large amount of memory.
When you are in 'Duplicates Search' mode, SearchMyFiles will first scan all files and folders according to your settings, and only after the scan is finished, it'll
locate the duplicate files and add them to the files list on the main window.
SearchMyFiles automatically mark the duplicate files with identical colors (up to 64 different colors).
There is also a 'Duplicate Number' column, which displays identical number for each chunk of duplicate files.
You can click the 'Duplicate Number' column header in order to sort by this column and to easily view the chunks of duplicate files.
Command-Line Options
You can use the following command-line option in order to execute a search without displaying any user interface and save the result into a file.
Be aware that when you do that, the only way to stop the search is by termintaing the process of SearchMyFiles (SearchMyFiles.exe).
|
/config <Filename>
|
Loads the configuration from the specified .cfg file. Can be used in conjunction with the save options, like /stext, /scomma and so on.
| |
/StartSearch
|
Tells SearchMyFiles utility to start the search immediately, without displaying the 'Search Options' dialog-box, according to the last configuration or according to the
config file specified in /config parameter.
| |
/stext <Filename>
| Search and save the result into a regular text file.
| |
/stab <Filename>
| Search and save the result into a tab-delimited text file.
| |
/scomma <Filename>
| Search and save the result into a comma-delimited text file (csv).
| |
/stabular <Filename>
| Search and save the result into a tabular text file.
| |
/shtml <Filename>
| Search and save the result into HTML file (Horizontal).
| |
/sverhtml <Filename>
| Search and save the result into HTML file (Vertical).
| |
/sxml <Filename>
| Search and save the result to XML file.
| |
/sort <column>
|
This command-line option can be used with other save options for sorting by the desired column.
If you don't specify this option, the list is sorted according to the last sort that you made from the user interface.
The <column> parameter can specify the column index (0 for the first column, 1 for the second column, and so on) or
the name of the column, like "Filename" and "Created Time".
You can specify the '~' prefix character (e.g: "~Created Time") if you want to sort in descending order.
You can put multiple /sort in the command-line if you want to sort by multiple columns.
Examples:
SearchMyFiles.exe /shtml "f:\temp\1.html" /sort 2 /sort ~1
SearchMyFiles.exe /shtml "f:\temp\1.html" /sort "~Extension" /sort "Filename"
| |
/nosort
|
When you specify this command-line option, the list will be saved without any sorting.
|
You can also use the following command-line option to override the configuration loaded from the .cfg file:
|
/FilesWildcard <Wildcard>
|
Specifies the files wildcard.
| |
/SubfoldersWildcard <Wildcard>
|
Specifies the subfolders wildcard.
| |
/BaseFolder <Folder>
|
Specifies the base folders to search.
| |
/ExcludedFolder <Folder>
|
Specifies the folders to execlude in the search.
| |
/ScanSubfolders <0 | 1>
|
Specifies whether to search in subfolders. 1 = Yes, 0 = No.
| |
/FindFiles <0 | 1>
|
Specifies whether to find files. 1 = Yes, 0 = No.
| |
/FindFolders <0 | 1>
|
Specifies whether to find folders. 1 = Yes, 0 = No.
|
/UseFileSizeAtLeast <0 | 1>
/UseFileSizeAtMost <0 | 1>
|
Specifies whether to use the "At Least" and "At Most" file size filter. 1 = Yes, 0 = No.
|
/FileSizeAtLeast <Value>
/FileSizeAtMost <Value>
|
Specifies the values of file size filters.
|
/FileSizeAtLeastUnit <Value>
/FileSizeAtMostUnit <Value>
|
Specifies the units of file size filters. 1 = Bytes, 2 = KB, 3 = MB, 4 = GB
|
/FileAttrReadOnly <Value>
/FileAttrSystem <Value>
/FileAttrHidden <Value>
/FileAttrArchive <Value>
/FileAttrCompressed <Value>
/FileAttrEncrypted <Value>
|
Specifies the file attributes filter. 1 = Both, 2 = No, 3 = Yes.
| |
/FileContains <Value>
|
Specifies the 'File Contains' option. 0 = None, 1 = Text, 2 = Binary.
| |
/FileContainsText <String>
|
Specifies the 'File Contains' text.
| |
/FileContainsCaseSensitive <0 | 1>
|
Specifies whether the 'File Conatins' string is case sensitive. 1 = Yes, 0 = No.
|
/FileTimeCreated <Value>
/FileTimeModified <Value>
/FileTimeAccessed <Value>
|
Specifies the filter option by file time. 0 = All Times, 1 = Time Range, 2 = Last XX Seconds, 3 = Last XX Minutes,
4 = Last XX Hours, 5 = Last XX Days.
|
/FileTimeCreatedLastXX <Value>
/FileTimeModifiedLastXX <Value>
/FileTimeAccessedLastXX <Value>
|
Specifies the last xx seconds/minutes/hours/days values.
| |
/SubFolderDepth <Value>
|
Specifies the subfolders depth. 0 = Unlimited.
| |
/UseMaxNumOfFiles <0 | 1>
|
Specifies whether to limit the number of files to find. 1 = Yes, 0 = No.
| |
/MaxNumOfFiles <Value>
|
Specifies the maximum number of files to find.
| |
/SearchMode <1 | 2>
|
Specifies the search mode.
1 = Standard Search, 2 = Duplicate Search.
|
Examples:
SearchMyFiles.exe /scomma c:\temp\bfiles1.csv /FilesWildcard b*.*
SearchMyFiles.exe /config c:\temp\myconfig.cfg /BaseFolder "c:\Program Files" /shtml c:\temp\result.html
SearchMyFiles.exe /stab c:\temp\searchfiles.txt
Translating SearchMyFiles to other languages
In order to translate SearchMyFiles to other language, follow the instructions below:
- Run SearchMyFiles with /savelangfile parameter:
SearchMyFiles.exe /savelangfile
A file named SearchMyFiles_lng.ini will be created in the folder of SearchMyFiles utility.
- Open the created language file in Notepad or in any other text editor.
- Translate all string entries to the desired language.
Optionally, you can also add your name and/or a link to your Web site.
(TranslatorName and TranslatorURL values) If you add this information, it'll be
used in the 'About' window.
- After you finish the translation, Run SearchMyFiles, and all translated
strings will be loaded from the language file.
If you want to run SearchMyFiles without the translation, simply rename the language file, or move
it to another folder.
License
This utility is released as freeware.
You are allowed to freely distribute this utility via floppy disk, CD-ROM,
Internet, or in any other way, as long as you don't charge anything for this.
If you distribute this utility, you must include all files in
the distribution package, without any modification !
Disclaimer
The software is provided "AS IS" without any warranty, either expressed or implied,
including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness
for a particular purpose. The author will not be liable for any special, incidental,
consequential or indirect damages due to loss of data or any other reason.
Feedback
If you have any problem, suggestion, comment, or you found a bug in my utility,
you can send a message to nirsofer@yahoo.com
SearchMyFiles is also available in other languages. In order to change the language of
SearchMyFiles, download the appropriate language zip file, extract the 'searchmyfiles_lng.ini',
and put it in the same folder that you Installed SearchMyFiles utility.
|
|
