File Search Utilities

[JohnW]

I recently had a need for a fast File Search utility which operated without indexing.

None of the ones in PFC met my needs (nor any of the explorers either)

So I surfed and in the course of that came up with the following utilities.

1. Extra Search
Fast, quite flexible.

available from ...

Code: Select all

http://www.craveworldwide.com/extrasearch.html

2. XSearch v 0.1
Fast , flexible (words inside, uniocode, hex etc)

available from ...

Code: Select all

http://www.easexp.com/xsearch/

3. WinSearchFile v 2.0
Nothing special

available from ...

Code: Select all

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/files/winsearchfile.aspx

One or two others required .NET Framework so I've omitted those.

And NO - none of the above actually met my specific needs. I eventually came across 'Power File Search' which was exactly what I wanted but that is shareware!

[fenixproductions]

If you want something for NTFS partitions, you can find ndff:

http://ndff.hotbox.ru/en/index.html

But there is no offical GUI for this tool. If you'd like to you can always build one using the knowledge form this thread:

http://www.autohotkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16810

BTW This is the quickest searching utility I've ever seen.

[Kermode]

xsearch seems to be ok, except it writes its settings to the registry (which doesn't matter from a settings point of view since there is very little to set)

[JohnW]

I think 'File Search' is an example of utility software where the "more the merrier" in TPFC is actually useful.

This is because most users will have their own specific needs.
I wanted something that was like the Search tool inside XP or Vista but faster. I was very surprised to find that none of the freeware utilities provided this.

Under XP I can search for eg JoeBloggs???, obtain a selection, then via a shell utility use say Flash Renamer to alter all the selections to JoeSmith???.
But the XP search is quite slow.
Power Search is brilliant but it is shareware. Also it works best as a shell utility (so not portable).

I know this is a bit off-topic but if you get the chance take a look at it.

[Baas]

Xteq X-Find is a small and fast file-search utility. It even lets you specify a text that it should find inside the files.

Screenshot

Download

X-Find is freeware and portable but unfortunately it writes to the registry @

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xteq Systems\X-Find\1.0
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xteq Systems\X-Find

[Baas]

Another option is to download File Finder (pdfind.exe) - a component of an old version of PowerDesk by Ontrack Data Internationa. It's a powerful replacement for the standard search dialog. It's a single .exe but it writes to the registry @

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Ontrack\PowerDesk\CurrentVersion
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Ontrack\PowerDesk

You could also get PowerDesk 5.0 by Vcom here (direct download) - a newer version that adds the ability to search by file types. You would need to extract pdfind.exe and pdcomp.dll from the installer. This one too writes to the registry @

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Vcom\PowerDesk\CurrentVersion
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Vcom\PowerDesk

[JohnW]

@baas
I took a look at one of your submissions - pdfind

It is indeed a very good Search program and personally I think the Registry entries are trivial.

I googled a bit and a lot of guys clearly think this is a good program.

Having said all that, I cannot access Flash Renamer from the search selections.

Still - it's a good find!

BTW
I also tried the newer version you mentioned using the site you submitted.
I got the message

pdComp.dll library could not be loaded. Please re-install PowerDesk.

However it did actually run and searched. I don't know what pdComp.dll does!
Finally, Just for interest, I tried extracting from PowerDesk 7 (the latest).
It's a no-go. Of course you can extract but you can't run - a serial for PowerDesk is expected.
As far as TPFC is concerned it's irrelevant.

[Baas]

Simple Search-Replace is like a replacement for the Windows "containing text" option found in their search window. It is extremely fast and allows for the option of replacing that text with different text. There are many features of this free software such as backup support, command line support, case sensitivity, multiple file types, subdirectory support, result printing and saving and more. After searching or replacing the results tab will allow you to open the matched file(s) and view the contents as well as edit them.

Screenshot

This is a fine freeware search / replace tool. It's portable (settings saved in the application folder, stealth). It will let you specify a program to open the found files with. Runs on all Windows OS (95-Vista).

Download

BTW, many nice little tools @ http://www.rjlsoftware.com/software/utility/

[webfork]

[Moderator note: I gave Agent Ransack it's own thread.]