search containing text

[Highlandish]

search containing text

how do I get the search assistant to search every file I have for text
strings on my computer? at the moment all it does is search known document
type files and that is useless to me.

should I get notepad to associate its self with all unknown files? is there
any fix for this oversight?

 

[Austin M. Horst]

Click [Start]
Search
For Files or Folders...
Type the text string in the box labeled
"A word or phrase in the file:"
In Windows 2000, this box is named
"Containing text:"

Click [Start]
Help and Support
Click Index
See "searching for files and folders"
subcategory "using Start menu Search command"


Austin M. Horst

 

[Alan]

Hi Highlandish,

The Search feature in XP SP2 sucks as much as it did in SP1 and as it did in
the "original" XP. (We have a defender of the search feature in XP who will
fight to the death in its defense, but that's irrelevant.) Anyway, I
digressed. :>

To answer your question download a freeware program called Agent Ransack
from http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/pageloader.aspx?page=home

It's a great program and you WILL find everything that you are searching for
when you do a search containing text. You'll even find all files you are
searching for -- again, something XP's native search feature is unable to
do.

Alan

 

[Highlandish]

Hi Highlandish,

The Search feature in XP SP2 sucks as much as it did in SP1 and as it
did in the "original" XP. (We have a defender of the search feature in
XP who will fight to the death in its defense, but that's irrelevant.)
Anyway, I digressed. :>

To answer your question download a freeware program called Agent Ransack
from http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/pageloader.aspx?page=home

It's a great program and you WILL find everything that you are
searching for when you do a search containing text. You'll even find
all files you are searching for -- again, something XP's native search
feature is unable to do.

Alan

thanks, i'm checking it out now.

--
Take out the _CURSEING to reply to me

"Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's
warm for the rest of his life." - Solid Jackson, "Jingo" by Terry
Pratchett

 

[Highlandish]

Click [Start]
Search
For Files or Folders...
Type the text string in the box labeled
"A word or phrase in the file:"
In Windows 2000, this box is named
"Containing text:"

Click [Start]
Help and Support
Click Index
See "searching for files and folders"
subcategory "using Start menu Search command"


Austin M. Horst

give me some credit, that is noob baby stuff. I am editing MS files and am
looking for certain text strings to discover who has the commands I'm
looking for. w98 once had the feature to search within all files for a word,
I was hoping to unlock a similar feature in XP, however if a 3rd party app
is the way to go I am happy enough.

--
Take out the _CURSEING to reply to me

I maintain that two and two would continue to make four, in spite of the
whine of the amateur for three, or the cry of the critic for five. -
James MacNeill Whistler

 

[Rock]

search containing text

how do I get the search assistant to search every file I have for text
strings on my computer? at the moment all it does is search known document
type files and that is useless to me.

should I get notepad to associate its self with all unknown files? is there
any fix for this oversight?

A common issue with the search companion. It only searches in specific
file types. That can be changed, though. See this link:

Using the "A word or phrase in the file" search criterion may not work
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=309173

 

[Highlandish]

A common issue with the search companion. It only searches in specific
file types. That can be changed, though. See this link:

Using the "A word or phrase in the file" search criterion may not work
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=309173

seems this might be the trick, I'll check it out, thanks
1.. Click Start, and then click Search (or point to Search, and then click
For Files or Folders).
b.. Click Change preferences, and then click With Indexing Service (for
faster local searches).
c.. Click Change Indexing Service Settings (Advanced). Note that you do
not have to turn on the Index service.
d.. On the toolbar, click Show/Hide Console Tree.
e.. In the left pane, right-click Indexing Service on Local Machine, and
then click Properties.
f.. On the Generation tab, click to select the Index files with unknown
extensions check box, and then click OK.
g.. Close the Indexing Service console.
Network administrators can configure this setting by modifying the registry.
To do this, set the FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions DWORD value to 1 in the
following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex

 

[Alex Nichol]

how do I get the search assistant to search every file I have for text
strings on my computer? at the moment all it does is search known document
type files and that is useless to me.

It only searches for text in a very limited number of types - they must
either have registry entries saying they are pure Text (.TXT and not
much else) or have known ;filters' to handle embedded format controls,
so that Search can avoid being confused by thinking those are characters
in 16 bit Unicode (eg .doc, .htm). You can add an additional type as
pure text *provided* you know that it *is* that, and that it does not
already have a 'PersistentHandler' in the registry. Make the following,
after - - start and before - - end into a file by cut/paste to NotePad.
Make sure there is a blank line at the end. Save as "Patch.reg" then
d-click on this file to enter it into the registry.
This is for .log - modify that for other extensions, with care.

- - start
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.log\PersistentHandler]
@="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"


- - end

But if you want it as a general matter, try www.agentransack.com for a
highly regarded alternative.