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1993-12-28
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File Finder Pack
Version 4.5
12-27-93
by
Jim Derr
Member of
Association of Shareware Professionals
CSERVE ID 76266,2634
HARDWARE SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
QUICK START . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
PERFORMING A FUZZY SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CONFIGURING THE FFF.EXE ,FFD.EXE, and FF2.COM PROGRAMS . . . . . . 5
MEMORY USAGE IN THE FFF.EXE PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
FF2 PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
FFF PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
FFF HOT KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
MODIFYING THE FFF FILE LISTING FORMAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
MODIFYING THE FFF PRINT FORMAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
FFD PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
SMART LAUNCH FEATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
MEMORY SWAPPING OPTION IN FFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
MONOCHROME MONITORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
MISC. INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
THE SGREP PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
REGULAR EXPRESSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
REVISION HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-3-
This is a shareware product. If you find these utilities useful
please register and keep shareware alive. Only registered users will
be supported..
HARDWARE SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
FF2, FFF, and FFD can be run on any DOS based PC having a CGA, MDA,
EGA, VGA, or HERC monitor.
The DOS operating system must be 3.1 or greater. Both program will
also operate correctly in the DOS compatibility box of OS/2 1.2 or
greater. Token ring networks or Novell networks are also supported.
DOS memory requirements range from a low of 160K to a high of 400K
depending on how the FFF program is configured.
QUICK START
The FF2 program performs file search operations and will show the
results on the screen or the output can be redirected to a file.
The FFF program performs file search operations and will display the
results on the screen in a scrollable window. Numerous operations can
then be performed on user selected files.
The FFD program performs directory search operations and will display
the results on the screen in a scrollable window.
FF2, FFF, and FFD use basically the same format for the command line
option. All command line parameters MUST be separated by blanks and
all options MUST begin with a forward slash /. The options may appear
anywhere on the command line. The format of the command line for
both programs is:
FFx [options] [[drives:] [filespec]] [options]
If the drives parameter is omitted the programs will search all hard
drives that can be identified. If the drives parameter is included
then only the drives specified will be searched. (PLEASE NOTE THE
COLON MUST BE ENTERED AFTER THE DRIVE LETTERS).
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-4-
PERFORMING A FUZZY SEARCH
Both FF2 and FFF can also perform a fuzzy search. This is useful if
you are trying to locate a file but don't know the exact filename.
The fuzzy search routine will attempt to locate files that sound like
the filename entered on the command line. To indicate that you want a
fuzzy search performed place the ~ character in front of the filename.
PLEASE NOTE: WHEN PERFORMING A FUZZY SEARCH DO NOT INCLUDE A FILE
EXTENSION. See the examples below.
If the colon is entered without any drive letter preceding it then FFF
and FF2 will only search for files on the current default disk drive.
For example:
FFF : *.bat
This will search for all files on the current default drive that have
a file extension of bat.
Multiple filespecs may be entered along with multiple drives. For
example:
FF2 *.BAK CD: \UTILITY\*.COM DE: \TEMP\*.* C:\JIM\*.*
This example will:
1) Find all files that have a file extension of BAK that resides on
any identifiable hard drive.
2) Find all files that have a file extension of COM in the UTILITY
directory or any sub-directory of the UTILITY directory ONLY ON
HARD DRIVES C AND D.
3) Find all files that reside in the TEMP directory or any sub-
directory of the TEMP directory ONLY ON HARD DRIVES D AND E.
4) Find all files that reside in the JIM directory or any sub-
directory of the JIM directory ONLY ON THE C DRIVE.
FFF ~QRT
Perform a fuzzy search looking for all files that sound like qtr on
all drives.
FFF ~QTR *.COM
Perform the same fuzzy search as above, in addition locate all .COM
files.
Any options that appear on the command line are active for all search
operations.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-5-
CONFIGURING THE FFF.EXE ,FFD.EXE, and FF2.COM PROGRAMS
The FF series of programs have numerous configurable options. To
configure the programs the configuration program FFFCFG.EXE must be
run. Simply enter FFFCFG at the DOS command prompt and the answer the
questions as they appear. The FFFCFG program will create an FFF.CFG
file that is used by all FF programs. THE FFF.CFG FILE SHOULD BE
MOVED INTO A DIRECTORY THAT IS LOCATED IN YOUR DOS PATH.
When the CTRL-ENTER keys are pressed FFF can execute a user defined
program against the currently highlighted file based on the file
extension. Up to THREE sets of file extensions and program names
can be defined.
When prompted for an extension list enter the file extensions you wish
to operate on, each extension MUST have a period preceding the
extension, i.e. EXT1=.ZIP.LZH.ZOO
When prompted for the program to execute, please include the full path
and use the ! character to indicate where to substitute the filename,
i.e. PGM1=C:UTILITYSHEZ.EXE !
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-6-
MEMORY USAGE IN THE FFF.EXE PROGRAM
The FFFCFG program now allows you set the number of files and unique
directories that the FFF program can handle. The FFF program comes
pre-configured to handle 3000 files and 300 unique directory names.
Under this configuration the FFF program uses approximately 317,000
bytes of memory. If you increase or decrease the number of files FFF
can handle it's memory usage increases or decreases by 49 bytes for
each additional file you tell FFF to handle.
If you increase or decrease the number of unique directory names FFF
can handle its memory usage increases or decreases by 70 bytes.
To determine the amount of memory FFF will need, use the following
formula:
149300 + (49 * number of files to handle) + (70 * number of dirs
to handle)
For example, the memory requirements for FFF to handle 5000 files and
400 unique directories would be:
149300 + (49 * 5000) + (70 * 400) = 422,300
The FFF program will automatically use EMS memory if it is available.
EMS memory will be used to store directory information thus freeing
conventional memory allowing FFF to handle more file names.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-7-
FF2 PROGRAM
This program will find files on your hard disk. It as fashioned after
the whereis program but has more features.
Format is:
FF2 [options] [[drives:] [filespec]] [options]
Where options are:
/C comma delimited listing
/R raw listing - full path name only
/S short listing - filename.ext only
/B list in bat file format
/P pause when screen is full
/Q quite mode
/I also look inside archive files
/A only look inside archive files
/E Extended Directory Search
/G Greater or Equal to mm-dd-yy
/L Less or Equal to mm-dd-yy
/= Equal to mm-dd-yy
/SD Single Directory search only (do not recurse)
/1 stop after finding one file
errorlevel 1 returned if no files found
errorlevel 0 returned if files are found
/Z[RHSA] Show files with specified attributes
/X"cmd" execute a cmd against all files found
/@ Prompt for options.
/NN No-Network drive search
/LN Look for network drives
/! Exclude files that match specified pattern
/w Find files that were created or modified on a specific day
of the week.
/t Find files that contain a specified text string.
The filespec's that are specified on the command line can include a
disk and directory. If a disk and or directory is specified than the
search will be restricted to the specified disk and directory and any
sub-directories under the specified directory. Each filespec can
contain different starting disks and directories.
When specifying the file to search for FF2 has a quick complete
algorithm. If you do not include a period in the file ex tension
FF2 will expand the filespec using the wildcard character ? for the
remainder of the filespec. For example if you entered FF2 AB, FF2
will expand the filespec to AB??????.???. If you enter FF2 C:\BAT\B
FF2 will expand the filespec to C:\BAT\B???????.???. However if you
enter FF2 B.* , FF2 will not alter the filespec since you included a
period in the filespec.
FF2 also has an expanded wild card search algorithm. If you include an
* on both sides of the filename, FF2 will find all files that
contain the characters entered between the *'s anywhere in the
filename. For example:
FF2 *inst*
This will find all files that contain inst somewhere in the filename.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-8-
I.E. D:\ANY\PINST.BAT
C:\ONE\PCINSTAL.BAT
C:\TWO\INSTALL.COM
To find files with no extension include the period but no file
extension. I.E. FF2 *me*.
If no disk or directory is included with the filespec than all hard
disks will be searched.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-9-
FF2 now has the capability to automatically identify all hard disks on
your system. You can over-ride this automatic detection by setting
the environment variable FF to the disk letter your wish the search to
be performed on. For example. SET FF=CD tells FF2 to search the C and
D drives if you have not specified a disk in the filespec on the
command line.
All output from FF2 can be redirected or piped by using the DOS
redirect and pipe characters.
The default output produced by FF2 file-size, file-date, file-time,
disk:\directory\filename.file-ext. This can be changed by using the
following command line options:
/C Produces a comma delimited listing, this listing can be imported
into most spreadsheet and database programs.
/R Produces a raw listing containing disk:\directory\fn.ext only.
/S Produces a short listing containing filename.ext only.
/B Produces a listing that can be used as a bat file. The output is
as follows:
%1 filename.ext %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
/P Will case a pause when the screen is full.
/Q Quite mode no output produced but results can be tested by using
the if errorlevel command in a .bat file.
/I This option tells FF2 to also look inside any archive files for
the indicated files. The archive files that are supported are
ZIP, ARC, ARJ, ZOO, PAK, LZH and SQZ files.
/A This option tells FF2 to ONLY look inside archive files for the
indicated files.
/1 This option tells FF2 to stop looking for files after it finds
the first file that matches the specified pattern.
/E To increase the file search process FF2 normally only looks for
directories that do not contain a file extension. Using this
option tells FF2 to also look for directories that contain
directory names with extensions.
/G This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have a filedate Greater than or Equal to the date specified. The
format is /Gmm-dd-yy.
I.E. /G01-01-90 or /G1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate greater than or equal to 1-1-90.
(Note this option may be combined with the /L option to specify a
date range)
/L This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have a filedate Less than or Equal to the date specified. The
format is /Lmm-dd-yy.
I.E. /L01-01-90 or /L1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate less than or equal to 1-1-90.
(Note this option may be combined with the /G option to specify a
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-10-
date range)
/= This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have a filedate Equal to the date specified. The format is /=mm-
dd-yy.
I.E. /=01-01-90 or /=1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate to 1-1-90.
/Z[RHSA]
This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have specific attributes. For example, specifying /ZA will list
files that have the archive attribute, /ZRH will list files that
have the read-only attribute OR the hidden attribute set.
***PLEASE NOTE IF YOU SPECIFY THE /A OR /I OPTIONS THAN THIS
OPTION IS IGNORED***
/SD This option informs FF2 to only search the directory that was
specified on the command line and not to search any directories
that exist under the specified directory.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-11-
/X"cmd"
This options allows you to tell FF2 to execute a specified
against all files that are found.
For Example:
/X"del &"
will execute the delete command against all file that were found.
The command can be any DOS command or another program. FF2 will
insert the disk:\dir\fn.fext of the found file into the command
where you place the & character.
For example if you specify the following:
/X"grep any & -s"
and FF2 finds the file c:\data\any.doc it will execute the
following command:
grep any c:\data\any.doc -s
If you do not put the & in then FF2 will insert the found
filespec at the first blank in the command you specify, or at the
end of the command if no blanks exist.
/@ This options instructs FF2 to prompt the user for the command
line parameters. PLEASE NOTE NO OTHER PARAMETERS ARE ALLOWED ON
THE COMMAND LINE IF THIS OPTION IS SPECIFIED. The use of this
option also allows the user to use the DOS redirect feature to
feed FF2 it's parameters.
For example: FF2 /@ < FF2.DAT
This instructs FF2 to read its parameters from the file names
FF2.DAT.
/NN This option allows you to bypass the searching of Network drives.
If you configured FF2 to search for network drives you may use
this option to temporarily bypass the network drive search.
/LN This option allow you to search for files on Network drives. If
you configured FF2 to ignore network drives you may use this
options to temporarily look for files on any networked drives.
/! This option allows you to exclude files. Files that match the
excluded file pattern will not be listed. For example if you
entered the following command:
FF2 *.c /!f*.c
This would list all the files with a .C file extension EXCEPT for
files that begin with the letter F and have a file extension of
.C.
/Wx This option allows you to search for files that were created on a
specific day of the week. Replace the x with a digit in the range
of 0-6 where 0=Sunday, 1=Monday, 2=Tuesday, etc.
/Tx This option allows you to find files that contain specific text
strings. Replace the x with the text string you wish to search
for. For example, to find all files that contain the word TIME
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-12-
use the code the parameter as follows:
/Ttime
If the word or phrase you wish to search for has embedded spaces
you MUST ENCLOSE THE ENTIRE PARAMETER IN QUOTES. For example, to
find all files that contain the phrase NOW IS THE TIME code the
parameter as follows:
"/Tnow is the time"
PLEASE NOTE: THE /T OPTIONS CAN NOT BE USED TO SEARCH FOR TEXT
IN FILES CONTAINED WITHIN COMPRESSED FILES.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-13-
FFF PROGRAM
This program will find files on your hard disk, and present them in a
scrollable list.
Format is FFF [options] [[drives:] [filespec]] [options]
Where options are:
/2 25 line mode display
/4 43 line mode display
/5 50 line mode display
/d Search for dup files. (filename.ext only)
/D Search for dup files. (filename.ext and file size)
/E Extended Directory Search
/G Greater or Equal to mm-dd-yy
/= Equal to mm-dd-yy
/L Less or Equal to mm-dd-yy
/I also look inside archive files
/A only look inside archive files
(THE ARCHIVE FILES THAT ARE SUPPORTED ARE ZIP,ARC,ARJ,PAK,LZH,
and SQZ)
/Z[RHSA]
Show files with specified attributes
/SD Single Directory search only (do not recurse)
/NN No-Network drive search
/LN Look for network drives
/@ Prompt for options.
/! Exclude files that match specified pattern.
/w Find files that were created or modified on a specific day of the
week.
/t Find files that contain a specified text string.
/I This option tells FFF to also look inside any archive files for
the indicated files. The archive files that are supported are
ZIP, ARC, ARJ, ZOO, PAK, LZH, and SQZ files.
/A This option tells FFF to ONLY look inside archive files for the
indicated files.
/d This option tells FFF to search and display duplicate files. Only
the filename.ext will be used to determine duplicates.
/D This option is the same as the /d option except the filename.ext
and file size will be used to determine if a file is a dup.
/E To increase the file search process FFF normally only looks for
directories that do not contain a file extension. Using this
option tells FFF to also look for directories that contain
directory names with extensions.
/G This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have a filedate Greater than or Equal to the date specified. The
format is /Gmm-dd-yy.
I.E. /G01-01-90 or /G1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate greater than or equal to 1-1-90.
(Note this option may be combined with the /L option to specify a
date range)
/L This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-14-
have a filedate Less than or Equal to the date specified. The
format is /Lmm-dd-yy.
I.E. /L01-01-90 or /L1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate less than or equal to 1-1-90.
(Note this option may be combined with the /G option to specify a
date range)
/= This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have a filedate Equal to the date specified. The format is /=mm-
dd-yy.
I.E. /=01-01-90 or /=1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate to 1-1-90.
/SD This option informs FF2 to only search the directory that was
specified on the command line and not to search any directories
that exist under the specified directory.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-15-
/Z[RHSA]
This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have specific attributes. For example, specifying /ZA will list
files that have the archive attribute, /ZRH will list files that
have the read-only attribute OR the hidden attribute set.
**PLEASE NOTE IF YOU SPECIFY THE /A OR /I OPTION THAN THIS OPTION
IS IGNORED.**
/NN This option allows you to bypass the searching of Network drives.
If you configured FF2 to search for network drives you may use
this option to temporarily bypass the network drive search.
/LN This option allow you to search for files on Network drives. If
you configured FF2 to ignore network drives you may use this
options to temporarily look for files on any networked drives.
/! This option allows you to exclude files. Files that match the
excluded file pattern will not be listed. For example if you
entered the following command:
FF2 *.c /!f*.c
This would list all the files with a .C file extension EXCEPT for
files that begin with the letter F and have a file extension of
.C.
/Wx This option allows you to search for files that were created on a
specific day of the week. Replace the x with a digit in the range
of 0-6 where 0=Sunday, 1=Monday, 2=Tuesday, etc.
/Tx This option allows you to find files that contain specific text
strings. Replace the x with the text string you wish to search
for. For example, to find all files that contain the word TIME
use the code the parameter as follows:
/Ttime
If the word or phrase you wish to search for has embedded spaces
you MUST ENCLOSE THE ENTIRE PARAMETER IN QUOTES. For example, to
find all files that contain the phrase NOW IS THE TIME code the
parameter as follows:
"/Tnow is the time"
PLEASE NOTE: THE /T OPTIONS CAN NOT BE USED TO SEARCH FOR TEXT
IN FILES CONTAINED WITHIN COMPRESSED FILES.
/@ This options instructs FFF to prompt the user for the command
line parameters. PLEASE NOTE NO OTHER PARAMETERS ARE ALLOWED ON
THE COMMAND LINE IF THIS OPTION IS SPECIFIED. The use of this
option also allows the user to use the DOS redirect feature to
feed FF2 it's parameters.
For example: FFF /@ < FFF.DAT
This instructs FFF to read its parameters from the file names
FFF.DAT.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-16-
The filespec's that are specified on the command line can include a
disk and directory. If a disk and or directory is specified than the
search will be restricted to the specified disk and directory and any
sub-directories under the specified directory. Each filespec can
contain different starting disks and directories.
When specifying the file to search for FFF has a quick complete
algorithm. If you do not include a period and the file extension FFF
will expand the filespec using the wildcard character ? for the
remainder of the filespec. For example if you entered FFF AB, FFF
will expand the filespec to AB??????.???. If you enter FFF C:\BAT\B
FFF will expand the filespec to C:\BAT\B???????.???. However if you
enter FFF B.* , FFF will not alter the filespec since you included a
period in the filespec.
FFF also has an expanded wild card search algorithm. If you include an
* on both sides of the filename, FFF will find all files that
contain the characters entered between the *'s anywhere in the
filename. For example:
FFF *inst*
This will find all files that contain inst somewhere in the filename.
I.E D:\ANY\PINST.BAT
C:\ONE\PCINSTAL.BAT
C:\TWO\INSTALL.COM
To find files with no extension include the period but no file
extension. I.E. FFF *me*.
If no disk or directory is included with the filespec than all hard
disks will be searched.
FFF now has the capability to automatically identify all hard disks on
your system. You can over-ride this automatic detection by setting
the environment variable FF to the disk letter your wish the search to
be performed on.
For example. SET FF=CD tells FFF to search the C and D drives if you
have not specified a disk in the filespec on the command line.
FFF will display all the files it found, up to it's internal maximum
of 3000 files, on the screen in a scrollable list. You can use the
cursor keys, Pgup, Pgdn, HOME, END, CTL-HOME, and CTL-END to scroll
the list. Pressing the ESC key will exit the program.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-17-
FFF HOT KEYS
ALT-X
ALT-Q
ESC Any of these keys will immediately exit FFF.
CURSOR-RIGHT
CURSOR-LEFT
Scroll screen right or left.
HOME Pressed once will take you to top of screen. Pressed twice will
take you to top of list.
END Pressed once will take you to bottom of screen. Pressed twice
will take you to bottom of list.
F1 will display the help panel.
F9 This will allow you to sort the file list that is displayed on
the screen. The list can be sorted by filename, file extension,
file date, or disk:\dir location.
ENTER
Pressing the ENTER will do one of three things depending on how
the ENTER key was configured.
1) The ENTER key will do nothing.
2) The ENTER key will exit the FFF program and will change the
default disk and directory to the one that contains the file
currently highlighted on the screen.
3) The ENTER key will invoke the SHEZ program on the currently
highlighted file.
CTRL-ENTER
The CTRL-ENTER key invokes the SMART LAUNCH feature of FFF. FFF
looks at the file extension of the currently highlighted file and
execute the program that is associated with that extension. The
associations are defined during the configuration of the FFF
program. Before the program is launched, FFF will attempt to
swap itself out of memory if the memory swapping feature was
selected during program configuration.
If no smart launch program has been defined FFF will than launch
the default BROWSE program.
G Pressing the G key will exit the FFF program and will change the
default disk and directory to the one that contains the file
currently highlighted on the screen.
(THE ENTER KEY WILL ONLY FUNCTION IF THE USER SPECIFICALLY TELLS
THE FFFCFG PROGRAM TO ACTIVATE THE ENTER KEY.)
R Pressing the R key allows you to run any program you wish against
the currently highlighted file. A window will pop-up in which
you must enter program name that you wish to execute. The
program can be a DOS internal program, i.e. del, rename, or any
EXE, COM, or BAT file. When you enter the program to execute you
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-18-
must tell FFF where to place the highlighted filename in the
command by using the ! character as a place holder. Before FFF
runs the command the ! will be replaced with the highlighted
filename.
S Pressing the S key will invoke my Compressed file manager called
SHEZ. The Program file SHEZ.EXE must be in the DOS path for this
options to function.
E Pressing the E key will execute the program or BAT file currently
highlighted on the screen. Before the Program is executed FFF
will prompt you for any command line parameters that you want to
pass to the program. It will then change to the disk and
directory that the program is contained in, unload itself from
memory and execute the program.
T The T key will toggle the tagged status of the highlighted item.
U The U key will untag all tagged items.
ALT-D will delete the currently highlighted file.
ALT-L The ALT-L key will invoke the browser program on the
highlighted file. The BRZ.COM program must be in the DOS
path for this option to function.
ALT-E The ALT-E key will invoke an editor of your choice. The
default editor is QEdit by Sammy Mitchell, however you can
change this default by using the FFFCFG program.
ALT-C
ALT-O The ALT-O or ALT-C keys will allow you to copy the
highlighted file. A window will appear prompting you for
the destination drive and directory.
ALT-W The ALT-W key will invoke a word processor of your choice.
The wordprocessor program name must be set using the FFFCFG
program before this options can be used.
ALT-T Write out the displayed file list to the file FFF.LST.
(Also see section titled: MODIFYING THE FFF FILE LISTING FORMAT)
ALT-P Print out the displayed file list to user specified device.
(Also see section titled: MODIFYING THE FFF PRINT FORMAT)
ALT-I Display a windows containing configuration and file stats
information.
ALT-S Shell to DOS
CTL-D will delete all tagged files.
CTL-C
CTL-O The CTL-O or CTL-C keys will allow you to copy the all
tagged files. A window will appear prompting you for the
destination drive and directory.
CTL-R Pressing the CTL-R key allows you to run any program you
wish against all tagged files. A window will pop-up in
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-19-
which you must enter program name that you wish to execute.
The program can be a DOS internal program, i.e. del, rename,
or any EXE, COM, or BAT file. When you enter the program to
execute you must tell FFF where to place the tagged filename
in the command by using the ! character as a place holder.
Before FFF runs the command the ! will be replaced with the
filename.
CTL-T Write out a list of all tagged files to file FFF.LST.
CTL-P Print out a list of all tagged files to device STDPRN.
CTL-G Pressing the CTL-G keys will allow you to run the included
SGREP program against a group of tagged files. (See the
section titled SGREP PROGRAM for more information) You will
have the option of performing a normal text search or a
regular expression search against all tagged files.
/ Pressing the forward slash key will activate the FFF menu system.
A menu bar will appear at the top of the screen. Using the left,
right, up, and down cursor keys highlight the menu item you wish
to activate then press the ENTER key to perform the highlighted
operations. Pressing the ESC key will exit the menu system.
CAPS-LOCK
When the CAPS-LOCK key is active, a tagged file status line will
be displayed on the bottom of the screen. Pressing the CAPS-LOCK
key again will remove this status line.
ALT-F2
The ALT-F2 keys allows the user to modify the format of the file
list that is written out when the ALT-T keys are pressed.
ALT-F3
ALT-F4
The ALT-F3 and ALT-F4 keys allows the user to modify the print
format when the ALT-P keys are pressed. The ALT-F3 key allows
you to edit print line 1 format. The ALT-F4 keys allows your to
edit the print line2 format.
ALT-F5
The ALT-F5 keys allows the use to change the default print line
length.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-20-
MODIFYING THE FFF FILE LISTING FORMAT
When writing out a file list using the ALT-T keys, FFF uses a template
that defines the format of the file. The template contains variables
that tells FFF what information to include in the file listing. The
following variables can be used when defining the template:
VARIABLE DESCRIPTION LENGTH
$FF = filename.file-extension 12 characters
$FN = filename variable
$FX = file-extension variable
$N8 = filename 8 characters
$X3 = file-extension 3 characters
$DN = directory-name variable
$DF = directory-name 80 characters
$CN = full-path-specification variable
$SZ = file-size 8 characters
$DT = file-date 8 characters
$TI = file-time 8 characters
$AT = file-attributes 4 characters
The default format when writing out a file listing is:
$SZ $DT $TI $AT $CN
Using the ALT-F2 command the format of the listing file can be changed
while FFF is currently being executed. When modifying the template
please be aware that anything entered on the template line other than
a variable name will also appear in the file listing file. THIS
INCLUDED BLANK CHARACTERS.
The default may also be changed by using the FFFCFG program and
modifying the listing template when then appropriate prompt appears.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-21-
MODIFYING THE FFF PRINT FORMAT
When printing out a file list using the ALT-P keys, FFF uses a
template that defines the format of the file. The template contains
variables that tells FFF what information to include in the printer
listing. The following variables can be used when defining the
template:
VARIABLE DESCRIPTION LENGTH
$FF = filename.file-extension 12 characters
$FN = filename variable
$FX = file-extension variable
$N8 = filename 8 characters
$X3 = file-extension 3 characters
$DN = directory-name variable
$DF = directory-name 80 characters
$CN = full-path-specification variable
$SZ = file-size 8 characters
$DT = file-date 8 characters
$TI = file-time 8 characters
$AT = file-attributes 4 characters
The default format when printing out a file listing is two lines per
file. Their format is as follows.
$CN
$SZ $DT $TI $AT
Using the ALT-F3 and ALT-F4 commands the format of print line one and
print line two can be changed while FFF is currently being executed.
If you do not want two print lines produced per file set the second
print line template to all blanks via the ALT-F4 command or set the
second print line template to all blanks when using the FFFCFG program
to configure the FFF program. When modifying the template please be
aware that anything entered on the template line other than a variable
name will also appear in the file listing file. THIS INCLUDED BLANK
CHARACTERS.
The default may also be changed by using the FFFCFG program and
modifying the print line templates when then appropriate prompt
appears.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-22-
FFD PROGRAM
This program will find directories on your hard disk(s), and present
them in a scrollable list.
Format is FFD [options] [[drives:] [filespec]] [options]
Where options are:
/2 25 line mode display
/4 43 line mode display
/5 50 line mode display
/G Greater or Equal to mm-dd-yy
/= Equal to mm-dd-yy
/L Less or Equal to mm-dd-yy
/Z[RHSA]
Show files with specified attributes
/LN Look for network drives
/@ Prompt for options.
/! Exclude directories that match specified pattern.
/G This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have a filedate Greater than or Equal to the date specified. The
format is /Gmm-dd-yy.
I.E. /G01-01-90 or /G1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate greater than or equal to 1-1-90.
(Note this option may be combined with the /L option to specify a
date range)
/L This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have a filedate Less than or Equal to the date specified. The
format is /Lmm-dd-yy.
I.E. /L01-01-90 or /L1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate less than or equal to 1-1-90.
(Note this option may be combined with the /G option to specify a
date range)
/= This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have a filedate Equal to the date specified. The format is /=mm-
dd-yy.
I.E. /=01-01-90 or /=1-1-90 will list files that have a
filedate to 1-1-90.
/Z[RHSA]
This option allows you to limit the file search to files that
have specific attributes. For example, specifying /ZA will list
files that have the archive attribute, /ZRH will list files that
have the read-only attribute OR the hidden attribute set.
**PLEASE NOTE IF YOU SPECIFY THE /A OR /I OPTION THAN THIS OPTION
IS IGNORED.**
/LN This option allow you to search for files on Network drives. If
you configured FF2 to ignore network drives you may use this
options to temporarily look for files on any networked drives.
/! This option allows you to exclude directories. Directories that
match the excluded pattern will not be listed. For example if
you entered the following command:
FF2 * /!f*
This would list all the dirs EXCEPT for dirs that begin with the
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-23-
letter F..
/@ This options instructs FFD to prompt the user for the command
line parameters. PLEASE NOTE NO OTHER PARAMETERS ARE ALLOWED ON
THE COMMAND LINE IF THIS OPTION IS SPECIFIED. The use of this
option also allows the user to use the DOS redirect feature to
feed FF2 it's parameters.
For example: FFD /@ < FFD.DAT
This instructs FFD to read its parameters from the file names
FFD.DAT.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-24-
FFD HOT KEYS
ALT-X
ALT-Q
ESC Any of these keys will immediately exit FFF.
CURSOR-RIGHT
CURSOR-LEFT
Scroll screen right or left.
HOME Pressed once will take you to top of screen. Pressed twice will
take you to top of list.
END Pressed once will take you to bottom of screen. Pressed twice
will take you to bottom of list.
F1 will display the help panel.
F9 This will allow you to sort the file list that is displayed on
the screen. The list can be sorted by filename, file extension,
file date, or disk:\dir location.
ENTER
Pressing the ENTER key will run the FFF program against the
currently highlighted directory.
G Pressing the G key will exit the FFD program and will change the
default disk and directory to the one currently highlighted.
ALT-I Display a windows containing FFF stats and information.
ALT-S Shell to DOS.
DEL will delete all tagged files.
ALT-T Write out directory list to file FFD.LST
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-25-
SMART LAUNCH FEATURE
The SMART LAUNCH feature of FFF allows FFF to execute a user defined
program based on the file extension of the currently highlighted file.
The FFFCFG program allows you to enter three sets of file extensions
and three associated programs to launch when the CTRL-ENTER is pressed
in the FFF program.
The FFFCFG program will display the following prompts:
ENTER/EDIT FILE EXTENSION LIST 1:
EXT->
AT this prompt enter the first list of file extensions that you wish
the FFF program to identify. The list must include the dot extension
separator and there may NOT be and spaces in the list. If you wanted
FFF to identify the following file extensions, C, H, CPP, INC, the
list would be entered as follows:
.C.H.CPP.INC
ENTER/EDIT PROGRAM FOR EXTENSION LIST 1:
PGM->
At this prompt enter the full path name of the program that you want
FFF to launch if the highlighted file has a file extension that is
included in list number 1.
i.e. PGM->C:\UTILITY\EDIT.EXE !
NOTE THE ! CHARACTER. THIS CHARACTER INDICATES TO THE FFF PROGRAM
WHERE TO PLACE THE FILENAME WHEN LAUNCHING THE PROGRAM. Through the
use of this character the user can also place any needed command line
switches in the PGM specification.
MEMORY SWAPPING OPTION IN FFF
Beginning with release 3.3 of the FFF program, a memory swapping
ability has been added. When invoking the Editor, SHEZ, shelling to
DOS, or invoking another program via the R or CTL-R functions, FFF can
optionally swap 90% of its code to either XMS, EMS memory (3.0 or
4.0), or to disk if XMS or EMS memory is not available. This option
is OFF by default. It can be turned on by using the FFFCFG
configuration program. Using this option allows you to run much
larger programs from within FFF than would be normally possible. FFF
first tries XMS memory than EMS memory.
MONOCHROME MONITORS
If you are using a monochrome monitor and the screen does not appear
correct set the environment variable MONO to a Y. I.E. SET MONO=Y.
MISC. INFORMATION
Both FF2 and FFF are both DesQview aware.
Beginning with version 3.4 both FF2 and FFF will now also search
directories that have hidden or system attributes associated with the
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-26-
directory.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-27-
THE SGREP PROGRAM
The SGREP program, supplied with SHEZ, is used by SHEZ when the ALT-G
key is pressed, to scan member(s) of a compressed file for words or
phrases. It is included in the SHEZ package for those user's that do
not have the FGREP program written by Chris Dunford. While the SGREP
program performs the same function, it is not as fast or as powerful
as Chris Dunford's FGREP program. When the ALT-G keys are pressed,
SHEZ first tries to locate the SGREP.COM program, if it can not be
found SHEZ will than try to locate the FGREP.COM program. Which ever
program is found will be the one SHEZ users to scan for text.
The SGREP command line format uses a subset of the FGREP program to
maintain compatibility with FGREP. SGREP does allow the user to
specify two target strings in the search argument. These two target
strings are connected with an and, &, or or, '|' separator. Thus
allowing the user to search for two different strings, or two strings
or words contained on the same line. When the specific string is
found, the line in the file that contains the string is written to the
stdout DOS device, which is normally the display. The output may be
redirected to a file or a printer using the normal DOS redirection
symbols. The format of the SGREP command line is as follows:
SGREP [options] "target(s)" {file(s)...|@file}
Where options are:
-f display **FILE-NAME for finds only
-l line numbers
-c case sensitive search
-x no logo
-e return errorlevel only
-p pause when screen is full
-v verbose display output
-r perform a regular expression search
@file indicates an ascii file containing a list of file to process.
This list MUST include the complete file specification. I.E. The
disk, directory, filename, and file extension.
The target string(s) must be enclosed in quotes and special characters
can be specified as indicated below.
Hex byte sequences can be used to search for special non-displayable
characters. They are specified using a pair of hexadecimal bytes
preceded by a dollar sign,$.
EXAMPLES: $23 include is the string #include
$252.50 is the string %2.50
$23$24$25 is the string #$%
Two targets may be specified using the & and | characters to search
for two targets. If the & is used the lines must contain
both targets. If the | is used the lines must contain one of the
targets.
Example: "save|main" line must have save or main to be listed.
"save&main" line must have save and main to be listed.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-28-
The format of the SGREP command line is presented here for
documentation purposes only since FFF automatically invokes SGREP
itself using a predefined set of options. SGREP may be run from the
DOS command prompt, or when using the CTRL-G command option of FFF.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-29-
REGULAR EXPRESSIONS
The regular_expression defines the pattern to search for. Upper- and
lower-case are always ignored. Blank lines never match. The
expression should be quoted to prevent file-name translation.
x An ordinary character (not mentioned below) matches that
character.
"\" The backslash quotes any character. "\$" matches a dollar-sign.
"^" A circumflex at the beginning of an expression matches the
beginning of a line.
"$" A dollar-sign at the end of an expression matches the end of a
line.
"." A period matches any character except "new-line".
"*" An expression followed by an asterisk matches zero or more
occurrences of that expression: "fo*" matches "f", "fo" "foo",
etc.
"+" An expression followed by a plus sign matches one or more
occurrences of that expression: "fo+" matches "fo", etc.
"-" An expression followed by a minus sign optionally matches the
expression.
"[]" A string enclosed in square brackets matches any character in
that string, but no others. If the first character in the string
is a circumflex, the expression matches any character except
"new-line" and the characters in the string. For example,
"[xyz]" matches "xx" and "zyx", while "[^xyz]" matches "abc"
but not "axb". A range of characters may be specified by two
characters separated by "-". Note that, [a-z] matches
alphabetic, while [z-a] never matches.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-30-
REVISION HISTORY
v4.5 12/27/93 FFF will use EMS automatically if available for storing
directory information.
Added /T command line parameter to FF2 and FFF program to find
files that contain specified text strings.
Added /W command line parameter to FF2 and FFF program to find
files created or modified on a specific day of the week.
FFF, FF2 and FFD will now automatically bypass CD-ROM drives.
Corrected screen scrolling problem in FF2.
FFF, FF2, and FFD now use a common external configuration files
that is created and maintained by the FFFCFG program.
When performing a search on tagged files in FFF a regular
expression search may now optionally be performed.
The file viewing program BRZ is now included in the FFF package.
v4.4 09/20/93 Increased file limit in FFF to 15,000 files.
Added ability to print to a file or to LPT1-9.
Gave user the ability to modify the format of a saved file list.
Gave user the ability to modify the format of a print file
listing.
Fixed problem with FFF not finding the last duplicate file.
The FFD program will now show the root directory of all included
search drives.
When writing a file list FFF will now prompt to over-write or
append the file if the FFF.LST file already exists.
Added the ALT-T command to the FFD program.
Added the FFFHLP.COM program to reduce the memory requirements of
the FFF program.
v4.3 04/13/93 Added ability to exclude user specified drives from
being searched.
Made correction to date/time sort.
Added CTRL right and left cursor for faster screen scrolling.
Made swapping type configurable.
Fixed ALT-T command.
Increased search speed by 15-20%.
Increased sort speed by 20%.
When checking for duplicate files user can optionally search
inside compressed files for dups.
Added drop down menu to the FFF program.
Added more configuable item to the FFF program.
Added new program FFD that will search for directory spanning
drives.
v4.2 03/14/93 Maximum number of files that FFF can handle has been
increased to 10,000.
Added command line option /! to exclude file during search.
Added command line option /= to search for file equal to a date.
Enhanced the HOME and END keys in FFF.
Corrected sorting routine when sorting by filename or file
extension.
When sorting by extension, files with equal extensions will also
be sorted by filename.
Added support to search for files inside SQZ type compressed
files.
v4.1 11/9/92 Fixed the FFF program to correctly accept command line
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-31-
options that are entered in when using the /@ command line
switch.
Added the ability to configure the function of the ENTER key.
Added a smart launch feature to the FFF program that is activated
via the CTRL-ENTER key combination.
v3.8 4/1/92 Added CAPS-LOCK command in FFF to display tagged file
status.
Increased speed of locating and identifying all hard drives.
Added SGREP program to search for text within tagged files.
Added ability to swap FFF program to XMS or EMS memory.
Added scroll bars to FFF display.
Added ALT-C command to copy single files.
Added CTL-C command to copy tagged files.
Added CTL-G command to run SGREP program against a group of
tagged files.
v3.7 7/19/91 Corrected FFF processing when searching for all files
when using the /i option.
Changed the FFFCFG program to retain previously configured
colors.
Added the ability to perform a fuzzy search.
Added a configurable option to turn the file over-write warning
message off when copying tagged files.
V3.6 5/6/91 - Corrected floating tags.
Added ALT-I to display config. and file stats.
Implemented new sort routine to speed up file sorting.
Added ALT-T, CTL-T commands to write out a file list.
Added ALT-P, CTL-P commands to print out a file list.
Added ability to configure FFF's colors.
Added ALT-X, and ALT-Q to exit FFF.
Added the ability to activate or deactivate the ENTER key.
Added the ability to configure FFF to handle up to 9000 files and
300 unique directory names.
When invoking the browse program via the ALT-L command, if
swapping is enabled FFF will swap itself out of memory before
invoking the browse program.
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-32-
INDEX
CONFIGURING THE FFF.EXE PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
FF2 Command line options
/! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/= . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
/SD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
FFD Command line options
/! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/= . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/LN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
/Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
FFD HOT KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
FFD PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
FFF Command line options
/! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/= . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
/@ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
/d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
/G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
/I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/SD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
/Z[RHSA] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
FFF HOT KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
FFF PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 22
MEMORY SWAPPING OPTION IN FFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
MEMORY USAGE IN THE FFF.EXE PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
MODIFYING THE FFF FILE LISTING FORMAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
MODIFYING THE FFF PRINT FORMAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
MONOCHROME MONITORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
PERFORMING A FUZZY SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
QUICK START . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
REGULAR EXPRESSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
FileFinder Version 4.5 User Manual Page-33-
REVISION HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
SMART LAUNCH FEATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25