ZipScan v1.3a
Introduction
ZipScan is a program that performs a fast file search which includes looking inside archive files, such as Zip files. This is useful if you have lots of documents archived in Zip files and need to be able to search for specific documents. It is also useful when looking for a particular DLL from a set of CAB installation files, and for Java programmmers who need to search through their JAR archives. I wrote this utility because programs such as WinZip do not have a search facility.
New features in v1.3
Installation
Simply extract all the files from the zip to the same directory. Then, just run the program (ZipScan.exe).
Instructions
The phrase "archive files" refers to Zip, CAB and JAR format files that have been searched by the program.
The program is quite easy to use:
Search Patterns
Example 1:
If you want to find all the files with extensions .c and .h, enable the first two search strings by checking the boxes next to them and enter
Example 2:
To find all files beginning with the letter M, enter one search string:
Example 3:
To find all files whose names contain at least one numeral, select "Extra Wildcard Characters" in the selection box and enter the search string:
Example 4:
To find all files with four-character names followed by the extension .txt, enter the search string:
Example 5:
If you want to find a DLL called MyDll.dll which you believe is stored in a CAB file on your c drive, set the start directory as c:\ and check the CAB checkbox only. Enter the search string:
Example 6:
Suppose you had files called track.txt; trick.txt; tr7ck.txt; myfile.txtExample 7:
Suppose you wished to find all the files on your D drive with the extensions .htm or .html that contained the text "BLINK"
Notes (For advanced users)
When you perform a text search within archives, the search will not look inside password-protected archives.
When looking into nested archive files, ZipScan looks to a depth of four archives (ie it will find a file-within-an-archive-within-an-archive-within-an-archive-within-an-archive).
A log file, ZSLog.txt is created in the same directory as the program exeutable. Each time ZipScan is run, this file is wiped to stop it growing too large.
All JAR files contain a hidden file called manifest.mf. When searching a Java archive, ZipScan ignores this file and will never show it in the results list.
There are two completely different types of JAR files. ZipScan only recognises those intended as Java archives. It will report errors if it encounters the other sort.
CAB files may store their filenames as Unicode characters (UTF encoding). Currently, ZipScan will report an error with such files (though I've never actually come across one).
If you check the box to ignore hidden files, the search:
If you choose the grep-style filename matching, the pattern is compared to filenames using these rules:
Note that the text-searching option does not use wildcards, so if for example you use a * in this option, that will only match a * in the contents of the file.
ZipScan cannot be used on spanned disk sets (Where a Zip file is spread across several floppy disks).
When saving the results to a text file, they are saved in the order in which they are currently displayed in the window. So, if for example you want to save the files in order of size, click the Size column header before saving. If you do not want certain files to appear in the saved list, they can first be removed from the list by selecting them in the results window, right clicking them and selecting 'Remove from List'
The final column of the results window shows the directory within the archive file in which the files reside. When saving the results to a text file, this column will be omitted if it is empty (i.e. if all found files live in the root of their archives)
When files are opened from archive files, they are first extracted to your temporary folder. When the results window is closed, ZipScan tries to delete these files. However, if they are still open in some other program, the file deletion may fail and the files will stay there.
If there are errors during the search, such as invalid Zip files, this will be reported on the results dialog. Click the 'View Log' button to see where errors occurred. This information is stored in a file called "ZSLog.txt" which is created in the same directory as the program's executable.
When opening files from the results window, a file can only be opened if there is an application associated with it with the action name "open". If the action is called, for example, "Open with msdev" then the file cannot be opened.
There are shortcut keys for the results window: Space opens a file, Ctrl-X extracts an archived file; Ctrl-A opens the archive containing a file; Ctrl-R removes the currently selected file from the list.
Getting in touch
If you use this software, please e-mail me to tell me what you think of it. If you ask, I will add you to the mailing list to be kept informed of any new versions of the software. If you like this program, then please include a link to it on your website, recommend it to your friends and/or submit it to freeware and shareware archives. Let me know if you find any sites with out of date versions so that I can update them.
If you find a bug in this software, please report it to me. Please include in your report the following information (where relevant):
All of the recent enhancements of the program have been made in response to requests from users. The moral of this is that if you want any improvements in the program you should let me know. Possible ideas for new features are:
In addition, there are certain known issues with the program:
The latest version of the program will always be available for download from my websites.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/4301/ZipScan.htm
Version History:
1.0 |
20 Aug 1999 |
First Release - search Zip files only |
1.0a |
23 Sep 1999 |
Faster searching |
1.1 |
1 Oct 1999 |
Can now search CAB files. Results dialog made resizable. Ability to open Zip and CAB files from results dialog |
1.1a |
5 Oct 1999 |
Minor bugs fixed File date and time shown in results |
1.1b |
7 Oct 1999 |
Now searches directories as well as inside archives. |
1.2 |
21 Jan 2000 |
Extract files from archives Limit search based on file size Text entry of the search directory Search JAR (Java Archive) files Errors logged to file |
1.2 Build 2 |
26 Apr 2000 |
About box changed to refer to new website |
1.3 |
12 Jun 2000 |
Perform text search within archived files
|
1.3a |
16 Jun 2000 |
Fix bug in recursively searching cab files |
Legal Stuff and Credits
This document and the ZipScan program are (C)opyright 1999, 2000 Adrian Bhagat. ZipScan is Freeware and is supplied without warranty. I accept no liability for any loss caused by use of the program. You are welcome to use and distribute it for free provided that all the files are supplied together and unchanged.
WinZip is a trademark of Nico Mak Computing Inc. You can download a demo at www.winzip.com. If you are using WinZip, please make sure you have registered your copy.
The Zip extraction facility is provided by the Info-Zip package which is Freeware and can be found at:CAB file extraction is implemented using the Cabinet Software Development Kit from Microsoft. This package can be found at:
www.microsoft.com/workshop/prog/cab
Thanks are due to those who have provided these libraries free of charge and to everyone who has made comments and suggestions on the program. They have enabled me to improve and extend ZipScan whilst keeping it as Freeware.
Adrian Bhagat
info@zipscan.co.uk
http://www.zipscan.co.uk/