File Masks: Include & Exclude Masks

File Masks are file and directory name filters, which, in conjunction with the search path, size & date filters, and advanced script settings, define the files Search and Replace will operate on. File and directory masks can be combined to create complex file mask expressions to include files in some subdirectories while excluding those in others. The wildcards characters * and ? may be used in a manner similar to the DOS dir command, e.g., *.*;*.txt;*.doc;*.??1. More than one mask can be specified by using a semicolon separator (see above). One or more specific files can be searched by entering the file name(s) in the file mask field and the path in the Path field. Separate multiple names with the ; character, e.g., index.html;searchthis.htm.

You can also drag n drop files from Windows Explorer into the file mask field. Folders can be drag n dropped from Explorer into the Path field.

If you have "Search ZIP Files" turned on, the mask will be applied to files inside of ZIP files as well as ordinary files in the path specified in the path field on the main screen. Be sure not have any blank spaces between the semicolon(s) and the mask(s).

Search and Replace saves your last few file masks in the combo box list () to the right of the File Mask field.

Include Masks: These are the masks as outlined above. For example, to include all files of the filetype .html in a search, you would use the mask *.html. Of note, if you wanted to also include .htm files, you could use the mask *.htm* or use a semicolon separator and create two masks, *.html;*.htm. See complex file masks for help on adding mask expressions involving subdirectories.

Exclude Masks: the ~ character denotes a mask NOT to search. For example, if you wanted to exclude all .exe and .dll files from your search, you would use the mask *.*;~*.exe;~*.dll. Here, all files but .exe and .dll files would be included. Note the use of the semicolon separators. See complex file masks for help on adding mask expressions involving subdirectories.

To specify the ~ character as an explicit part of a filename, use \~ to denote the literal. For example, a mask to include the files named ~1.txt and ~2.txt would be \~*.txt. To create an exclude mask for those files, use the mask, ~\~*.txt.