Opening Search Results in CodeWarrior, BBEdit or Alpha
If you use CodeWarrior, BBEdit or Alpha for editing, you should set up SpeedSearch to open matches in your editor. To do this, open the Preferences dialog and select the "Chosen Application" radio button inside the "Open 'TEXT' Files in" group. Click the "Choose…" button and select your editor.
Once you have set your editor, opening the file corresponding to the selected match in the search results is accomplished in three ways: by clicking the file icon next to the full path of the file; by Cmd-double-click; or by Cmd-~ (Cmd-tilda). The file will be opened with the line selected that corresponds to the selected line in the search results.
Tips on Setting the Start Folder
One of the most useful features in version 2.0 is the addition of recently used folders to the start folder popup menu (at the upper right corner of the main window). Recently searched folders are placed in this menu in most recently used order top to bottom. The maximum number of recent folders is set in the Preferences dialog. I like a setting of 16. The maximum value you can specify is 32.
Another useful feature is setting the start folder using drag and drop. This feature has been enhanced in version 2.0 by expanding the drop area to include the text field of the start folder path. I especially like this feature when searching the Apple ADC source code: insert the CD, open the root CD folder, then drag and drop the "Sample Code" folder onto SpeedSearch.
Bookmarking Folders
You should bookmark folders that are frequently searched. To do this, set the start folder, then select "Add Current Start Folder" in the start folder popup menu. This folder will then be permanently available in the lower part of this menu. You can also add as well as remove and reorder these folders by selecting the "Modify This Menu…" item in this menu. Good examples for bookmarking are the Universal Interfaces CIncludes, PowerPlant, PowerPlant Examples, MSL C, MSL C++, and Find Library folders. I also bookmark my SpeedSearch Source and General Source folders.
Finding Files by Line Termination Type
A new feature in version 2.0 is the capability to display TEXT files by line termination type (Macintosh, DOS or UNIX). To use this feature, type in "MAC", "DOS", "UNIX" or "ALL" (without the double quotes) in the "Search For:" field and hold down the option and Shift keys when clicking the Start button. This will display files matching the type specified. I use this feature for source files I move over to the PC.
Tools Used to Develop SpeedSearch
SpeedSearch was developed with Metrowerks CodeWarrior and PowerPlant. Also used were the MetroWerks profiler and ZoneRanger. Resources were managed using Resorcerer. Considerable use of Spotlight and MacsBug was also used for development.
PC-Lint
The SpeedSearch source code was also run through PC-Lint on a PC running Windows 2000 (one real error was found). A good lint utility should be a staple part of any serious development effort. Lint teaches you to be a better programmer by flagging both potential and real problems and pointing out non-standard and non-portable code. Even the best programmers make mistakes and lint is there to catch them. Unfortunately, there is no lint utility available for the Macintosh at the time of this writing :(
If you're interested in more information on running Macintosh source code through PC-Lint on a PC, you can e-mail me and I'll be glad to tell you how I did it.
