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Text File | 1992-03-09 | 20.0 KB | 368 lines

LF -- LOCATE FILE (c)1990-1992 William Pemberton Version 3.4 -------------------------------------------------------------- Purpose: To find a file on a hard disk system or network and to execute a command on the file(s) if needed. LF is fast! Despite claims of other file search programs, LF proved to be just as fast as the fastest and much faster than other similar programs tested, and LF is NOVELL compatible. Syntax: LF [options] filespec [command string] Remarks: LF is similar to other file location utilities, except that LF looks across multiple drives (all drives on a hard disk and all drives to which you have access on a network), and LF also enable you to execute a command on the files that it locates. In addition, LF shows you the file even if it is marked hidden or in a hidden directory. LF can be fully configured by the user. All command line options, except OLDER, NEWER, BIGGER, and SMALLER, can be written back to the .EXE so that they then become the default options. LF searches for the given filespec (DOS wildcards are accepted) on all the disks beginning with the default or designated start drive. If a valid sub-directory is specified in the filespec, LF will search from that sub-directory down. For example, "LF \home\*.txt" would find the files \home\goo.txt, \home\joe\joe.txt, etc. but not find \temp\lf.txt. Options: The [options] mentioned in the "Syntax:" section above include the following (case is not important): /s - Start Drive /e - End Drive /o - Only Drive /c - Current Drive /i - Interactive /y - not-Interactive /a - Find files with the given attribute(s) /NEWer - Find files newer then specified number of days /OLDer - Find files older then specified number of days /BIGger - Find files bigger then specifed number of bytes /SMaller- Find files smaller then specifed number of bytes /w - Writes options back to .EXE OLDER, NEWER, BIGGER, and SMALLER can be abbreviated to just the portions that are show in uppercase. The Start Drive (/s) option specifies on which drive you want LF to start its search. An equals sign (=) and the letter of the drive should follow after the option; e.g., "lf /s=H filename" would start the search at the H: drive). If no "/s" option is given, LF will start at whatever drive has been designated as the default start drive. The End Drive (/e) option specifies on which drive you would like LF end its search for the file. For example, "LF /e=g filename" would end the search on the G: drive. If no "/e" option is given, LF will stop its search at either the last drive that it can find or at the default last drive that is specified in the .EXE, whichever comes first. (To use more than one option, separate each option with space, e.g., "LF /S=F /E=G filename" will begin searching on the F: and end on the G: drive.) The Only Drive (/o) option specifies the single drive you want LF to conduct its search, e.g., "LF /O=H filename." This would be equivalent to using the "/s" and "/e" options to set the starting and ending drives to the same drive. If you use the Writeback (/w) option, both start and end drive will be set to the same drive. The Current Drive (/c) option tells LF to conduct the search only on the current drive. This is just a shortcut for the /o option if you happen to be on the drive you wish to search. If you use the Writeback (/w) option to make the Current Drive the default, "lf /w /c" is the same as "lf /o=(Current Drive)." The Attributes "/a" option is used to specify that you want LF to find ONLY files with the specified attribute set. The format for the command is "/a=[attribute list]" where the attribute list may be any combination of the letters "SHRA" (in uppercase only). These letters stand for: S - System H - Hidden R - Read Only A - Archive These attributes can be written back to the LF.EXE (see Writeback option below. When setting the attributes, use capital letters. When unsetting them, use lower case. LF finds Hidden, Read Only, and Archive files as a default. This option is used for LIMITING the search, but for System files it is necessary to specify (with the /a=S option) that you want to find files flagged as System; e.g., "lf /a=S *.sys" tells LF to find the system files with the .sys extension. Without the /a=S LF would list all .sys except those flagged as system files. If you use the Interactive (/i) option, LF will display the command string that it intends to send to COMSPEC followed by a ?, asking for confirmation before executing each command string. Pressing Y will cause the command to be executed, pressing Q will abort LF, pressing S will skip processing on the current subdirectory and continue to the next subdirectory in the tree. Pressing C (for Continuous) will switch LF into non-interactive mode. Pressing any other key will cause LF to skip the command on that file and continue looking for the next file. This option is to be used when you are executing commands, not just searching for a file. If you don't use a command string, the /i option will control whether or not LF will pause after each screen full of filenames. The non-interactive option (/y) overrides the interactive option. /y will also un-do the interactive option if it has been written into LF.EXE file (see the Writeback option below). The OLDER option (/OLDer), will limit the selection to files that have not been within the last X number of days. The NEWER option (/NEWer), will limit the selection to files that have been modified within the last X number of days. If LF receives both an OLDER and a NEWER command, it will try to find files that meet both criteria. For this to work, NEWER must be greater then OLDER. For example, if today's date is 07/01/91 and you have the following files: OLD.TXT 05/01/91 NEW.TXT 06/20/91 Then the following command would only find OLD.TXT: lf /older=30 *.* and the following would only find TWO.TXT: lf /newer=30 *.* The command line: lf /newer=30 /older=15 *.* would find all files that are between 15 and 30 days old. The command line: lf /newer=15 /older=30 *.* would find no files. LF would be looking for files that are both newer then 15 days and older then 30, which is impossible. The BIGGER option (/BIGger), will limit the selection to files that are larger then X bytes. The SMALLER option (/SMaller), will limit the selection to files that are smaller then X bytes. If LF receives both an BIGGER and a SMALLER command, it will try to find files that meet both criteria. For this to work, SMALLER must not be greater then BIGGER. OLDER, NEWER, SMALLER, and BIGGER will all work together. This means that you can perform searchs such as "all files bigger then 1000 bytes that have been changed in the last 10 days." The Writeback (/w) option will write all parameters to the LF.EXE file so that they become the defaults. All parameters, except /OLDER, /NEWER, /BIGGER, and /SMALLER, can be written into the executable. For example, you would enter "LF /w /i" to make LF always default to interactive mode. Due to the method used to perform this task, the /w option probably will not work with DOS versions before 3.0. Note that this method of storing parameters will save disk space over using a seperate configuration file. Some virus detection programs will, however, complain about this since the .EXE file is being modified. Command Strings: For the [command string] mentioned in the "Syntax" statement above to work, you must have specified in your autoexec.bat or your network login script where the command interpreter (usually command.com) is located. For example, you might have "set comspec=c:\command.com" near the bottom of your autoexec.bat. The [command string] discussed above is a command line to be executed on a file once it is found. This may be anything that you would normally type from the DOS prompt--a DOS command, a program, a batchfile, etc. If no command string is given, then LF will just print the name(s) of the found file(s). If any of the special attributes are set (such as hidden), LF will also display which ones are set with attributes. With most commands you do not need to add the path/name of the file to the end because LF assumes that you intend the command to be done on the filespec searched for. Therefore, "LF *.bk! del" means locate all files with the .bk! extension and delete them. When a set of characters follows the command, however, you need "#file" where the path/filename would normally be in that command. For example, if you want to find all files with an extension of ".txt" and change their dates to 01/17/91, then you would enter "LF *.TXT CDATE #file 01/17/91" (CDATE being the name of a program that changes the dates of files). Please not that this is a change from previous versions! For versions of LF prior to 3.3, the token for the filename was "%s". This caused some problems with DOS 5.0, so it was changed to "#file". Acceptable Filespecs: LF accepts any valid file specification; the standard DOS wild cards are accepted. Interacting with LF (Help Screen, Pause, etc.): Entering "LF" with no parameters will give a short help screen which shows the default value for each parameter. Parameters that can be ON or OFF will have an * (asterisk) by them if they are enabled. The start drive and end drive parameters will show the actual values. While LF is working, you may press the space bar to pause it. During this pause, you will also be given a chance to abort LF. Customizing LF to Meet Your Needs (Configuration): The first thing that you should do with LF is customize the default values of start drive and end drive to your system. For most PCs, you don't need to do anything since LF will start its search at the C: drive and end at Z: (or the last disk it can find). If your hard disk(s) start somewhere other than C:, you should customize LF with a statement which follows this format: lf /s=X /w (where "X" would be replaced with the letter of your starting drive). If you are using LF on a Novell network, you should set both start drive and end drive to the appropriate values for your network. If you do not do this, LF will probably search the same physical drive several times (due to the way Novell sets up the search drive mappings). Examples of LF Commands: lf *.doc - Find all .doc files on the disk system. lf foo.bar cdate #file 01-17-90 - Find all files named foo.bar and run CDATE on them (CDATE changes the file's time/date stamp date). The #file is necessary because the command string includes text following the filespec--compare with next example. lf /s=H /e=L *.txt type #file OR lf /s=H /e=L *.txt type - Find all .txt files located in drives H: through L: and then execute a DOS type on them. The #file is optional because the syntax of the command has no additional text after the filespec; therefore, LF assumes the filespec to be found is the one to receive the action of the DOS command. lf /o=D *.tmp - Find all .tmp files on the D: drive. OR if you are on D: drive, you could also type, "lf /c *.tmp." lf /i *.bak del - Find all .bak files and ask if each individual file should be deleted. With the /i option activated, you would be able to enter Y or N to each file prior to its deletion. (Note the #file was not needed-- compare with the second example.) lf /a=HS *.com - Find all .com files that are hidden and system. lf /a=R *.doc chmod /r - Find all .doc files that are Read Only and run CHMOD on them to make them not Read Only (see Attributes option explained above). lf /i /w - Set up LF so that it always runs in interactive mode. (Note: by entering "lf /y /w" you can change the default mode back to non-interactive.) CAUTION: The command string can be very powerful or very dangerous! I recommend ALWAYS using the "/i" option when using a command string that alters files (like del), or better yet use the /w option to make LF always work in interactive mode. Remember! The command "lf *.* del" will find every file in every drive you have access to and delete them. The best way to avoid unintentional alteration of files is to write the interactive mode in as a default with the command, "lf /i /w." Disclaimer: The author hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The author will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if the author or an agent of the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall the author's liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use software, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software. Shareware: LF is distributed as Shareware. You are free to try the utility and make copies for others (Copies must include this file.) If you continue to use LF, however, you are asked to make a donation to the author of $15 or more to support continued development of this and other software. LF may be freely copied solely for the purpose of allowing others to try it, as long as the executable is unmodified and this .DOC is also provided. No charge or payment may be levied for LF. LF may be posted on Bulletin Boards or other electronic systems as long the long as the above paragraph is met. If system has a general access fee, it is not considered a charge for LF (so a for-fee BBS MAY carry LF). Distributors of "Public Domain," "Shareware," and/or User Supported software, who make a profit from the distribution of such software, may distribute LF only after obtaining written permission from the author. Please address any comments, suggestions, etc., to: William Pemberton P.O. Box 5754 Charlottesville, VA 22905 Internet: wfp@turing.acs.virginia.edu I can also be reached on the following BBSs: CVBBS - (804) 978-1376