VOGONS

Common searches


First post, by BEEN_Nath_58

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I don't clearly remember if it ever happened or was just another deceptive brain idea, I think Windows could earlier read inside files what I searched using Windows search and display it to me. I can't find it anymore. Was there/Is there any such 3rd party program?

Thanks.

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Reply 3 of 13, by BitWrangler

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Was it part of a search assistant thing brought in with Office 97 and later with Explorer updates with an IE release, 4 or 5... and thinking that yellow dog was involved somehow.

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Reply 5 of 13, by digger

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Although I've been exclusively on Linux for years now, there is one super-fast search tool that I relied upon back in my Windows-at-work days:

Agent Ransack.

I remember it being fast. Much faster than Windows' built-in file search functionality. That's why a co-worker recommended it to me back then.

I remember one killer feature being that its search functionality was fast, even on non-indexed drives.

Also, it has one of the coolest names for a software utility that I've ever heard. 😎

There is a free basic version, and a paid premium version. I used the free version back then, and it was sufficient for my needs.

Reply 6 of 13, by spiroyster

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BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-01-24, 19:44:

I don't clearly remember if it ever happened or was just another deceptive brain idea, I think Windows could earlier read inside files what I searched using Windows search and display it to me. I can't find it anymore. Was there/Is there any such 3rd party program?

Thanks.

It's still there... Using the search functionality of windows explorer , look under "Advanced Options" (Search tools comes up in windows 10 when you look for something) and choose "File Contents". You can also look in zip files for other files. Of course indexed locations will be faster.

Been there since Windows XP, although can't remember Win9x having it tbh.

akallio wrote on 2023-01-24, 21:29:

There's been a program called grep (grep.exe for msdos stuff) that's been around forever, it even came with the Borland Turbo compilers back in the day.

Isn't that a *nix program? Not part of windows?

Reply 7 of 13, by akallio

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> Isn't that a *nix program? Not part of windows?
OP spoke of using Windows search but he also refers to a 3rd party program. As I said, it was included in the Borland programs, and there's also a group of programs called UnixUtils that provides much of the unix functionality that MS left out.

Reply 8 of 13, by elszgensa

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BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-01-24, 19:44:

I think Windows could earlier read inside files what I searched using Windows search and display it to me. I can't find it anymore.

Fwiw you remember correctly, Windows 98 can search for files containing user specified text, and presents that feature front and center. XP can still do it too, but now you have to look for "documents" and then go into the advanced search options to find it. That's all the VMs I have on hand right now so I can't look into where it might be hidden on newer versions.

Reply 9 of 13, by gerwin

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elszgensa wrote on 2023-01-24, 22:22:

Fwiw you remember correctly, Windows 98 can search for files containing user specified text, and presents that feature front and center. XP can still do it too, but now you have to look for "documents" and then go into the advanced search options to find it. That's all the VMs I have on hand right now so I can't look into where it might be hidden on newer versions.

I am trying it now in Windows XP. With both a .doc and an ANSI .txt file. But it does not find anything by containing text. Maybe because the indexing-service is not active.

digger wrote on 2023-01-24, 21:39:

This seems nice.
For Windows XP one needs the older version: AgentRansack_828.exe (2014).

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Reply 10 of 13, by Zup

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I guess Google Desktop Search (deprecated) and Copernic were the best programs to catalog and search your documents. Windows had one search feature but didn't support as many file types.

On the other hand, if you only want to search once inside a bunch of files (a drive, a folder), I use the search in Total Commander. It can find files that match name, contents, size and many other options.

I have traveled across the universe and through the years to find Her.
Sometimes going all the way is just a start...

I'm selling some stuff!

Reply 12 of 13, by Errius

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Yes grep. I still use Borland's Turbo Grep 5.5 from 2000. It can't handle UTF though. There's probably a newer version with that functionality, but I haven't needed it.

akallio wrote on 2023-01-24, 22:03:

> Isn't that a *nix program? Not part of windows?
OP spoke of using Windows search but he also refers to a 3rd party program. As I said, it was included in the Borland programs, and there's also a group of programs called UnixUtils that provides much of the unix functionality that MS left out.

Can also install Cygwin, which gives Windows users access to sed, awk and all that goodness.

ETA: Turbo grep (I got hold of version 5.6 from 2010) doesn't work with Unicode. Cygwin grep works with UTF-8 but not UTF-16. findstr works with neither. You have to use the venerable FIND command to search UTF-16 files in Windows.

Last edited by Errius on 2023-01-25, 22:34. Edited 2 times in total.

Is this too much voodoo?