Advanced Searching
Advanced searching combines all the options of the
other, more specialized search routines and adds
templates.
While this routine can be convenient it is
usually easier to use one of the specialized Find
routines that are on the same menu.
Links to the simple but powerful specialized find
routines are on the right.
Open the Advanced Search dialog
-
 Select Find | Advanced
File Search... or (Alt+A,Z)
from the main menu to open the dialog where you can
specify exactly which files you want to find.
- If one or more folders are selected in the
contents (right-hand) window those folders will be
automatically entered into the Paths
field of the find dialog.
- If no folders are selected in the contents
window then the current folder will be entered into
the Paths field.
(Of course you can change the paths at any time.)
- FileBoss remembers what has been searched in the
past even when it has been closed and then started
again so you can always select a previous entry
using the drop down list.
Click image for full size view
Hint:
You can
limit your search (and thus speed it up
and make its results more meaningful) by
specifying one or more folders to search instead
of just a whole drive. You can also, in the
Patterns field, specify only certain files to
search file such as
*.doc ; *.jpg ; *.jpeg
; *.html ; *.htm.
- Click OK to search and create a Virtual Folder of all matching files
Advanced options for finding files
Saving & Using Templates
 Templates allow you to save the current
settings in the dialog as a named group that can be selected
and reused later. (FileBoss stores and remembers the
Templates even when the program is closed.)
To save the current settings
as a named template click the Template button.
To use a template
simply select it from the drop down list (click the down
arrow to the left of the field).
Searching for Text
Specifies text which must be in a file in
order for it to be included in the file set. Text searches
in FileBoss can be very simple or very sophisticated
depending on your needs.
Text Search
When checked text search is active.
Set
Opens a dialog where you can define what text
to search for and how the search should be conducted. The
options range from a simple search to sophisticated
expression searching.
Including Files by Attributes
 All
All files will be considered for inclusion
regardless of their attributes. When this button is selected
the attribute options below it will be grayed and will not
be used.
Match Any
All files will be considered for inclusion
regardless of their attributes. When this button is selected
the attribute options below it will be grayed and will not
be used.
Match All
All files will be considered for inclusion
regardless of their attributes. When this button is selected
the attribute options below it will be grayed and will not
be used.
Excluding Files by Attributes
 Select
any file attributes for files that you want FileBoss to exclude from the
search.
Normally the only useful attributes to check are the System and
Hidden attributes. But the others are included for the rare
times that they are needed.
Limiting Search by File Sizes
 When Limit by Size is checked FileBoss will only include
files that fall between the From and To sizes,
inclusive. Make both entries the same to only return files of a
specific size.
E.g. entering '0' for both fields will only return files of zero
length.
This field only affects files not folders which as far
as Windows is concerned always have a size of 0.
Unlimited Sizes
To specify an
unlimited size for files (i.e. up to any amount) enter -1 or 'Zillions'
into the 'To' field of the Sizes area. (Actually, to specify an
unlimited size you can enter Zillions or any other term as long as it is
not a number, e.g. 'I Love FileBoss')
Megabytes & Kilobytes
In addition, M, MB, Megs, KB and K (in any case) can follow a number
to signify megabytes or kilobytes as desired. But note that these
numbers will be translated into bytes when they are redisplayed.
Easy Reading
Commas can be used in
numbers if it makes you feel better.
Limit
Search
by File times
Click image for full size view
Limit Search by Name & Path Lengths
More about entering multiple paths and patterns
Both the paths and file patterns fields can accept
either simple entries, e.g.
C\Data\My Data and *.bmp or very
complex strings that specify not only what to include but also what to
exclude from a, most typically, search.
For instance both can specify multiple objects such as
C\Data\My Data ; D:\Backup\MyData
and
*.bmp ; *.gif ; *.png ; *.jpeg ; *.jpg
For a complete description of these fields either right-click the
mouse over the fields for context help from within FileBoss or see
Advanced Paths & Patterns.
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