Contents
HELP CONTENTS

Introduction

 Description

 Copyright

 Disclaimer

 Requirements

 Licensing

 Suggestions and Bug Reports

 Future Enhancements

 Limitations

Entering Search Specifications

Selecting the Drive(s) to Search

Starting the Search

File Selection/Deselection and the Edit Menu Options

Option Menu Options

Executing Commands on found Files


INTRODUCTION

Fast File Find for Windows is a file locating utility forWindows. Some of its features include :

*	 Full background processing so you can work on any other

*	 application while FFW does the file search in the  background.

*	 Multiple search specifications allowed.

*	 Ability to execute multiple commands on selected files.

*	 Cut and Copy of found files to clipboard

*	 Optional display of file size and file date and time.

*	 Easy to use 3D interface.

COPYRIGHT

Fast File Find For Windows  (C) D. Munro 1992,93

DISCLAIMER

This program comes with NO WARRANTY written or implied.  Use  this program at your own risk.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Inc.

REQUIREMENTS

 80286 or better

 Windows 3.1 or better

LICENSING

This program has been released for distribution as freeware.  You may copy it but not sell it or make money out of it  in any other way.

SUGGESTIONS AND BUG REPORTS

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, or if  you have stumbled across any bugs in FFW, I can be  contacted at :

  Internet  :     CCAHDM@BELUGA.UPE.AC.ZA

  Port Elizabeth Technikon BBS  (041) 534278   (2400,N,8,1  Full Duplex)

  P.O. Box 12854

  Centrahill

  PORT ELIZABETH

  6001

  South Africa

FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

Possible future enhancements include :

  Making FFW a Drag-and-Drop server. At present (Windows  3.1) Windows only supports Drag-and-Drop clients for user  applications, the file manager is the only application  which can run as a drag-and-drop server.  Microsoft claim  that the drag-and-drop concept will be generalised in  future releases so any application can become a drag-and-  drop server.  When this feature becomes available FFW  will be converted to a drag-and-drop server; which should  add to its utility.

  Adding a archive search feature to allow searching the  contents of ARJ and ZIP files.

  Adding a DDE feature to allow FFW to act as a DDE server  with client applications receiving file names from FFW. A  possible use for this would be to simulate UNIX style  piping.

LIMITATIONS

FFW cannot find more than 8160 files. This is due to the fact that in 16 bit Windows List boxes contents is restricted to 64K.  If FFW used list boxes normally (used LBS_HASSTRINGS style) then it would have supported much less even than the 8160 mentioned above. To get around this the file found list box is implemented as a owner draw list box with the list box only containing pointers to the actual strings displayed allowing 8160 entries (each entry  takes 4 bytes for the far pointer, 4 bytes overhead and the list box itself takes another 255 bytes).  (In case nobody noticed the buttons are owner drawn as well)


Entering File Specifications
ENTERING THE FILE SPECIFICATION(S)

The first step in doing a file search is to enter one or  more search specifications in the file specification  field.  The seach specification may be a file name or a  MS-DOS wild card file specification. You may enter more  than one search specification if you wish to find more  than one file or kind of file in one search. Press ENTER  after every specification and press TAB or use the mouse  when finished entering file specifications to move to the  drives selection list.

File Specification Examples

Entering

RUN.BAT

in the file specification field will find all files named  RUN.BAT on the specified drives.

Entering :

RUN*.BAT

in the file specification field will find all files of the  form RUN?????.BAT eg RUN.BAT, RUNME.BAT, RUNOLD.BAT etc.

Entering

*.C

*.H

*.RC

will find all files with extensions .C, .H and .RC


DRIVE SELECTION

After entering the search specifications  the next step is to select which drives to search using  the drives selection list box on the upper right of the  FFW window.  Press TAB in the file specification field or  use the mouse to get to the drives selection list box.  This is a multiple selection list box so you may select  as many drives as you wish.  To select with the keyboard  use the arrow keys to move up and down and the space bar  to select. With the mouse use the vertical scroll bar to  scroll and the mouse left button for selection.


STARTING THE SEARCH

After entering the file specifications and  drive selections you may start the  search by pressing the OK button with the green robot on  it.  To press this button move the mouse cursor over the  button and press the left button or  simply press the  ENTER key (this is a default button).

The file search will now begin.  The OK button will change  to a cancel button (a stop sign bitmap will replace the  green robot).  To stop the search at any time press this  button.  You may now continue with other Windows  applications while FFW does the search.

FFW will place the name of the file and its path and  optionally its size and last access date (see   option menu options) in the files found list  box which occupies the bottom section of the FFW window.


OPTIONS MENU

The option menu has various options affecting the display of  files found.  When any of these options are selected a  check mark will appear next to it on the menu.

The options are :

DISPLAY FILE SIZE

When this option is selected the size of the file in bytes  will be displayed next to the filename in the files found  list box.

DISPLAY FILE DATE AND TIME

When this option is selected the date and time of the last  change to the file will be shown in the format specified  by you in the Windows Control Panel International  options.

ALWAYS ON TOP

When this option is selected the FFW window will always  appear on top of other windows .


File Selection/Deselection and the Edit Menu
SELECTION AND DESELECTION

Files in the files found result list box may be selected by  the user. When a file is selected it is displayed in  inverse video.  Certain operations can only be performed  on selected files. To select a file with the mouse scroll  the files found list box up or down using the vertical  scroll bar, move the cursor over the file to select and  press the left mouse button. Multiple files may be  selected. To de-select a file follow the same procedure.  When using the keyboard first press TAB until the files  found list box has the input focus (this is denoted by a  dotted rectangle around one of the display lines) then  use the cursor up and down keys to scroll up and down and  the space bar to select or de-select.

EDIT MENU OPTIONS

The Edit menu options all act on the files found results  list box which forms the bottom half of the FFW windows.  The options are :

SELECT ALL

This option  selects all files in the files found list box  When a file is selected it is displayed in reverse video.

UNSELECT ALL

This option de-selects all files in the files found windows.

TOGGLE SELECTIONS

This option inverts the current selection status of all  files in the files found list box. If a file was selected  it is de-selected and vice versa.

CUT TO CLIPBOARD

The Cut to clipboard option will delete all selected files  from the files found list box and place these files in  text format in the Windows Clipboard. Another program  such as a Word Processor or Spreadsheet may then read  these files from the clipboard (normally using their Edit  menu Paste option).

COPY TO CLIPBOARD

The copy to clipboard is the same as the cut option except  that it does NOT delete selected files from the files  found list box.


Executing Commands on Found Files
EXECUTE COMMANDS FEATURE

FFW provides a feature whereby you may execute multiple  commands on files found by the file search. The steps to  follow to execute commands on files found are :

  First search for the files by entering a file  specification and selecting the  drives to search as described previously.

  Select the files on which to execute  commands or use the EDIT menu option  Select All if you wish the commands to operate on all the  files found.

  Enter the commands you wish executed in the optional  commands edit control terminating each command  by  pressing ENTER.  To specify the names of files in the  commands use one of the substitution characters listed  below.

  Press the Execute button (with the picture of the gallows  on it). To press this button move the mouse cursor over  the button and press the left button or using the TAB key  to cycle through the controls until the EXECUTE button  has the input focus (this is denoted by a dotted  rectangle around the inside of the button), then press  SPACE.

EMBEDDED SUBSTITUTION CHARACTERS IN COMMANDS

Normally when performing a DOS command on a filename you  would specify the actual filename to the DOS command line  eg DEL FOO.BAK.  In  this case however there will be  multiple file names which we want to automate the  processing of DOS commands on.  To do this FFW allows you  to specify a substitution character preceded by a &.

  These are :

&p = Substitute full path name eg C:\FOO\BAR\FOO.BAK

&f = Substitute file name only eg FOO.BAK

&d = Substitute directory name only eg C:\FOO\BAR

&l = Substitute drive letter (and colon) only eg C:

So now if your command is DEL &P then for each selected file  its full name will be substituted instead of the &p when  the command is executed.

EXAMPLES

Example 1 :

To delete all .BAK files on drives C, D and E.

Specify *.BAK in the file specification and select drives  C,D and E to search on using the drive selection list  box, then press ENTER to find all .BAK files on the  specified drives.

Select all the files using the Select All option on the EDIT  menu.

Now enter

del &p

in the optional commands edit control and press the EXECUTE  button.

Alternatively you could enter

&L

CD &D

DEL &F

this when substituted for example for C:\FOO\BAR\FOO.BAK   would lead to the following sequence of commands :

C:

CD C:\FOO\BAR

DEL FOO.BAK

Example 2

To compile selected programs which have a make file called  MAKEFILE. on drive C.

Specify MAKEFILE. in the file specification and select drive C  to search on using the drive selection list box, then  press ENTER to find all the MAKEFILE.'s on the specified  drive.

Select the files you wish to compile.

Enter the following  in the commands edit control :

&L

CD &D

NMAKE /a /f  &F