Bool Text Searcher Version 1.1 for Windows 3.1 c 1995 by Peter Neuendorffer This is Shareware, $30.00. This program may not be re-packaged for non-Shareware commercial sale without permission of Mr. Neuendorffer. 1. The Program 2. Text Conditions: what you are looking for 3. Directory Searching: groups of files 4. Mask 5. Editing Text, Glossary, Bookmarks The Program Credits: Micheal Moreau. "Previous instance" code by Pat Ritchey. While you do a search, only run this program. "Bool" uses memory. This program finds text. It searches for text in a single file, and also an entire directory, or hard drive. A special feature in Directory Searches is to search just DOC and TXT text files. To do that, turn the File Filter "text" checkbox on. An improvement to version one ensures that you can search the entire drive at once. Up to 1000 files can be listed for each search. This software looks in files to find the text you request. This text can be more than one thing at once, such as "computer and disk." Note when you make search requests, do not use quotation marks. The words AND, OR, NOT have special meanings. Searches are supported for Hard Drives only. To register Bool, send $30.00 to Peter Neuendorffer, 1399 Commonwealth Ave #11, Allston MA 02134. Tel: 617-254-2213 Internet: petern@channel1.com This software not disabled in any way, no further media will be sent. To install, copy all files to a sub-directory on your hard drive. Then open up a program group in Windows, select File/New. Then browse to BOOL.EXE in your new directory. Select his, then click on Change Icon, OK, then OK again. It is recommended that you not run other programs on your desktop when running this software as it will require most of your 1MEG RAM. You need an IBM compatible 386 or higher, 486 preferred, and Windows 3.1. with 8 megs of memory. This software uses the short file names, and not the new Windows 95 long file names. Mouse required. You may be familiar with the File Manager's ability to scan your disk for file names. This software will scan your disk or directories for text that appears in files. It works best with text files or WordPerfect files. A text file might be an email message, a manual, a story, letter, something created with Notepad, Megaedit, Bried, WordPerfect. You can search an entire Directory, including sub-directories of that directory by choosing Search/Directory Search. Simply put, you click on a directory, specify if you want the software to search subdirectories, enter in a text condition words and click on Search. A list of found files appears below (if any.) You can select one to view, and search. Click on "View Question" if you wish to preview each file before viewing. Bool p. 2 The program continued. The second way to search is by and individual file. Click on File/Open from the main screen and select a text file to view. You may then use Find First and Find Next to search the file. If you want to use the same text request you might have used in the Directory Section, you can click on the Button "use directory condition" after clicking on Find First Both selecting a file found in Directory Search, or opening a file from File/Open have the same effect of displaying the file, which you can then search for a text condition. When you view files, only 31-32 Kilobyte chunks of each file are loaded at a time. To continue on in the file, choose File/Block and specify the next number block. This block switching does not have to be done for the Searching of the files. When searching both ways, if you click on the "whole words" checkbox, the searches will look for whole words only. Thus, if whole words is checked, and you search for "book" it will find "book" but not "bookish" or "bookshelf." You should leave whole words off most of the time, because these searches are much slower. You can have Word Perfect (and some other data files) formatted automatically for searching and viewing in Bool. From "File" at the main menu, click on Format WP... this only has to be done once. Click again to turn it off. This will slow your searches somewhat, however. This software does not usually search \DOS or \WINDOWS, during directory searches. This speeds up your "entire disk" searches dramatically. To enable searching of DOS or WINDOWS, you must click on the "DOS/WINDOWS" checkbox in the Directory Window. When searching \WINDOWS\SYSTEM you may get a "Share" system error when it looks at the fonts. This is recoverable. Text Conditions When you enter in a search request, you are looking for words (or imbedded words) to be found in the text tiles. A simple example would be "hello" searching for the word "hello". You can string together more then one word or phrase in a single condition with the words AND, OR, NOT. You can also use parentheses to group your request logically. When words are in parentheses, they are meant to be taken together. Conditions don't have to be capitalized, as the software will find "Hello" and "hello" the same way. Here are some examples of some text conditions, and what they would search for. Bool p. 3 Text Condition What it searches for in the text file(s) --------------------- -------------------------- Hello all occurrences of word hello fun city all occurrences of phrase "fun city" together. hello or goodbye finds all occurrences of either hello or goodbye but not necessarily both computer and disk finds all occurrences of both computer and disk - both must be present. They must be in the same group of lines set by the Mask Size (see below), say within 5 lines of each other. But not necessarily together on the same line. tom and not bob finds tom, but not if the word bob in close bye. event and (Boston or Chicago) finds event if either Boston or Chicago is mentioned close by. show or shown or showed finds one of the three words. Directory Searching: One of the two ways to search for text is with the Search/Directory Search screen. Choose this screen from the main menu. It is the dark grey screen. You will search for files in an entire directory that contain your condition. Choose the directory by double clicking the large directory box at the top. ---> Directory searches that have "child directories" enabled will only search 3 directories deeper than the start directory. From Search / Search Directory, the dark gray screen. You choose a directory to search, then enter in a condition in the white text box. Click on Search to search for the condition. Any files containing the text will be listed at the bottom white box. The blue bar that appears shows the directory that is being searched. The green bar shows the file that is being searched. To cancel your search, click on Cancel Search. This is important to do before you leave the Window, as the software needs the cue to stop it's busy work. You only have to cancel when the Blue bar is displayed. Once you get your list, the condition is listed in black on gray, and the starting directory is listed in yellow just above the list box. This list stays up until you do another search that is successful, or you leave the program. Once you have the file list, you can view and search a single file by double clicking on the file name in the box at the bottom of the screen. Settings: For a plain search, you can leave all the checkboxes off and set to "entire file" and click on "Clear" (the default settings each time you start up). This will search all the files in the directory. Or hit "Panic Button" at the top of the screen to refresh original settings and clear out your current results. Bool p. 4 Directory Search Settings Search Child Directories? Make sure this is checked if you want to also search the directory structure that is in this directory. Look in Programs? LEAVE THIS OFF. You only need this if you are looking for program files. If off, it ignores all files with these extensions, guaranteeing much faster searches: EXE, COM, GIF, BMP, HLP, DLL, VBX, PIF, PAR, ZIP, BIN, SYS, OVL, OBJ, TPU, BAS, FOT, SCR, WAV, SYS, FON, 386, ICO, MOZ Ask Each Directory? If you want a box to pop up asking if you want to search the next directory. When you search, Yes means search it, No means skip the directory, Cancel means stop the search, and All means change back to searching all the subdirectories, nonstop. 20 lines, 100 lines: If you want to search only the top of each file. File filter: For example *.doc will just search files with that extension. To search just text files, set the "text" checkbox on. If you skip the condition, a search will list all files. Narrow Down You can narrow down your search list further by using "NARROW DOWN". Many of the settings can be changed, although it is a good idea to leave them the same here. You will be asked for a word or condition to further narrow down your list. When you use NARROW DOWN, you are searching in the entire file. This is how you can find one word that is at the top of the file, and also another word that is at the bottom. You search for the first word, get your list, then use Narrow down to search for the second word. Speed Tips: Basically, leave all settings alone. Searching files is not fast. The fruitless search takes the longest. If you use single words instead of conditions to search for, it is fastest. Next fastest is OR conditions (without using AND). 20 and 100 line searches are much faster, but only look in the top of each file. ALWAYS LEAVE "LOOK IN PROGRAMS" OFF (not checked.) Turn on "Ask each directory" then you can turn it off during the search. Mask Size This is the number of lines that the software groups at once when searching. The Mask Size is set from Search/Mask Size. For example, if the Mask Size is set to 5, then the software expects to find the various words in your condition within 5 lines of each other. The mask size can be set up to 30, but a value of 5 is recommended. In other words, if the mask size is 5 and you search for "computer and disk" the software expects to find the words "computer" and "disk" within 5 lines of each other to have a hit. Bool only uses the mask size only for search requests that have the words AND, NOT in them. Generally, leave the mask size at 5 or less. Your mask size is saved for the next session. Bool p. 5 Editing Text You can set one or even two editors (or a word processor) to use to edit the files you search and view. From "File" at the main menu, choose Set Editors. Then type in the full file name of the editor program(s). You can use the browse buttons to find the files. You only have to do this once, although you can change it again later. If you are not sure what files are in fact word editors, go to the Windows Program Manager, highlight an editor or word processor icon, and click Files/Properties. The file name will be listed. This software takes care of the "working directory" part. When you wish to edit a file -it must be displayed- click on Edit/Edit Text. when you are done editing, be sure to save and close the editor. This is the best way to edit the file, so that Bool will update the display when you go back to it. If you used the editor without using the Edit/Edit Text menu option, then be sure to click on File/Open/OK to update your display, when you go back to Bool. Glossary Search: look for words or combinations of words in a file or all the files in a directory Directory search: look for words in entire directories or drive Find first, find next: look for next occurrence in a single file Child directories: search the subdirectories in a directory Prompt each directory : in directory search, you will be asked in advance if you wish to search each child directory Whole words: if checked means the searches look for entire words. thus "book" would be found but not "bookish" File filter: is the file mask used in directory search. Block: the current chunk of a file that is displayed. Mask size: for AND, NOT searches only is the groups of lines taken together to look for your condition. 1-30. Condition: a text query can be constructed by combining search words with AND OR NOT and parentheses. Bookmark: a list of displayed files you keep yourself. Book Marks You can keep a list of up to 50 files names from File / Bookmark. When you have any file displayed, you can add that file name to the bookmarks. The current search condition (if it was found in this file) will be added to the listing as well. This list can be viewed and changed at any time from File/Book Mark. This is a list to add names of files you have searched and displayed. It stays up for your next session. It will not be aware if you move the file, but will just say "could not load file" if you try to view one that has moved on your drive. Single click a file already in the box and either Remove it from the list or View it. The file itself is NEVER deleted, only the name in this list. This is different from the Directory Window list. Empty the Book Mark box with Clear. When it fills to 50 items the earliest item drops off. The list is in reverse order, with the most recent items listed first.