Probe File Search
- Often we want to find a set of files matching some criterion. Maybe
we want the filename to match a certain wildcard, or we may search for a file containing a
certain string, that was modified, say, less than one month ago.
- The Search facility of Probe functions in all storage types browsable
by Probe :
- Local Disk Storage
- Networked Disk Storage
- Compressed Archive Storage (Zip, Arj, Cab, Jar, Tar, Gz,...)
- Remote Storage (FTP)
Probe provides a consistent user-interface for searching any of
these storage types.
- A search criterion in Probe is very similar to a file selection
criterion discussed previously. The search criterion consists of one or more of:
- A file name criterion
- A date criterion
- A size criterion
- A file attribute criterion
- A file contents criterion
Figure 1 : A tabbed dialog is used for defining a search
criterion.

- The search criterion adds a file-contents criterion, similar to the
'grep'-utility available under UNIX. In addition to matching filename wildcards etc, the
contents of the files searched for, can be made to match one of:
- A given plain string (such as manufacturer)
- A wildcard (such as audio*compression)
- A hexadecimal sequence (such as 0xA3C0)
Figure 2 : The File Contents sheet.

- The actual search process takes place in an independent thread, so
that Probe can be used while the search is in progress.
- The search results can be browsed immediately: Popup-menu items may
be applied, or the files may be double-clicked for immediate opening. Optionally, the
search results may be selected in Probe to be made part of a file-operation.
Figure 3 : The Search sheet controls the search process.
