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.