find file containing text inside the file

Please tell me how can I find a file, such as a text file, that contains a
specific string within the file. For example I create (AutoCAD) Autolisp
programs with an extention of *.lsp which is just a basic text file that
contains my code. In XP (I got rid of the dog and set it up to the advanced
appearance) I just clicked on the search button and entered *.lsp (in the
first box that says "All or part of the file name:") and in the box below
that says "A word or phrase in the file:" I could enter a particular word
that I was sure was in one of my files such as: slope or distance or drain.
In XP this worked very well and I still do it dozens a time a day. Now as I
transition to Vista I need to have this ability, it's a must have. Please let
me know how i can do this. Thanks
Richard

Richard,

The reason that you can't currently do full text searches is becuase the
index is conservative about what file types it crawls to improve your
computer's performance. What you need to do is to add the .lsp file
extension to the index so it looks for these files.

To do that, open Indexing Options in the Control Panel and click Advanced,
then click the File Types tab. Add the .lsp file type and be sure to click
the option to "index properties and file contents."

After the index has had a chance to update, you can type a word or phrase in
the search box to find the file with that text in the contents.

Depending upon where you store these files, you might also need to add the
location to the index. If you keep these files somewhere in your user folder
(Documents, Pictures, Music, etc) you're fine. Otherwise, in the Indexing
Options, click Modify and add the folder to the list of Indexed Locations.

Hope this helps.

--
Dave Johnson
Windows User Assistance team
Microsoft Corporation

Dave
Thanks for the reply. I already had the lsp extension indexed but have
redone the indexing and letting it build index right now. But I am still not
clear on what to type in the search pane to find a .lsp file that contains a
word in the file. Do I need to follow some sort of format or syntax for the
search?
please tell me exactly what I need to type to find the following:

a .lsp file that contains the word "defun" (no quotes in the file...just
shown here for clarity) in the files contents.

By the way I can't really believe that this type of search option (the
ability to search for a word or phrase in the file) has been removed from
vista interface. Is there some reason for this?
Thanks
Richard

"Dave Johnson [MSFT]" wrote:

> Richard,
>
> The reason that you can't currently do full text searches is becuase the
> index is conservative about what file types it crawls to improve your
> computer's performance. What you need to do is to add the .lsp file
> extension to the index so it looks for these files.
>
> To do that, open Indexing Options in the Control Panel and click Advanced,
> then click the File Types tab. Add the .lsp file type and be sure to click
> the option to "index properties and file contents."
>
> After the index has had a chance to update, you can type a word or phrase in
> the search box to find the file with that text in the contents.
>
> Depending upon where you store these files, you might also need to add the
> location to the index. If you keep these files somewhere in your user folder
> (Documents, Pictures, Music, etc) you're fine. Otherwise, in the Indexing
> Options, click Modify and add the folder to the list of Indexed Locations.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> --
> Dave Johnson
> Windows User Assistance team
> Microsoft Corporation
>

Richard, to find all the files with the string "defun" in the body of the
document, just type "defun" in the search box. That's really all you need to
do.

The ability to do a full text search hasn't been removed from Windows, it's
been made easier to do so you don't have to dig deep in advanced search
options to turn it on. Believe it or not, many casual users didn't even know
it was possible to do a full text search in Windows XP. Now you just type a
word or phrase and search finds it automatically, without the need to find
additional settings.

If you definitely want to only include a specific file type, then you could
type this in the search box instead:

defun type:lsp

That filters the results to only show files with the indicated file type.

You can learn more about how search works by reading this help topic:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...02ec61033.mspx

--
Dave Johnson
Windows User Assistance team
Microsoft Corporation

You just type into the search box. By default file contents, filenames,
e-mail bodies etc. are all searched automatically.

So you could type: defun *.lsp

Or something like: defun ext:lsp


"rgrainer" <rgrainer@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A0BF20A8-FC84-49B7-82C8-4AE6A5C255C6@microsoft.com...
> Dave
> Thanks for the reply. I already had the lsp extension indexed but have
> redone the indexing and letting it build index right now. But I am still
> not
> clear on what to type in the search pane to find a .lsp file that contains
> a
> word in the file. Do I need to follow some sort of format or syntax for
> the
> search?
> please tell me exactly what I need to type to find the following:
>
> a .lsp file that contains the word "defun" (no quotes in the file...just
> shown here for clarity) in the files contents.
>
> By the way I can't really believe that this type of search option (the
> ability to search for a word or phrase in the file) has been removed from
> vista interface. Is there some reason for this?
> Thanks
> Richard
>
> "Dave Johnson [MSFT]" wrote:
>
>> Richard,
>>
>> The reason that you can't currently do full text searches is becuase the
>> index is conservative about what file types it crawls to improve your
>> computer's performance. What you need to do is to add the .lsp file
>> extension to the index so it looks for these files.
>>
>> To do that, open Indexing Options in the Control Panel and click
>> Advanced,
>> then click the File Types tab. Add the .lsp file type and be sure to
>> click
>> the option to "index properties and file contents."
>>
>> After the index has had a chance to update, you can type a word or phrase
>> in
>> the search box to find the file with that text in the contents.
>>
>> Depending upon where you store these files, you might also need to add
>> the
>> location to the index. If you keep these files somewhere in your user
>> folder
>> (Documents, Pictures, Music, etc) you're fine. Otherwise, in the Indexing
>> Options, click Modify and add the folder to the list of Indexed
>> Locations.
>>
>> Hope this helps.
>>
>> --
>> Dave Johnson
>> Windows User Assistance team
>> Microsoft Corporation
>>

Dave
Thanks for the reply. It finally makes sense and I can now find what I'm
looking for because of your reply as well as Dave Woods comments (in the next
reply)

this makes it clear
>defun type:lsp


This is from the help file you referenced (which i had read previous to
posting my question)

>A more specific indication of the file's content. The last three letters of the file name, called the file >name extension, identify the file type. Common types include DOC (Microsoft Word document), XLS
>(Microsoft Excel spreadsheet), JPG (JPEG image), and MP3 (a standard digital audio format).

However in no part of the help file does it mention the use of the word
"ext" to deliniate extention as shown in the next reply to my post by Dave
Wood where he spells it out as shown below:

>So you could type: defun *.lsp

>Or something like: defun ext:lsp
The above makes it really clear.

and you write in your reply:
>If you definitely want to only include a specific file type, then you could
>type this in the search box instead:

>defun type:lsp

again this does not appear in the referenced help article. There is mention
of file types but if you made clear examples of uses of the word "type" as
well as "ext" and how to use it when searching more obvious in your (MS) help
article I think it would help more people to understand how to search with
greater effectiveness. In other words I searched the web and help files for
this information and finally had to resort to this forum in order to find
this critical information. Please consider updating the help to illustrate
this feature.
Thanks again to both of you for providing me with help
Richard


"Dave Johnson [MSFT]" wrote:

> Richard, to find all the files with the string "defun" in the body of the
> document, just type "defun" in the search box. That's really all you need to
> do.
>
> The ability to do a full text search hasn't been removed from Windows, it's
> been made easier to do so you don't have to dig deep in advanced search
> options to turn it on. Believe it or not, many casual users didn't even know
> it was possible to do a full text search in Windows XP. Now you just type a
> word or phrase and search finds it automatically, without the need to find
> additional settings.
>
> If you definitely want to only include a specific file type, then you could
> type this in the search box instead:
>
> defun type:lsp
>
> That filters the results to only show files with the indicated file type.
>
> You can learn more about how search works by reading this help topic:
>
> http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...02ec61033.mspx
>
> --
> Dave Johnson
> Windows User Assistance team
> Microsoft Corporation
>

Dave I replied with my comments to both of you in the post from Dave Johnsons
reply to me.
Thanks for spelling it out and please consider my reply to Dave Johnson
about updating your help files to clarify the use of the words "type" and
"ext"

thanks
Richard

"Dave Wood [MS]" wrote:

> You just type into the search box. By default file contents, filenames,
> e-mail bodies etc. are all searched automatically.
>
> So you could type: defun *.lsp
>
> Or something like: defun ext:lsp
>
>
> "rgrainer" <rgrainer@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:A0BF20A8-FC84-49B7-82C8-4AE6A5C255C6@microsoft.com...
> > Dave
> > Thanks for the reply. I already had the lsp extension indexed but have
> > redone the indexing and letting it build index right now. But I am still
> > not
> > clear on what to type in the search pane to find a .lsp file that contains
> > a
> > word in the file. Do I need to follow some sort of format or syntax for
> > the
> > search?
> > please tell me exactly what I need to type to find the following:
> >
> > a .lsp file that contains the word "defun" (no quotes in the file...just
> > shown here for clarity) in the files contents.
> >
> > By the way I can't really believe that this type of search option (the
> > ability to search for a word or phrase in the file) has been removed from
> > vista interface. Is there some reason for this?
> > Thanks
> > Richard
> >
> > "Dave Johnson [MSFT]" wrote:
> >
> >> Richard,
> >>
> >> The reason that you can't currently do full text searches is becuase the
> >> index is conservative about what file types it crawls to improve your
> >> computer's performance. What you need to do is to add the .lsp file
> >> extension to the index so it looks for these files.
> >>
> >> To do that, open Indexing Options in the Control Panel and click
> >> Advanced,
> >> then click the File Types tab. Add the .lsp file type and be sure to
> >> click
> >> the option to "index properties and file contents."
> >>
> >> After the index has had a chance to update, you can type a word or phrase
> >> in
> >> the search box to find the file with that text in the contents.
> >>
> >> Depending upon where you store these files, you might also need to add
> >> the
> >> location to the index. If you keep these files somewhere in your user
> >> folder
> >> (Documents, Pictures, Music, etc) you're fine. Otherwise, in the Indexing
> >> Options, click Modify and add the folder to the list of Indexed
> >> Locations.
> >>
> >> Hope this helps.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Dave Johnson
> >> Windows User Assistance team
> >> Microsoft Corporation
> >>
>
>

Well that doc isn't meant to be absolutely exhaustive {hence the title}. It
does mention you can use *.<ext> which would get similar results.

There's a more complete syntax guide here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/des...advanced3.mspx

You are right we should try and make the complete syntax more easily
accessible.


"rgrainer" <rgrainer@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:55B02473-D59E-4F4C-B86C-41BBD207D990@microsoft.com...
> Dave
> Thanks for the reply. It finally makes sense and I can now find what I'm
> looking for because of your reply as well as Dave Woods comments (in the
> next
> reply)
>
> this makes it clear
>>defun type:lsp
>
>
> This is from the help file you referenced (which i had read previous to
> posting my question)
>
>>A more specific indication of the file's content. The last three letters
>>of the file name, called the file >name extension, identify the file type.
>>Common types include DOC (Microsoft Word document), XLS
>>(Microsoft Excel spreadsheet), JPG (JPEG image), and MP3 (a standard
>>digital audio format).
>
> However in no part of the help file does it mention the use of the word
> "ext" to deliniate extention as shown in the next reply to my post by Dave
> Wood where he spells it out as shown below:
>
>>So you could type: defun *.lsp
>
>>Or something like: defun ext:lsp
> The above makes it really clear.
>
> and you write in your reply:
>>If you definitely want to only include a specific file type, then you
>>could
>>type this in the search box instead:
>
>>defun type:lsp
>
> again this does not appear in the referenced help article. There is
> mention
> of file types but if you made clear examples of uses of the word "type" as
> well as "ext" and how to use it when searching more obvious in your (MS)
> help
> article I think it would help more people to understand how to search with
> greater effectiveness. In other words I searched the web and help files
> for
> this information and finally had to resort to this forum in order to find
> this critical information. Please consider updating the help to illustrate
> this feature.
> Thanks again to both of you for providing me with help
> Richard
>
>
> "Dave Johnson [MSFT]" wrote:
>
>> Richard, to find all the files with the string "defun" in the body of the
>> document, just type "defun" in the search box. That's really all you need
>> to
>> do.
>>
>> The ability to do a full text search hasn't been removed from Windows,
>> it's
>> been made easier to do so you don't have to dig deep in advanced search
>> options to turn it on. Believe it or not, many casual users didn't even
>> know
>> it was possible to do a full text search in Windows XP. Now you just type
>> a
>> word or phrase and search finds it automatically, without the need to
>> find
>> additional settings.
>>
>> If you definitely want to only include a specific file type, then you
>> could
>> type this in the search box instead:
>>
>> defun type:lsp
>>
>> That filters the results to only show files with the indicated file type.
>>
>> You can learn more about how search works by reading this help topic:
>>
>> http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...02ec61033.mspx
>>
>> --
>> Dave Johnson
>> Windows User Assistance team
>> Microsoft Corporation
>>

I have the same problem as Richard, the only difference is that the
files I'm looking for are on the network. wich doen't allow me to find
the files.

Vista search returns nothing, where Xp was returning all I needed. I'm
getting really frustrated as I go through different search programs
because vista is unable to help me there.

I select search, tick the "search non indexed files" type the string
I'm looking for and nothing..


Jonathan

PS: I've added the file extention in the list of files to search.


--
steedj
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