Vista - How to search for a phrase in a file

In windows XP's search options you could use the option to find a phrase
within a set of files.
I want to search all .bat files for the phrase "Z:"
How do I do this in vista?

"David" <no@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OssHiQKrJHA.1300@xxxxxxI have not played with it in Vista yet, it appears to me to look a
little different, but with the same features. Try holding the windows key
and pressing the "F" key.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Maybe Z:*.bat

"David" <no@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OssHiQKrJHA.1300@xxxxxx

On Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:15:26 -0700, David wrote:
Vista search has a fair amount of power, but it seems to be poorly
documented. Is this an understatement? Even two (non-MS) books that I
bought are not helpful...

If indexing is on, Vista searches for contents as well as names. Here's
what I just did: in the search bar, I typed "ext:doc AND smith" (wihtout
the quotes) and I found a list of my doc files that have the word smith in
them.

So, if your bat files are indexed, you could type "ext:bat AND z:". This
should work, unless Vista gets all huffy about z: being a drive name (and
of course the colon is a delimiter in this situation).

....Well, I just tested it. Vista seems not to understand the colon.

Next alternative: download the free search program 'Agent Ransack' and use
it. People here love it. I don't *love* it, but it has helped me a few
times. And it does the job you asked for (I just tested it to make sure).

--
Gene E. Bloch letters0x40blochg0x2Ecom

try this app, I LOVE it. Not as good as XP but close.
I would love to use the search enging from XP but don't how on vista
http://locate32.net/component/option...page/Itemid,1/

Pathetic, isn't it?
2009 and we're back to a DOS interface



"Gene E. Bloch" <not-me@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1tvhx4qiuspzc.exdc1nwl65ks.dlg@xxxxxx

On Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:07:32 -0500, DaveD wrote:
Huh?

--
Gene E. Bloch letters0x40blochg0x2Ecom

"Gene E. Bloch" <not-me@xxxxxx> wrote in
news:1tvhx4qiuspzc.exdc1nwl65ks.dlg@xxxxxx:
I just typed "*.txt AND 452B" in the start search and it found a
text file with 452B in it.

Should work with a .bat file if indexing is on.

On Mar 24, 1:15*pm, "David" <n...@xxxxxx> wrote:When Vista files are NOT indexed, use the following in biterscripting
(http://www.biterscripting.com/install.html for free download) .

script SS_FindStr.txt files("*.bat") dir("C:/Program Files") str("Z:")

Will list all .bat files showing line numbers and line text containing
the string "Z:" .

To search by REGULAR EXPRESION instead of string, use the following.

script SS_FindRE.txt files("*.bat") dir("C:/Program Files") str
(<reg_expr>)

Avoid searching directly into C:/ - it will be slow - operating system
"holds" some of the files.

These scripts work in all Windows versions, and irrespective of
whether files are indexed or not.

Take care.

Richard

On Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:24:25 -0700, Dave Cox wrote:
Weird. I had been unable to succeed with "*.txt" or whatever before (in
Windows Explorer in Vista), so I was happy when I stumbled onto the syntax
"ext:txt".

Then I get a reply from you that makes a liar (OK, a confused person!) out
of me - so I tested "*.txt" and it worked. What's going on here? :-)

I guess I might have found a setting to enable regular expressions (or at
least wild cards), changed it, and then forgot - or somehow changed it
unconsciously. Or there's no such setting, and I just managed to screw up
before. One of life's little mysteries...

--
Gene E. Bloch letters0x40blochg0x2Ecom