Windows Manual
Boston area Windows Training, Tutoring and Consulting
copyright 1996, 2001 by Tracy Marks

LESSON THREE:
MANAGING FILES continued

C. Finding Files: Advanced Searching

What if you wish to locate files by date, by size, or by type? Using FIND,
you can conduct searches based on any of these criteria.

SEARCHING FOR FILES BY DATE
To search for a file according to the date by which you created or
last altered it, choose the DATE MODIFIED tab. The default here
is all files. But if you select all files created or modified, you can
choose:  files created or modified between two dates (such as
yesterday or today), OR files created during a previous period of
days or months :  the number which you specify.

Note that when conducting a search by date, many system files created
by your computer during its normal operation will be listed. Narrow
your search dates and other search criteria so you don't have to plough
through hundreds of file names. Then click find now.

SEARCHING FOR FILES BY TYPE
Rather than doing a basic search and typing in a file type, you can use the
advanced tab to search for all files on your computer of a specific type.
Not only will you find standard file types listed here, but also such "types"
of files as FAQs and virus-infected files!

Simply click the arrow by OF TYPE to select the type of file that you are
seeking. (If you wish to set limits on file name, tab back to your first find
screen and type in letters included in the file name). Then click find now.

SEARCHING FOR FILES BY SIZE
If you are copying files to a floppy disk or attempting to determine the
largest files taking up space on your computer, you might want to
search for files by size.

To do so, use size choices in the ADVANCED tab. Choose at least or at
most in the first box, and type in the minimum or maximum size of the
files in the second box.

SEARCHING FOR FILES CONTAINING TEXT
This marvelous feature can lead to a long search if you don't narrow your
search criteria by using name, location and date modified dialog boxes.
To search for text in a file, use the ADVANCED tab, and type in the word
or string of words that you are searching for. Then choose find now.

If you type upper and lowercase letters in the Containing Text box on
the ADVANCED tab, and you want the search to be case-sensitive, make
sure that Case Sensitive is checked in the Options menu.

PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. Search for all files on drive c created today  - after yesterday
    and before tomorrow.
2. Search for all icon files on your computer.
3. Search for all .txt. files in your programs directory which were
    created or modified since may 1995.
4. Search for all files on drive c over 1.44 MB in size.
5. Search for all text files in your Windows directory containing
     the words technical support.

NEXT:  New Files, Send to, QuikView       continue

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