Posted on 12/13/2024 10:24:58 PM PST by Paul R.
Is there a good way in Windows 10 or 11 to search multiple files for specified text? For example, let's say I've saved multiple ODT or DOC files into a specific folder and then want to go back and find any instances of the text string "Tahoe SSV" residing within those files. Alternately, the string might be a part number such as "283-75589A".
Basically, this is similar to a standard Web search, but for offline content on one's own SSD or whatever drive. I CAN do a Windows file search, specifying "file contents" but while it works for pdf files, it doesn't seem to work for ODT or DOC files, even if the DOC files are saved from MS Word. It also only indicates what file contains the text string -- if said text string is buried in a long document, the location(s) in the document is not found.
Thanks in advance!
Yes, I realize this is a sort of “weird” question. ;-)
The grep utility has been around for 50+ years. Get a better OS.
I use Agent Ransack by MythicSoft, a free download that lets you search for content words/phrases, file type, date range, title, etc.:
https://download.cnet.com/agent-ransack/3000-2072_4-10043846.html
https://astrogrep.sourceforge.net/
The author Diana Gabaldon [Outlander series] uses it.
That’s what I was doing. However, I’m not seeing the search dig down to location in the file itself. It also doesn’t seem to work at all for ODT or DOC files. (Ie., those files are not found.)
The above is in Win 10 Pro. I’ve not tried it in Win 11.
This used to be free and it worked great.
Doesn’t look like it’s free anymore.
Forget copernic. Agent Ransack referenced above is the way to go. I forgot all about it.
Yeah, “30 day trial”.
Thanks - I’ll take a look tomorrow! (I’m gettin’ sleepy & still have other work to do.)
Thanks - I’ll take a look tomorrow! (I’m gettin’ sleepy & still have other work to do...)
It’s a RAM hog, but it’s good.
Thanks!
If you were an astronaut you wouldn’t have this problem. That is because you would be using Linux, since Windows won’t open on a space station. :)
Bfl
Google the string "powershell grep".
I had an old program I used to search and replace text or strings of text in multiple files and it was highly useful for me back in my coding days. To date the program, yes it could search inside Lotus123 Docs. 🤣
It was freeware. Problem is this was 20+ years ago but the program was called Inforapid Search & Replace. It’s not been updated but maybe someone can give a clue to something more modern that does similar tasks.
https://www.inforapid.de/html/searchreplace.htm
Pardon me for chiming in. I know this is a tangential answer to your question and will not help you, but every Mac Finder window has a “Search” box in the upper right corner. No add-ons needed — it’s built right into MacOS.
You can search for 150 different attributes including content of files. The files are automatically indexed with “Spotlight” and searches are almost instantaneous. You can restrict searches to specific folders or subfolders or top-level to search your entire drive.
I use this feature frequently in financial planning and review. I store all our bank and credit card statements by year in a “Personal Finance” folder. I can search all of our records for a merchant, a date, an amount, etc to locate the statement. If I need to find a purchase for $982.36, I search for that and get the info instantly.
It’s an amazing feature of Mac.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.