# Search for Files Manual

A search tool to find files, folders and documents on your computer.

2005
Dennis Cranston
2002
2003
2004
Sun Microsystems
2000
Alexander Kirillov
2007
David Lodge (dave@cirt.net)
GNOME Documentation Project

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation Licence (GFDL), Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. You can find a copy of the GFDL at this link or in the file COPYING-DOCS distributed with this manual.

This manual is part of a collection of GNOME manuals distributed under the GFDL. If you want to distribute this manual separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the licence to the manual, as described in section 6 of the licence.

Many of the names used by companies to distinguish their products and services are claimed as trademarks. Where those names appear in any GNOME documentation, and the members of the GNOME Documentation Project are made aware of those trademarks, then the names are in capital letters or initial capital letters.

DOCUMENT AND MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THE DOCUMENT ARE PROVIDED UNDER THE TERMS OF THE GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENCE WITH THE FURTHER UNDERSTANDING THAT:

1. DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES THAT THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT IS FREE OF DEFECTS MERCHANTABLE, FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGING. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY, ACCURACY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT IS WITH YOU. SHOULD ANY DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION PROVE DEFECTIVE IN ANY RESPECT, YOU (NOT THE INITIAL WRITER, AUTHOR OR ANY CONTRIBUTOR) ASSUME THE COST OF ANY NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS LICENCE. NO USE OF ANY DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT IS AUTHORISED HEREUNDER EXCEPT UNDER THIS DISCLAIMER; AND

2. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER IN TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, SHALL THE AUTHOR, INITIAL WRITER, ANY CONTRIBUTOR OR ANY DISTRIBUTOR OF THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT OR ANY SUPPLIER OF ANY OF SUCH PARTIES, BE LIABLE TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER DAMAGES OR LOSSES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO USE OF THE DOCUMENT AND MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THE DOCUMENT, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Dennis
Cranston
Search for Files Maintainer

    dennis_cranston@yahoo.com

Sun
GNOME Documentation Team
Sun Microsystems

Alexander
Kirillov
GNOME Documentation Project

     kirillov@math.sunysb.edu

Search for Files Manual V2.7
June 2005

Joachim Noreiko jnoreiko@yahoo.com

Search for Files Maintainer

Search for Files Manual V2.6
January 2005

Dennis Cranston dennis_cranston@yahoo.com

Search for Files Maintainer

Search for Files Manual V2.4
February 2004

Sun GNOME Documentation Team

GNOME Documentation Project

Search for Files Manual V2.3
September 2002

Sun GNOME Documentation Team

GNOME Documentation Project

Search for Filesl Manual V2.2
August 2002

Sun GNOME Documentation Team

GNOME Documentation Project

Search for Files Manual V2.1
July 2002

Sun GNOME Documentation Team

GNOME Documentation Project

Search for Files Manual V2.0
May 2002

Sun GNOME Documentation Team

GNOME Documentation Project

Search for Files Manual
2000

Alexander Kirillov kirillov@math.sunysb.edu

GNOME Documentation Project

This manual describes version 2.26 of Search for Files.

## Feedback

To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the Search for Files application or this manual, follow the directions in the GNOME Feedback Page.

## Introduction

The Search for Files application enables you to search for files on your system. To perform a basic search, you can type a filename or a partial filename, with or without wildcards. To refine your search, you can apply additional search options.

Search for Files uses the `find`, `grep`, and `locate` UNIX commands. By default, when performing a basic search Search for Files first uses the `locate` command, and then uses the slower but more thorough `find` command.

The case sensitivity of the search depends on your operating system. For example, on Linux, the `find`, `grep`, and `locate` commands support the `-i` option, so all searches are case-insensitive.

## Getting Started

You can start Search for Files in the following ways:

From a Menu Bar on a panel

  Choose Places Search for Files...

From a Main Menu on a panel

  Choose Search for Files...

From a command line

  Execute the following command: `gnome-search-tool`

When you start Search for Files, the following window is displayed.

### Search for Files Window

Shows Search for Files main window.

## Usage

### To Perform a Basic Search

To perform a basic search for a file on the system, perform the following steps:

1. Enter the search text in the Name contains field. The search text can be a filename or partial filename, with or without wildcards, as shown in the following table:

   Name Contains Text | Example | Result
   --- | --- | ---
   Full or partial filename | `myfile.txt` | Search for Files searches for all files that contain the text `myfile.txt` in the filename.
   Partial filename combined with wildcards (*, [, ]) | `*.[ch]` | Search for Files searches for all files that have extension `.c` or `.h`.

2. In the Look in folder field, select the folder or device from which you want Search for Files to begin the search.

3. Click Find to perform the search.

Search for Files searches in the directory that you specify and the subdirectories of the directory. Search for Files displays the results of the search in the Search results list box. If Search for Files does not find any files that match the search criteria, the application displays the message "No files found" in the Search results list box.

By default, Search for Files will perform a quick search using the `locate` command followed by a more thorough second search using the `find` command. The `locate` command is faster because it uses a database of information about files. If this database is more than a week old, Search for Files could warn you that the search results may be out of date and give you the option of disabling the quick search. To update the database, run the command `updatedb` as the root user.

### To Add Search Options

You can add additional options to search for a file on the system. To add search options, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the Select more options text.

2. Click on the Available options drop-down list.

3. Select the search option that you want to apply.

4. Click Add.

5. Specify the required search information for the search option, as described in .

6. Repeat the above steps for each search option that you want to apply.

To remove a search option from the current search, click on the Remove button next to the option.

To disable the search options from the current search, click on the Select more options text.

#### Search Options

Option Name | Description
--- | ---
Contains the text | Search for files of type plain text that contain the specified text.
Date modified less than | Search for files that have been modified less than the period specified in days.
Date modified more than | Search for files that have been modified longer than the period specified in days.
Size at least | Search for files that are equal to or larger than the size specified in kilobytes.
Size at most | Search for files that are smaller than or equal to the size specified in kilobytes.
File is empty | Search for empty files.
Owned by user | Search for files that are owned by the user specified. Type the name of the user in the text box provided.
Owned by group | Search for files that are owned by the group specified. Type the name of the group in the text box provided.
Owner is unrecognised | Search for files that are owned by a user or group that is unknown to the system.
Name does not contain | Search for filenames that do not contain the string that you enter. Enter a full filename or a partial filename with wildcards in the field provided. Use * to indicate a sequence of characters. Use ? to indicate a single character. The search is case sensitive.
Name matches regular expression | Search for files that contain the specified regular expression in their directory path or filename. Type the regular expression in the text box provided.
Show hidden and backup files | Include hidden and backup files in the search.
Follow symbolic links | Follow symbolic links when searching for files.
Exclude other filesystems | Search in directories that are in the same filesystem as the start directory.

### To Stop a Search

Click Stop to stop a search before Search for Files completes the search.

### To Open a Displayed File

To open a file displayed in the Search results list box, perform one of the following steps:

- Right-click on the file, then choose Open.

- Double-click on the file.

To open the folder that contains a file displayed in the Search results list box, right-click on the file, then choose Open Folder.

### To Delete a Displayed File

To delete a file displayed in the Search results list box, right-click on the file, then choose Move to Trash.

### To Save the Search Results

To save the results of the last search that Search for Files performed, right-click in the Search results list, then choose Save Results As. Enter the name of the file to which you want to save the results, then click Save.

## Settings

Search for Files provides gconf keys to modify some of its behavior. The gconf values can be changed by starting the Configuration Editor in the following ways:

Applications menu

  Choose System Tools Configuration Editor.

Command line

  Execute the following command: `gconf-editor`

### Disable Quick Search

Key name: /apps/gnome-search-tool/disable_quick_search

Default value: false

Search for Files speeds up file name searches by using the `locate` command. `Locate` provides a secure way to index and quickly search for file names. Because `locate` relies on a file index, the Search results list may not always be up to date.

### Disable Quick Search Second Scan

Key name: /apps/gnome-search-tool/disable_quick_search_second_scan

Default value: false

After completing a quick search, Search for Files will perform a thorough search using the `find` command. The purpose of this second scan is to find files that have not been indexed. Files that match the search criteria are added to the Search results list keeping the list up to date.

### Quick Search Excluded Paths

Key name: /apps/gnome-search-tool/quick_search_excluded_paths

Default values: [/mnt/*,/media/*,/dev/*,/tmp/*,/proc/*,/var/*]

Search for Files will not perform a quick search for paths defined by this key. File name searches in the defined paths will use the `find` command. The wildcards '*' and '?' are supported.

### Quick Search Second Scan Excluded Paths

Key name: /apps/gnome-search-tool/quick_search_second_scan_excluded_paths

Default values: [/]

Search for Files will not perform a second scan after a quick search for the paths defined by this key. Quick searches in the defined paths will not be followed by a thorough search using the `find` command. The wildcards '*' and '?' are supported.

### Show Additional Options

Key name: /apps/gnome-search-tool/show_additional_options

Default value: false

This key determines if the Select more options section is expanded when Search for Files is started.