gbDuplicateFileFinder is a freeware utility for finding files which contain a specified search string.

Searches may be limited to a single folder or may include subfolders. Multiple file specifications, wild card, and case-sensitivity are supported.

Line numbers containing the search string, as well as lines adjacent to matching lines, may optionally be displayed in the search result.

To install, simply unzip the installation file (gbduplicatefilefinder.zip) in a folder of your choice. In addition to the EXE, the installation includes gbDuplicateFileFinder source code, the resource file, and image files.

Download (v1.3, 135K)

Key Features

• List files containing search string
• Search subfolders
• Boolean searches (all words, any word)
• Regular Expression searches
• Whole Word searches
• Case-sensitive searches
• Show line numbers of lines containing search string)
• Show context lines (lines adjacent to lines containing search string)
• Merge matching files (into temp file)

Using gbDuplicateFileFinder

1. Select the search criteria (toolbar)
2. Enter a search string
3. Enter the file specification
4. Select a folder
5. Press Search

That's it! The Search returns a list of files which match the selected criteria. Matching lines numbers and context lines may optionally be displayed. You can also double-click on a matching file to open the file in the default client for that file type.

That's it!

Alternate Displays

Optionally, lines immediately before and after the matching lines can be dislayed to show the context in which the match was found:

Toolbar

Folder	Opens a dialog from which to select the base folder.
Search	Search for files which match the file specifications and search terms, as modified by other settings)
All	Search for files which match the specified file specifications. This option ignores the search term.
Subfolders	Includes subfolders in the search
Match Case	Case-sensitive search for search string
Settings	Toggles display between Files, Lines Numbers, Context settings. Includes a dropdown menu (discussed in the next section).
Online Help	Opens the gbDuplicateFileFinder online Help page

Settings

Files	Display contains only a list of files which contain the search tring
Line Numbers	Display contains list of files which contain the search string. Also show lines/lines numbers within the file which contain the search string.
Context	Display contains list of files which contain the search string. Also show lines/lines numbers within the file which contain the search string. Additional lines before and after the matching lines are shown.
Complete String	Search looks for the complete search string, not the individual words
All Words (AND)	Searches for files containing all of the individual words
Any Word (OR)	Searches for files containing at least one of the individual words
Regular Expressions	Searches for files containing a match to the search term, which is treated as a regular expression
Hidden	Search will find hidden files.
System	Search will find system files.
Whole Words	When searching for individual terms, terms must not be part of a larger word. Note: Whole words not supported at this time
Words On Line	When doing an AND search, terms must be found on one line (in any order)
Detect Unix Line Feed	Converts 0A bytes to 0D0A, if not already present as a pair
Trim Search Term	Removes leading/trailing spaces, plus strings of > 1 space from the search term
Color Lines	Line background alteranates every 3 lines (easier for the eye to follow)
AutoSearch On Startup	On startup, restores the last search session.
Implied Search
All Toolbar Buttons	Toggles display of additional toolbar buttons (places the Files, Line Numbers, and Context menu options on the toolbar).
Select Context Width	Open dialog for entering number of context lines to be shown on either side of matching lines (Context Mode only).

Accelertor Keys

• F1
  Online Help
• F3
  Search (includes search terms)
• Ctl-A
  Search (ignoring search terms)
• Ctl-F
  Search (includes search terms)
• Ctl-O
  Open folder selection dialog
• Ctl-T
  Toggle display of toolbar Display options
• Ctl-W
  Toggle display of toolbar Search options

Selecting a Starting Folder

• Manual Entry
  The user may simply type in the base folder.

• Toolbar Open Folder Button
  The toolbar Folder button displays a dialog from which the base folder (where the search starts) may be selected.

• Use As Parent
  From the ListView context menu. Places the path of the selected file in the base folder combobox.

• Select Base Folder From MRU List
  Whenever a search is made, the current base folder is added to a list of previous search folders, and is then available from the dropdown list associated with the folders combobox.

Searches

Boolean Search
Three types of searches are supported.

• Complete String
  Searches look for the complete search string
• All Words (AND)
  The criteria for a matching file is that all of the individual search terms must be found in the file
• Any Word (OR)
  The criteria for a matching file is that any one of the individual search terms must be found in the file
• Regular Expression
  Searches treat the search term as a regular expression

Words On Line
By default, when doing an AND search, a file must contain all of the individual search terms. With the this option, the file must contain at least one line which contains all of the search terms.

Hidden/System
By default, Hidden/System files are not included in the search. This option includes those files in the search.

Implied Search
This option encloses the file specification with a pair of asterisks, "*". Some users like to type in a file specification such as "dog" and want all files whose names contain the word "dog". A file specification of "*dog*.*" will work, but this options avoids the need to type in the extra characters.

Trim Search Terms
By default, spaces types into the search string are used in the search. This options removes starting/ending spaces from the search term.

File Spec

     *.bmp;*.jpg

ListView Context Menus

Each of the context menu items are discussed below.

ListView Context Menu

• Copy List
  Copies the list of files (full path) to the clipboard.

• Clear List
  Clear the results list.

• Open File Location
  Open a window to the path of the selected file

• Use As Parent
  Place path of selected file in the base folder combobox.

• Select Font
  Select font to use in the results ListView control.

• Create Merge File
  Places content of all files in a file named "mergfile.txt" and opens that file in the default client. This command supports text files only. It does not detect files with binary content.

Search String ComboBox

• Cut
  Copy selected text to clipboard, then delete the selected text
• Copy
  Copy selected text to clipboard
• Paste
  Insert clipboard text content at the cursor
• Clear Search Strings
  Empty the search term history list

Name Filter ComboBox

• Cut
  Copy selected text to clipboard, then delete the selected text
• Copy
  Copy selected text to clipboard
• Paste
  Insert clipboard text content at the cursor
• Clear File Specs
  Clear ListEmpty the name filter history list, then add the single entry "*"

Parent Folder ComboBox

• Cut
  Copy selected text to clipboard, then delete the selected text
• Copy
  Copy selected text to clipboard
• Paste
  Insert clipboard text content at the cursor
• Up One Level
  
• Clear Folder List
  Empty the base folder history list

Other Comments

INI File
gbDuplicateFileFinder saves all of it's options in an INI file, which is placed in the same folder as the EXE.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!