                              6
INTRODUCTION
Fast File Find for Windows is a file locating utility for
Windows. Some of its features include :
  Full background processing so you can work on any other
  application while FFW does the file search in the
  background.
  Multiple search specifications allowed.
  Ability to execute multiple commands on selected files it
  finds in a DOS window
  Cut and Copy of found files to clipboard
  Optional display of file size and file date and time.
  Easy to use 3D interface.

COPYRIGHT
Fast File Find For Windows (C) D. Munro 1992,93

DISCLAIMER
This program comes with NO WARRANTY written or implied.  Use
  this program at your own risk.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Inc.

REQUIREMENTS
 80286 or better
 Windows 3.1 or better

LICENSING
This program has been released for distribution as freeware.
  You may copy it but not sell it or make money out of it
  in any other way.

SUGGESTIONS AND BUG REPORTS
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, or if
  you have stumbled across any bugs in FFW, I can be
  contacted at :
  Internet  :    CCAHDM@BELUGA.UPE.AC.ZA
  Port Elizabeth Technikon BBS  (041) 534278   (2400,N,8,1
  Full Duplex)
  P.O. Box 12854
  Centrahill
  PORT ELIZABETH
  6001
  South Africa


FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS
Possible future enhancements include :
  Making FFW a Drag-and-Drop server. At present (Windows
  3.1) Windows only supports Drag-and-Drop clients for user
  applications, the file manager is the only application
  which can run as a drag-and-drop server.  Microsoft claim
  that the drag-and-drop concept will be generalised in
  future releases so any application can become a drag-and-
  drop server.  When this feature becomes available FFW
  will be converted to a drag-and-drop server; which should
  add to its utility.
  Adding a archive search feature to allow searching the
  contents of ARJ and ZIP files.
  Adding a DDE feature to allow FFW to act as a DDE server
  with client applications receiving file names from FFW. A
  possible use for this would be to simulate UNIX style
  piping.
LIMITATIONS
FFW cannot find more than 8160 files. This is due to the
  fact that in 16 bit Windows List boxes contents is
  restricted to 64K.  If FFW used list boxes normally (used
  LBS_HASSTRINGS style) then it would have supported much
  less even than the 8160 mentioned above. To get around
  this the file found list box is implemented as a owner
  draw list box with the list box only containing pointers
  to the actual strings displayed allowing 8160 entries
  (each entry takes 4 bytes for the far pointer, 4 bytes
  overhead and the list box  itself takes another 255
  bytes).

CONTENTS
Introduction                         Page 1
  Description
  Copyright
  Disclaimer
  Requirements
  Licensing
  Suggestions and Bug Reports
  Future Enhancements
  Limitations

Entering Search Specifications                 Page 4

Selecting Drive to Search                      Page 4

Starting the Search                       Page 4

File Selection/Deselection and the Edit Menu Options
  Page 4/5

Option Menu Options                       Page 5

Executing commands on found files                   Page 6


ENTERING THE FILE SPECIFICATION(S)
The first step in doing a file search is to enter one or
  more search specifications in the file specification
  field.  The search specification may be a file name or a
  MS-DOS wild card file specification. You may enter more
  than one search specification if you wish to find more
  than one file or kind of file in one search. Press ENTER
  after every specification and press TAB or use the mouse
  when finished entering file specifications to move to the
  drives selection list.
File Specification Examples
Entering
RUN.BAT
in the file specification field will find all files named
  RUN.BAT on the specified drives.

Entering :
RUN*.BAT
in the file specification field will find all files of the
  form RUN?????.BAT eg RUN.BAT, RUNME.BAT, RUNOLD.BAT etc.

Entering
*.C
*.H
*.RC
will find all files with extensions .C, .H and .RC

DRIVE SELECTION
After entering the search specifications the next step is to
  select which drives to search using the drives selection
  list box on the upper right of the FFW window.  Press TAB
  in the file specification field or use the mouse to get
  to the drives selection list box.  This is a multiple
  selection list box so you may select as many drives as
  you wish.  To select with the keyboard use the arrow keys
  to move up and down and the space bar to select. With the
  mouse use the vertical scroll bar to scroll and the mouse
  left button for selection.

STARTING THE SEARCH
After entering the file specifications and drive selections
  you may start the search by pressing the OK button with
  the green robot on it.  To press this button move the
  mouse cursor over the button and press the left button or
  simply press the ENTER key (this is a default button).
The file search will now begin.  The OK button will change
  to a cancel button (a stop sign bitmap will replace the
  green robot).  To stop the search at any time press this
  button.  You may now continue with other Windows
  applications while FFW does the search.
FFW will place the name of the file and its path and
  optionally its size and last access date (see option menu
  options) in the files found list box which occupies the
  bottom section of the FFW window.

SELECTION AND DESELECTION
Files in the files found result list box may be selected by
  the user. When a file is selected it is displayed in
  inverse video.  Certain operations can only be performed
  on selected files. To select a file with the mouse scroll
  the files found list box up or down using the vertical
  scroll bar, move the cursor over the file to select and
  press the left mouse button. Multiple files may be
  selected. To de-select a file follow the same procedure.
  When using the keyboard first press TAB until the files
  found list box has the input focus (this is denoted by a
  dotted rectangle around one of the display lines) then
  use the cursor up and down keys to scroll up and down and
  the space bar to select or de-select.

EDIT MENU OPTIONS
The Edit menu options all act on the files found results
  list box which forms the bottom half of the FFW windows.
  The options are :
SELECT ALL
This option  selects all files in the files found list box
  When a file is selected it is displayed in reverse video.
UNSELECT ALL
This option de-selects all files in the files found windows
TOGGLE SELECTIONS
This option inverts the current selection status of all
  files in the files found list box. If a file was selected
  it is de-selected and vice versa.
CUT TO CLIPBOARD
The Cut to clipboard option will delete all selected files
  from the files found list box and place these files in
  text format in the Windows Clipboard. Another program
  such as a Word Processor or Spreadsheet may then read
  these files from the clipboard (normally using their EDIT
  menu paste option).
COPY TO CLIPBOARD
The copy to clipboard is the same as the cut option except
  that it does NOT delete selected files from the files
  found list box.

OPTIONS MENU
The option menu has various options affecting the display of
  files found.  When any of these options are selected a
  check mark will appear next to it on the menu.
The options are :
DISPLAY FILE SIZE
When this option is selected the size of the file in bytes
  will be displayed next to the filename in the files found
  list box.
DISPLAY FILE DATE AND TIME
When this option is selected the date and time of the last
  change to the file will be shown in the format specified
  by you in the Windows Control Panel International
  options.
ALWAYS ON TOP
When this option is selected the FFW window will always
  appear on top of other windows .

EXECUTE COMMANDS FEATURE
FFW provides a feature whereby you may execute multiple
  commands on files found by the file search. The steps to
  follow to execute commands on files found are :
  First search for the files by entering a file
  specification and selecting the drives to search as
  described previously.
  Select the files on which to execute commands or use the
  EDIT menu option Select All if you wish the commands to
  operate on all the files found.
  Enter the commands you wish executed in the optional
  commands edit control terminating each command  by
  pressing ENTER.  To specify the names of files in the
  commands use one of the substitution characters listed
  below.
  Press the Execute button (with the picture of the gallows
  on it). To press this button move the mouse cursor over
  the button and press the left button or using the TAB key
  to cycle through the controls until the EXECUTE button
  has the input focus (this is denoted by a dotted
  rectangle around the inside of the button), then press
  SPACE.

EMBEDDED SUBSTITUTION CHARACTERS IN COMMANDS
Normally when performing a DOS command on a filename you
  would specify the actual filename to the DOS command line
  eg DEL FOO.BAK.  In  this case however there will be
  multiple file names which we want to automate the
  processing of DOS commands on.  To do this FFW allows you
  to specify a substitution character preceded by a &.
  These are :
&p = Substitute full path name eg C:\FOO\BAR\FOO.BAK
&f  = Substitute file name only eg FOO.BAK
&d = Substitute directory name only eg C:\FOO\BAR
&l = Substitute drive letter (and colon) only eg C:
So now if your command is DEL &P then for each selected file
  its full name will be substituted instead of the &p when
  the command is executed.

EXAMPLES
Example 1 :
To delete all .BAK files on drives C, D and E.
Specify *.BAK in the file specification and select drives
  C,D and E to search on using the drive selection list
  box, then press ENTER to find all .BAK files on the
  specified drives.
Select all the files using the Select All option on the EDIT
  menu.
Now enter
del &p
in the optional commands edit control and press the EXECUTE
  button.
Alternatively you could enter
&L
CD &D
DEL &F
this when substituted for example for C:\FOO\BAR\FOO.BAK
  would lead to the following sequence of commands :
C:
CD C:\FOO\BAR
DEL FOO.BAK

Example 2
To compile selected programs which have a make file called
  MAKEFILE. on drive C.
Specify MAKEFILE. in the file specification and select drive
  C to search on using the drive selection list box, then
  press ENTER to find all the MAKEFILE.'s on the specified
  drive.
Select the files you wish to compile.
Enter the following  in the commands edit control :
&L
CD &D
NMAKE /a /f  &F
