The H-Factor

Reducing Entropy

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Recently our previous blog service (Typepad) ended their business – so, we have a new home. It will take a bit to get images back and displaying properly, but we are working on it! Final pageview count of original Typepad blog: 387,232

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Using a Non-Standard Pipe Type in HydraCALC

A customer called today asking how to enter a 1″ black plastic underground pipe for the calc. This particular situation sounded unique enough that I did not tell him to add that pipe type to our database, as I would have if he expected to see this pipe type used repeatedly. I told him to…

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Using the Hydratec Software Download Area

Hydratec uses ShareFile to distribute our software installs and updates. New customers, or those without access, must request access to be able to get at these downloads. Access is only available to customers with a Hydratec subscription or those on an update plan. You can access the download area and request access by picking the…

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March 2011
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Searching File Contents in Windows 7 Explorer/My Computer

Sometimes, it seems like things take a big step back. This is a good example: try to search for text inside a file in Windows Explorer using Windows 7. It can't be done by default.

There are two ways, from Wikihow:

1. In Windows Explorer, Press Alt button –> go to Tools –> Folder options –> Search tab –> Here select, "Always search file names and content (this might take several minutes)".

2. Another way. Type "contents:" in the Windows Explorer search box followed by the word, searches text files. This is a search filter which seems to be undocumented (of course)

But it doesn't end there. Windows will not search within all files by default, just the ones it 'understands'. So, if it's not a .txt or .doc or .rtf or other Microsoft file, you will have to change things.

Here is my own problem. I need to search within a bunch of files (AutoCAD LISP files – .lsp) to find which ones contain a series of text letters. But by default, My Computer/Explorer does not look within .lsp files during a search.

Remember from above that to search for text within a file, you need to add the string 'contents:' followed by the word(s) you are searching for to the upper right edit field in Computer/Explorer. See the image below. In it I am searching for all files (or so I thought) containing the text '2011'.

Contents

The thing is that Windows 7 Explorer does not search within all file types by default. And .lsp files are one of those types. What needs to be done? You need to edit the Indexing for that file type so it is searched.

1.Go into Control Panel and Pick Indexing Options

Cp

2. Pick the Advanced button

3. Pick the File Types tab

Ao

4. Scan down to the file extension in question. In my case it is lsp. Select it and pick the Index Properties and File Contents option. Pick OK. It should work now.

Note – Notice that the initial dialog in Indexing Options shows a list of folders that are currently Indexed. This list is built as you use search. Windows may occasionally notify you that searches will go faster if you choose to Index a given folder. You can add folders by picking the Modify option and selecting them from the tree that appears.

Io

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