How can I search for a.bcd?

[Baiyssy]

It's difficult to search files or folders with short names.
How can I search for a.bcd?
If I input a.bcd, then xxxa.bcdxxx come out too.

Thank you for your answers.

[David]

There are a couple ways to do this, the easiest would be to enable match whole word.

Although match whole word is not an exact match it should be close enough.
For example, "hello a.bcd" would still match.

To enable match whole word:

• In "Everything", from the Search menu, click Match Whole Word.

OR

You can also do this by enabling regex.
Although a lot slower than match whole word, it will allow you to do a exact match.

Regex search:

Code: Select all

^a.bcd$

^ means match the start of the file name.
$ means match the end of the file name.

To enable regex:

• In "Everything", from the Search menu, click Enable Regex.

OR

The fastest method, but longer uglier search:

Code: Select all

a.bcd !*?a.bcd* !*a.bcd?*

Translates to:
a.bcd AND not a.bcd with a leading character AND not a.bcd with a trailing character.

[Baiyssy]

Thank you!

I saw in some other software,
user can use "" for start and end of a word.
"a.bcd match a.bcdxxx
a.bcd" match xxxa.bcd
"a.bcd" match only a.bcd
I think it's much more clear and easy for understand and use.

and, I think :rc is better than rc:
after you input :, everything know you want input a filter macro, not a word,
so it don't need to search for r and rc.
It will a little faster.

hope you think about this.
thank you again~~~

[news]

and, I think :rc is better than rc:
after you input :, everything know you want input a filter macro, not a word,
so it don't need to search for r and rc.
It will a little faster.

+1 . nice suggestion.

[daspud]

Since we are mentioning suggestions -- Can I ask for an 'indicator character' that does not require a shift key? A colon needs a shift....

Sorry guy but every "not allowed" character for file names requires a shift or is a slash.

But wait! the * key is shift 8 but also on the numeric keypad!!......(without a shift)

[Baiyssy]

but *is a important wildcard.
I think we can use F1~F12 for filter or macro.

[Baiyssy]

In most situations, I don't search files in system folders (c:\windows ...),
so I put system folders in the exclude list.
But sometimes, we need to search them,
I want a filter (:all, for exsample) for ignore the exclude list.
Is it possible?

[Baiyssy]

and, I think :rc is better than rc:
after you input :, everything know you want input a filter macro, not a word,
so it don't need to search for r and rc.
It will a little faster.

+1 . nice suggestion.

you can use macro:
:a for audio:
:v for video:
:f for folder:
...

[David]

user can use "" for start and end of a word.
"a.bcd match a.bcdxxx
a.bcd" match xxxa.bcd
"a.bcd" match only a.bcd

Implemented for next release.
"abc will be the same as abc*
abc" will be the same as *abc
"abc.123" will only match abc.123 and not foo abc.123

Wildcards will override this behavior:
"*abc" (ends with asd)
"abc*" (starts with abc)
"*abc*" (contains abc)

Also, using the -path, -filename command line options will append a *
For example, right clicking on C:\abc and clicking Search "Everything"... will populate the search with:

Code: Select all

"C:\abc\*"

I think :rc is better than rc:
after you input :, everything know you want input a filter macro, not a word,
so it don't need to search for r and rc.
It will a little faster.

You can customize the macros from the Tools -> Options -> Filters window.

I have added the option to specify more than one macro for a filter to my "Things to do" list.
for example, a macro list, that would allow for shorter macros with out drive conflicts.
:a, :v and :f would be ideal for audio, video and folders.

Can I ask for an 'indicator character' that does not require a shift key?

You can customize the macros to use any indicator, in fact, a special character is not even required.

you can set a macro to just folder
Any non-alpha characters act as a terminator for macros, in either the search string or the macro itself.

For example, if you set the folder filter macro to just folder
searching for folder will match the macro.
searching for folderabc will not match the macro.
searching for abcfolder will not match the macro.
searching for abc.folder will match the macro and will search for folders containing abc.
searching for folder.123 will match the macro and will search for folders contain .123

I would recommend using a special character to avoid confusion.

In most situations, I don't search files in system folders (c:\windows ...),
so I put system folders in the exclude list.
But sometimes, we need to search them,
I want a filter (:all, for exsample) for ignore the exclude list.
Is it possible?

This would require rebuilding the database.
I will consider doing a real-time exclusion list..

[dan_pub]

For the original question:
the simplest entry to ensure that only files with short name will be found
is to enter \a.bcd

works for me.

[David]

I have reverted back to the old behavior.

Double quotes ("") will only escape white spaces again (not matching the start and end).

The best solution would be to include a backslash (\) at the start of your search.

Maybe there needs to be the option to allow double quotes ("") to match the start and end of a file name?