Sally: Basic Working with Files and Directories

Finding Files and Directories

You can search for files and directories using various criteria such as name, size, date & time, attributes, and containing text. After the search, you can work with the found files and directories (view, edit, copy, move, delete them, and so on).

To search for files and directories:

  1. In the panel, open the directory in which you want to start the search.
  2. Open the Find dialog box:
    Menu:Commands/Find Files and Directories...
    Shortcut key:Alt+F7 or Ctrl+F
    Toolbar:Choose the Find Files and Directories button on the Top, Middle, or Bottom toolbar.
  3. In the Named box, type the name of the file or directory you want to find. Use file masks to search for a group of files or directories with similar names or extensions. Important: when you specify a mask without an asterisk (*), question mark (?), or dot (.), Sally finds all files and directories whose names contain that mask (for example, when you specify "dog", you will find "dogs.txt", "hotdog.jpg", and so on). You can prevent this by adding a dot (.) to the end of the mask (for example, when you specify "dog.", you will find only "dog").
  4. Specify the directories from which you want to start the search in the Look in box. This box is preset to the current directory in the panel. Use the Add button to browse for another directory and add it to the Look in box, or to add all local or network drives to this box.
  5. Select the Search subdirectories box if you also want to search in the subdirectories of the directories specified in the Look in box.
  6. If you are searching for files containing some text, select the Search file content box and specify the search text in the Containing field. See the Find dialog box for details on search options.
  7. If you need to specify additional criteria for file size, attributes, or date & time, click the Advanced button to open the Advanced Options dialog box.
  8. You may want to ignore some directories (exclude them from the search), for example, System Volume Information in root directories or directories that contain your temporary files. Specify such directories in the Ignore Directory List dialog box. Open it from the Options/Ignore Directory List menu item in the Find dialog box (Ctrl+G).
  9. All errors that occur during the search, as well as all ignored directories, are added to the Find Log dialog box. Select the Show Error Messages After Finding item on the Options menu if you want to see this log when the search finishes and an error occurs. Use the Show Find Log command (Ctrl+L) from the Commands menu or the Find Log button on the right side of the Found Items list view header to show this log manually.
  10. Choose the Find Now button to start searching.

Remarks

Sally displays the progress of the search. You can work with Sally while the search continues in the background. You can open another Find dialog box and begin a new search simultaneously.

Found files and directories are displayed in the Found Items list view. Click the column headers to sort this list by name, size, path, or time. You can also use sort commands on the View menu.

After files and directories are found, you can work with them. Go to the Found Items list view and use the commands on the Files menu:

You can use drag and drop to copy or move found files and directories from the Found Items list view to any destination. Another option is to use the clipboard: you can Cut or Copy (see the Edit menu) found files and directories from the Found Items list view to the clipboard and later paste them where needed.

If you need to copy the name of a found file or directory, use one of the following commands from the Edit menu:

In some special situations, it is useful to search within already found files (values in the Named and Look in boxes are ignored). Use the Refine - Intersect with Found Items (the Ctrl+I key) command from the Commands menu or from the drop-down menu on the Find Now button to keep only found files and directories that meet the criteria given in the Find dialog box. For example, you can find all files containing the word "car" (using the Find Now command) and then refine the found files to keep only files containing the word "John" (using the Refine - Intersect with Found Items command), so you get all files containing both words. Similarly, you can use the Refine - Subtract from Found Items (the Ctrl+S key) command to hide found files and directories that meet the criteria given in the Find dialog box. In the previous example, the result would be all files containing "car" but not containing "John".

Another special command is Append to Found Items (the Ctrl+W key) on the Commands menu or in the drop-down menu on the Find Now button. Unlike the Find Now command, it does not clear the Found Items list view before searching. It lets you merge search results easily. The same file or directory may appear more than once. Use the Hide Duplicate Names command to remove such redundant items.

Duplicate files can be found in the Find dialog box. See Finding Duplicate Files for details.

You can save the current settings in the Find dialog box by using the Add Current (Ctrl+N) command on the Options menu. It opens the Settings Manager dialog box. You can use these settings next time by choosing the name on the Options menu. To view or remove these settings, use the Manage (Ctrl+M) command on the Options menu.

See Also

Find dialog box
Advanced Options dialog box
Ignore Directory List dialog box
Find Log dialog box
Finding Duplicate Files
Settings Manager dialog box
Group Policy Restrictions

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