path: root/gsearchtool/help/C/index.docbook

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  <!ENTITY legal SYSTEM "legal.xml">
  <!ENTITY appversion "2.26">
  <!ENTITY manrevision "2.8">
  <!ENTITY date "March 2009">
  <!ENTITY app "Search for Files">
  <!ENTITY ug "MATE Desktop User Guide">
]>
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<article id="index" lang="en">
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  <articleinfo> 
    <title>&app; Manual</title>

    <abstract role="description">
      <para>
    	A search tool to find files, folders and documents on your computer.
      </para>
    </abstract>

    <copyright> 
      <year>2005</year> 
      <holder>Dennis Cranston</holder> 
    </copyright>
    <copyright> 
      <year>2002</year> 
      <year>2003</year> 
      <year>2004</year> 
      <holder>Sun Microsystems</holder> 
    </copyright> 
    <copyright> 
      <year>2000</year> 
      <holder>Alexander Kirillov</holder> 
    </copyright>
<!-- translators: uncomment this:

  <copyright>
   <year>2002</year>
   <holder>ME-THE-TRANSLATOR (Latin translation)</holder>
  </copyright>

   -->
    <publisher> 
      <publishername> MATE Documentation Project </publishername> 
    </publisher> 

   &legal;

    <authorgroup> 
      <author role="maintainer"> 
	<firstname>Dennis</firstname> 
	<surname>Cranston</surname> 
	<affiliation> 
	  <orgname>&app; Maintainer</orgname> 
	  <address>dennis_cranston@yahoo.com</address> 
	</affiliation> 
      </author> 
      <author> 
	<firstname>Sun</firstname> 
	<surname>MATE Documentation Team</surname> 
	<affiliation> 
	  <orgname>Sun Microsystems</orgname> 
	  <address></address> 
	</affiliation> 
      </author> 
      <author> 
	<firstname>Alexander</firstname> 
	<surname>Kirillov</surname> 
	<affiliation> 
	  <orgname>MATE Documentation Project</orgname> 
	  <address> <email>kirillov@math.sunysb.edu</email> </address> 
	</affiliation> 
      </author> 
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	  <address> <email>translator@gnome.org</email> </address> 
	</affiliation>
	<contrib>Latin translation</contrib>
      </othercredit>
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    </authorgroup>

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			<revnumber>&app; Manual V2.7</revnumber> 
			<date>June 2005</date> 
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	  		<para role="author">Joachim Noreiko
				<email>jnoreiko@yahoo.com</email>
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	  		<para role="publisher">&app; Maintainer</para>
			</revdescription> 
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  <revision> 
			<revnumber>&app; Manual V2.6</revnumber> 
			<date>January 2005</date> 
			<revdescription> 
	  		<para role="author">Dennis Cranston
				<email>dennis_cranston@yahoo.com</email>
			</para>
	  		<para role="publisher">&app; Maintainer</para>
			</revdescription> 
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			<revnumber>&app; Manual V2.4</revnumber> 
			<date>February 2004</date> 
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	  		<para role="author">Sun GNOME Documentation Team</para>
	  		<para role="publisher">MATE Documentation Project</para>
			</revdescription> 
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			<revnumber>&app; Manual V2.3</revnumber> 
			<date>September 2002</date> 
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	  		<para role="author">Sun GNOME Documentation Team</para>
	  		<para role="publisher">MATE Documentation Project</para>
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			<revnumber>&app;l Manual V2.2</revnumber> 
			<date>August 2002</date> 
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	  		<para role="publisher">MATE Documentation Project</para>
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			<revnumber>&app; Manual V2.1</revnumber> 
			<date>July 2002</date> 
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	  		<para role="author">Sun GNOME Documentation Team</para>
	  		<para role="publisher">MATE Documentation Project</para>
			</revdescription> 
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			<revnumber>&app; Manual V2.0</revnumber> 
			<date>May 2002</date> 
			<revdescription> 
	  		<para role="author">Sun GNOME Documentation Team</para>
	  		<para role="publisher">MATE Documentation Project</para>
			</revdescription> 
 </revision> 
 <revision> 
	<revnumber>&app; Manual</revnumber> 
	<date>2000</date> 
	<revdescription> 
	  <para role="author">Alexander Kirillov
	    <email>kirillov@math.sunysb.edu</email>
	  </para>
	  <para role="publisher">MATE Documentation Project</para>
	</revdescription> 
 </revision> 
 </revhistory> 

    <releaseinfo>This manual describes version &appversion; of &app;.
    </releaseinfo> 
  </articleinfo> 

  <indexterm> 
    <primary>Search Tool</primary> 
  </indexterm> 

<!-- ============= Document Body ============================= -->
<!-- ============= Introduction ============================== -->

  <sect1 id="gsearchtool-introduction"> 
    <title>Introduction</title> 
    <para>The <application>&app;</application> application enables you to search for files on your system. To perform a basic search, you can type a filename or a partial filename, with or without wildcards. To refine your search, you can apply additional search options.</para>
    <para><application>&app;</application> uses the <command>find</command>, <command>grep</command>, and <command>locate</command> UNIX commands.  By default, when performing a basic search <application>&app;</application> first uses the <command>locate</command> command, and then uses the slower but more thorough <command>find</command> command.</para>
    <para>The case sensitivity of the search depends on your operating system. For example, on Linux, the <command>find</command>, <command>grep</command>, and <command>locate</command> commands support the <literal>-i</literal> option, so all searches are case-insensitive.</para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="gsearchtool-getting-started">
    <title>Getting Started</title> 

    <para>You can start <application>&app;</application> in the following ways:
    </para> 
    <variablelist>
    	<varlistentry>
    		<term>From a <guimenu>Menu Bar</guimenu> on a panel</term>
    		<listitem>
    		<para>Choose <menuchoice><guisubmenu>Places</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>Search for Files...</guimenuitem></menuchoice></para>
    		</listitem>
    	</varlistentry>
   	<varlistentry>
    		<term>From a <guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu> on a panel</term>
    		<listitem>
    		<para>Choose <menuchoice><guimenuitem>Search for Files...</guimenuitem></menuchoice></para>
    		</listitem>
    	</varlistentry>
    	<varlistentry>
    		<term>From a command line</term>
    		<listitem>
    		<para>Execute the following command: <command>mate-search-tool</command></para>
    		<para> 		 
    		</para> 
    		</listitem>
    	</varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

    <para>When you start <application>&app;</application>, the following window is displayed.</para>

    <!-- ==== Figure ==== -->
      <figure id="mainwindow-fig"> 
	<title>&app; Window</title> 
	<screenshot> 
	  <mediaobject> 
	    <imageobject><imagedata
		fileref="figures/mate-search-tool_window.png" format="PNG"/> 
	    </imageobject>
	    <textobject> 
	      <phrase>Shows &app; main window. </phrase> 
	    </textobject> 
	  </mediaobject> 
	</screenshot> 
      </figure>
    <!-- ==== End of Figure ==== -->

  </sect1>

<!-- ================ Usage ================================ -->

  <sect1 id="gsearchtool-usage"> 
    <title>Usage</title>

    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-simple">
    <title>To Perform a Basic Search</title>
    
    <para>To perform a basic search for a file on the system, perform the following steps:</para>
    <orderedlist>
    <listitem><para>Enter the search text in the <guilabel>Name contains</guilabel> field. The search text can be a filename or partial filename, with or without wildcards, as shown in the following table:</para>

      <informaltable frame="all">
        <tgroup cols="3" colsep="1" rowsep="1">
          <colspec colname="COLSPEC0" colwidth="33*"/>
          <colspec colname="COLSPEC1" colwidth="33*"/>
          <colspec colname="COLSPEC2" colwidth="34*"/>
          <thead>
            <row valign="top">
              <entry colname="COLSPEC0">
                <para>Name Contains Text</para></entry>
              <entry colname="COLSPEC1">
                <para>Example</para></entry>
              <entry colname="COLSPEC2">
                <para>Result</para></entry>
            </row>
          </thead>
          <tbody>
            <row valign="top">
              <entry>
                <para>Full or partial filename
                </para>
              </entry>
              <entry>
                <para><userinput>myfile.txt</userinput>
                </para>
              </entry>
              <entry>
                <para><application>&app;</application> searches for all files that contain the text <userinput>myfile.txt</userinput> in the filename.
                </para>
              </entry>
            </row>
            <row valign="top">
              <entry>
                <para>Partial filename combined with wildcards (*, [, ])
                </para>
              </entry>
              <entry>
                <para><userinput>*.[ch]</userinput>
                </para>
              </entry>
              <entry>
                <para><application>&app;</application> searches for all files that have extension <userinput>.c</userinput> or <userinput>.h</userinput>.
                </para>
              </entry>
            </row>
          </tbody>
        </tgroup>
      </informaltable>
    </listitem>
    <listitem><para>In the <guilabel>Look in folder</guilabel> field, select the folder or device from which you want <application>&app;</application> to begin the search. 
</para></listitem>
    <listitem><para>Click <guibutton>Find</guibutton> to perform the search. </para>
    </listitem>
    </orderedlist>
    <para>
      <application>&app;</application> searches in the directory that you specify and the subdirectories of the directory.
<application>&app;</application> displays the results of the search in the <guilabel>Search results</guilabel> list box. If <application>&app;</application> does not find any files that match the search criteria, the application displays the message "No files found" in the <guilabel>Search results</guilabel> list box. 
</para>
    <para>By default, <application>&app;</application> will perform a quick search using the <command>locate</command> command followed by a more thorough second search using the <command>find</command> command. The <command>locate</command> command is faster because it uses a database of information about files. If this database is more than a week old, <application>&app;</application> could warn you that the search results may be out of date and give you the option of disabling the quick search. To update the database, run the command <command>updatedb</command> as the root user.</para>
  </sect2>
    
    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-advanced">
    <title>To Add Search Options</title>
    <para>You can add additional options to search for a file on the system. To add search options, perform the following steps:</para>
  	<orderedlist>
    		<listitem><para>Click on the <guilabel>Select more options</guilabel> text. </para></listitem>
    		<listitem><para>Click on the <guilabel>Available options</guilabel> drop-down list.</para></listitem>
    		<listitem><para>Select the search option that you want to apply.</para></listitem>
    		<listitem><para>Click <guibutton>Add</guibutton>. </para></listitem>
    		<listitem><para>Specify the required search information for the search option, as described in <xref linkend="tbl-search-rules"/>.</para></listitem>
    		<listitem><para>Repeat the above steps for each search option that you want to apply.</para></listitem>
    	</orderedlist>	
    	<para>To remove a search option from the current search, click on the <guibutton>Remove</guibutton> button next to the option. </para>
    	<para>To disable the search options from the current search, click on the <guilabel>Select more options</guilabel> text.</para>
    
    <table id="tbl-search-rules" frame="topbot">
    <title>Search Options</title> 
		  <tgroup cols="2" colsep="1" rowsep="1">
			 <colspec colname="COLSPEC0" colwidth="33*"/>
			 <colspec colname="COLSPEC1" colwidth="33*"/>
			 <thead> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Option Name</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Description</para></entry> 
				</row> 
			 </thead> 
			 <tbody> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Contains the text</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files of type plain text that contain the specified text.</para></entry>  
				</row> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Date modified less than</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files that are modified less than the period specified in days.</para></entry>  
				</row>
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Date modified more than</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files that are modified longer than the period specified in days.</para></entry>  
				</row>
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Size at least</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files that are equal to or larger than the size specified in kilobytes.</para></entry>  
				</row>
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Size at most</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files that are smaller than or equal to the size specified in kilobytes.</para></entry>  
				</row>
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>File is empty</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for empty files.</para></entry>  
				</row> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Owned by user</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files that are owned by the user specified. Type the name of the user in the text box provided.</para></entry>  
				</row> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Owned by group</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files that are owned by the group specified. Type the name of the group in the text box provided. </para></entry>  
				</row> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Owner is unrecognized</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files that are owned by a user or group that is unknown to the system.</para></entry>  
				</row> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Name does not contain</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for filenames that do not contain the string that you enter. Enter a full filename or a partial filename with wildcards in the field provided. Use * to indicate a sequence of characters. Use ? to indicate a single character. The search is case sensitive.</para></entry>  
				</row> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Name matches regular expression</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search for files that contain the specified regular expression in their directory path or filename. Type the regular expression in the text box provided. </para></entry>  
				</row>
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Show hidden and backup files</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Include hidden and backup files in the search. </para></entry>  
				</row> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Follow symbolic links</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Follow symbolic links when searching for files.</para></entry>  
				</row> 
				<row valign="top"> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Exclude other filesystems</para></entry> 
				  <entry> 
					 <para>Search in directories that are in the same filesystem as the start directory.</para></entry>  
				</row> 
				 				
			 </tbody> 
		  </tgroup> 
		</table> 
    
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-stop">
    <title>To Stop a Search</title>
    <para>Click <guibutton>Stop</guibutton> to stop a search before <application>&app;</application> completes the search. </para>
    </sect2>
    
    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-view">
    <title>To Open a Displayed File</title>
    <para>To open a file displayed in the <guilabel>Search results</guilabel> list box, perform one of the following steps:</para>
    <itemizedlist>
    <listitem><para>Right-click on the file, then choose <guimenuitem>Open</guimenuitem>. </para></listitem>
     <listitem><para>Double-click on the file. </para></listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
    <para>To open the folder that contains a file displayed in the <guilabel>Search results</guilabel> list box, right-click on the file, then choose <guimenuitem>Open Containing Folder</guimenuitem>.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-delete">
    <title>To Delete a Displayed File</title>
    <para>To delete a file displayed in the <guilabel>Search results</guilabel> list box, right-click on the file, then choose <guimenuitem>Move to Trash</guimenuitem>. </para>
    </sect2>
    
    <!--
    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-search-command">
    <title>To View the Search Command Used by &app;</title>
    <para>To view the command that <application>&app;</application> used to perform the previous search, choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Search</guimenu><guimenuitem>Show Command</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. The <guilabel>Search Command Line</guilabel> displays the command. </para>
    </sect2>
    -->
    
    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-savetofile">
    <title>To Save the Search Results</title>
    <para>To save the results of the last search that <application>&app;</application> performed, right-click in the <guilabel>Search results</guilabel> list, then choose <guimenuitem>Save Results As</guimenuitem>. Enter the name of the file to which you want to save the results, then click Save.</para>
    </sect2>
 
  </sect1>

<!-- ============= Settings ============================== -->

  <sect1 id="gsearchtool-settings-gsettings-keys">
    <title>Settings</title> 

    <para><application>&app;</application> provides gsettings keys to modify some of its behavior.  The gsettings values can be changed by starting the <application>Configuration Editor</application> in the following ways:
    </para> 
    <variablelist>
    	<varlistentry>
    		<term><guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu</term>
    		<listitem>
    		<para>Choose <menuchoice><guisubmenu>System Tools</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>dconf Editor</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. </para>
    		</listitem>
    	</varlistentry>
    	<varlistentry>
    		<term>Command line</term>
    		<listitem>
    		<para>Execute the following command: <command>dconf-editor</command></para> 
    		</listitem>
    	</varlistentry>	
    </variablelist>
    
    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-disablequicksearch">
    <title>Disable Quick Search</title>
    <para>Key name: org.mate.search-tool.disable-quick-search</para>
    <para>Default value: false</para>
    <para><application>&app;</application> speeds up file name searches by using the <command>locate</command> command.  <command>Locate</command> provides a secure way to index and quickly search for file names.  Because <command>locate</command> relies on a file index, the <guilabel>Search results</guilabel> list may not always be up to date.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-disablesecondscan">
    <title>Disable Quick Search Second Scan</title>
    <para>Key name: org.mate.search-tool.disable-quick-search-second-scan</para>
    <para>Default value: false</para>
    <para>After completing a quick search, <application>&app;</application> will perform a thorough search using the <command>find</command> command.  The purpose of this second scan is to find files that have not been indexed.  Files that match the search criteria are added to the <guilabel>Search results</guilabel> list keeping the list up to date.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-quicksearchexclude">
    <title>Quick Search Excluded Paths</title>
    <para>Key name: org.mate.search-tool.quick-search-excluded-paths</para>
    <para>Default values: [/mnt/*,/media/*,/dev/*,/tmp/*,/proc/*,/var/*]</para>
    <para><application>&app;</application> will not perform a quick search for paths defined by this key.  File name searches in the defined paths will use the <command>find</command> command.  The wildcards '*' and '?' are supported.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-secondscanexclude">
    <title>Quick Search Second Scan Excluded Paths</title>
    <para>Key name: org.mate.search-tool.quick-search-second-scan-excluded-paths</para>
    <para>Default values: [/]</para>
    <para><application>&app;</application> will not perform a second scan after a quick search for the paths defined by this key.  Quick searches in the defined paths will not be followed by a thorough search using the <command>find</command> command.  The wildcards '*' and '?' are supported.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="gsearchtool-showoptions">
    <title>Show Additional Options</title>
    <para>Key name: org.mate.search-tool.show-additional-options</para>
    <para>Default value: false</para>
    <para>This key determines if the <guilabel>Select more options</guilabel> section is expanded when <application>&app;</application> is started.</para>
    </sect2>
    
  </sect1>

</article>