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SUPER*SEARCH File Location Utility

Copyright (c) 1989, 1990 by Thomas L. Price




Table of Contents
-----------------

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
About this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
GENERAL FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Pattern match Wildcards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Size Search Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Date Search Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Attribute Search Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Configuration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
IMPROVEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Simplified Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Context Sensitive Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Relaxed Entry Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Helpscreen shows Configuration Status . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Faster Search performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Specify Directory to start search . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Shortcut Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Hidden Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
NEW FEATURES of SUPER*SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Option Stacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
File Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Directing the Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Text Search for Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SHAREWARE AND SUPER*SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
How do I Register ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
RESTRICTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Reading the SUPER*SEARCH output screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
PROGRAM USAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Context Sensitive Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Wildcard Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Extending Wildcards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Using DATE OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The TODAY Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The SINCE number of days (ago) Option . . . . . . . . 13
The BEFORE and AFTER Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The PERIOD Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The DATE (specific) Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The DATE (wildcard) Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Using SIZE OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The GREATER THAN Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The LESS THAN Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The EQUAL TO Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Using ATTRIBUTE OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Using TEXT SEARCH for Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17



SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page i







Using FILE MANIPULATION COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Command Smarts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Special VERIFY features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The COPY Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The MOVE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The DELETE Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Command Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
CUSTOM CONFIGURATION of SUPER*SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Starting CONFIGURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
HELP SCREEN Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
TRICKS and TRAPS of SUPER*SEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Shortcut Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Command Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
STRICT versus RELAXED relation Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Range Tricks with Relational Options . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Summary Report Trick 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Summary Report Trick 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Comparing File-search utilities Trap . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Multiple version Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
More Filespec Tricks And Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Directory Tricks with TURBO mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Duplicate File elimination Trick . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Batch File Trick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Sizing Directories and Drives Trick . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
SUPER*SEARCH Specifications and limitations . . . . . . . . . . . 39
DISCLAIMER of WARRANTEE and LIABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
































SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page ii










INTRODUCTION
============

This is the forth release of SUPER*SEARCH, a powerful File-Find and File
Manipulation utility designed for the IBM PC and compatible computer.

SUPER*SEARCH offers many Options such as search by Date, Size, Attribute,
Filespec, and Text word. These Options can be combined in almost unlimited
ways.

SUPER*SEARCH has (smart) File Commands. You can COPY, MOVE, or DELETE
files that are qualified by search parameters. A built in VERIFY feature
allows you to interactively control the action on a file by file basis.

SUPER*SEARCH can be customized to suit your needs. Select features such as
pause, screen colors, Turbo mode, drives to search, and much more. You can
even make copies of the program and give each copy its own custom setup.

SUPER*SEARCH is easy to learn and use. Context Sensitive Help provides
friendly messages to assist you. A HELP screen is available to recall
program Options and report Configuration status.

Overall, the mission of the program is to provide;

* efficient file location and manipulation
* easy to learn and use command line
* ergonomic (kind to the eyes) viewing
* configurable features
* flexibility


SEE THE DISCLAIMER AT THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT BEFORE USING SUPER*SEARCH.



About this Manual
-----------------

The many features of SUPER*SEARCH are presented in a series of short
descriptions. Most areas of operation can be found as a topic in the Table
of Contents. Some information is repeated to enhance using the manual as a
look-up reference.

It is assumed that you are familiar with DOS and the IBM PC. If this is not
the case, be sure to read the sections on Wildcard Basics and Using File
manipulation Commands.









SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 1









GENERAL FEATURES
================


Pattern match Wildcards
-----------------------
Wildcards act as a substitute for portions of a file name (specification).
If you forget part (or all) of a target file NAME, you can still view a list
of files that have similar Names and home in on what you're seeking. The
basic idea is;

Find files that START (with a text pattern)
Find files that END (with a text pattern)
Find files that MATCH (text pattern within file Name)

SUPER*SEARCH allows only one filespec per search. However, that filespec is
(very) powerful and supports nearly any combination of letters and
wildcards.



Size Search Options
-------------------
The program will conduct searches qualified by File size. A review of
filenames that meet a SIZE specification can often turn up an elusive file.
The Size Options are;

Find files GREATER (than nnn bytes)
Find files LESS (than nnn bytes)
Find files EQUAL (to nnn bytes)

You can combine the GREATER and LESS Options to search for a specific SIZE
range. See the TRICKS and TRAPS section for more.



Date Search Options
-------------------
When other methods fail to turn up a target file, a DATE qualified search
can be revealing. SUPER*SEARCH offers flexible Date Options including;


Find files dated TODAY
Find files dated SINCE (number of days ago)
Find files dated BEFORE (month_day_year)
Find files dated AFTER (month_day_year)
Find files of a SPECIFIC (month_day_year)
Find files in a PERIOD (month_year to month_year)
Find files using WILDCARD DATE (any_month any_day any_year)


You'll be in the driver's seat like never before when date oriented searches
are required. You can combine the BEFORE and AFTER Options to achieve custom
DATE range searches.


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 2










Attribute Search Options
------------------------
There are times when you may want to search out files that have certain
attributes or attribute patterns. The ATTRIBUTE Options are;

Find files with READ_ONLY (attribute set)
Find files with HIDDEN (attribute set)
Find files with ARCHIVE (attribute set)

SUPER*SEARCH does not offer the SYSTEM attribute but will allow you to stack
the other three Options to search out attribute combinations.


Configuration Options
---------------------
SUPER*SEARCH is one of the few file location programs to offer configuration
that is NOT based on the DOS ENVIRONMENT. Because of this, the user may copy
the program to another NAME and configure that copy to have different
features, colors, etc.

The following CONFIGURATION features can be turned ON or OFF, like a switch.
They are accessed using the /C Option. The status of these features (ON
or OFF) is reported each time you invoke the HELP screen. They are;


AUTOSCREEN PAUSE When enabled, pauses for a screen full condition.
(default = ON) (Automatic detection of 80 by xx screen sizes.)

SUMMARY REPORT When enabled, a Summary of the last search details
(default = ON) items such as files found, dirs searched, true
storage, megabytes spanned, etc.

MULTI DRIVE SEARCH When enabled, the program searches all drives
(default = ON) preset in the internal User-Drive-List. When
disabled, the program always confines the search
to the current logged Drive or a specified Drive.

COMMAND VERIFY When disabled, command execution proceeds on all
(default = ON) files that meet search criteria. When enabled, the
user interacts with the program, on a file by file
basis.

TURBO SEARCH When enabled, faster search performance on the
(default = ON) average of 25% to 35%.

SKIPPED DRIVE ECHO When enabled, Drive letters missing within the
(default = OFF) User-Drive-List sequence, are echoed as being
'skipped !'.







SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 3








IMPROVEMENTS
============

Suggestions from registered users and Beta-testers prompted many changes to
the program. The following list outlines the result.


Simplified Configuration
------------------------
All Configuration selections are presented in menu format. You need only
read your choices and enter the corresponding keys. The program walks you
through the process one step at a time. You can enter the CONFIGURATION
menu to check out what is available without changing any of the settings.
Just hit the key to step through each menu.


Context Sensitive Help
----------------------
When you enter the command line, the Context Help facility will identify
omissions, out of range parameters, and improper syntax. The error message
usually states which Option or parameter is at fault. The proper format for
an Option is recalled when appropriate.


Relaxed Entry Order
-------------------
Previous versions forced the user to adhere to a rigid entry order for
Options and filespec. You may now enter Options and filespec in any
convenient order. The only exception to this is, the Output Redirection
feature, which must be last on the command line.


Helpscreen shows Configuration Status
-------------------------------------
Since the program has a wide range of presetable Options, the HELP screen
indicates the current configuration (status). At a glance, you can determine
how the program will perform when run. This feature is helpful when multiple
versions (with different configurations) are in use.


Faster Search performance
-------------------------
You have the choice of HIGHER SPEED searches at the expense of ignoring
directories which include an extension in their Name. The speed increase is
on the order of 25% to 35% . More about this later.


Specify Directory to start search
---------------------------------
The program accepts a filespec that includes a starting path. The search is
confined to the STARTING DIRECTORY and ANY OF ITS SUBDIRECTORIES. This is
superior to the fixed (DRIVE:FILESPEC) limitations of previous versions.

However, remember that the subdirectories of a specified directory (if they
exist) ARE included in any program operation!


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 4









Shortcut Notation
-----------------
The program will support certain OMISSIONS (from filespecs) for easier
typing. You will find that these enhancements do not interfere with any
legal DOS filespec. See the Tricks and Traps section for details.


Hidden Directories
------------------
Earlier versions of the program failed to find files that were on HIDDEN
directories. My thanks to the user who let me know. (let me hear from you)




NEW FEATURES of SUPER*SEARCH
============================


Option Stacking
---------------
You can stack multiple Options in the program command line. This increases
the power of the program. Using various combinations, the program will
conduct searches with complex criteria (including a filespec) such as;

AFTER a given date AND/OR
BEFORE a given date AND
GREATER than a given size AND/OR
SMALLER than a given size

Don't worry if this seems complicated. The good news is that you can mix
various search criteria in almost unlimited ways. As you grow proficient,
you'll find stacking quite useful. Previous versions allowed only one Date
or Size Option to be utilized in a search.



File Commands
-------------
SUPER*SEARCH offers three (3) basic File Commands - COPY, MOVE, and DELETE.
The Commands first check that there is enough space at the destination, when
files are COPIED or MOVED. The VERIFY Option will keep the Commands under
your control, on a file by file basis. Files that have attributes of
Read_Only, Hidden, or System are ignored by the DELETE command.


Directing the Output
--------------------
You may direct the output to your printer, a disk file, or a device such as
a parallel or serial port. However, YOU MUST SUBSTITUTE a right-brace (})
for the DOS right-angle-bracket (> redirection symbol), in your command
line.




SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 5








Text Search for Word
--------------------
The program READS files that meet search criteria to locate a specified text
WORD. The internal text search is limited to the first 2048 bytes (one 80x25
text page).

This search method will find TITLES and/or SUBJECTS of documents, NAMES in
letters, and other applications that you'll think of. Files with certain
extensions are automatically skipped, such as .EXE, .COM, .ZIP, etc.






SHAREWARE AND SUPER*SEARCH
==========================

SUPER*SEARCH is user supported Shareware.

With Shareware, you can determine if a software product meets your needs -
before you hand over your cash! You become a satisfied customer (without)
risking money. Contrast this to purchasing software over the counter.

IF YOU LIKE SUPER*SEARCH AND INTEND TO USE IT, YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED AND
APPRECIATED!


How do I Register ?
-------------------
Please print the REGISTER.FRM file to your printer. Write in your name,
address, and comments. Place the form and your donation in an envelope and
mail it to the indicated address.

Thanks in advance for your understanding and support! It is appreciated.





RESTRICTIONS
============

You must use DOS version 3.0 or later. Earlier DOS versions will not support
Configuration changes.

SUPER*SEARCH is intended as a Hard Disk utility and should be installed on a
Hard Disk.

The program does not use the (<) and (>) symbols as these are reserved for
DOS redirection control. While you can send program output to a file or
printer, it is NOT intended for piping, filtering or other DOS I/O schemes.





SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 6








REQUIREMENTS
============

The program is intended for the IBM PC and compatible computer. Install it
on a Hard Disk following recommendations in the INSTALLATION section of this
manual.

While SUPER*SEARCH is designed for Color systems, it will work fine in a
Monographic system.

It is best to run the program with at least 100k of free ram. If file
Commands are NOT used, 65k of ram will suffice.

Be sure that you fully understand the (COPY, MOVE, and DELETE) commands
BEFORE you use them.

SUPER*SEARCH is EXTREMELY POWERFUL and can do a lot of damage if improperly
used! LEAVE THE COMMAND VERIFY OPTION ENABLED, until you are expert with
the program. (Even then, leave it enabled).

READ THE DISCLAIMER AT THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT BEFORE RUNNING SUPER*SEARCH!
------


INSTALLATION
============

Copy the file SS.EXE to a Hard Disk directory that is in your PATH. If you
are not sure about the PATH, see your DOS manual. SUPER*SEARCH is ready for
action.



Reading the SUPER*SEARCH output screen
======================================

When you run the program, file name(s) and statistics that meet search
criteria are listed to the screen. Here is a breakdown of program output;


File NAME
|
| File EXTENSION
| |
DATE TIME SIZE | | LOCATION
| | | \ / |
| | | | | |
-----------------------------+--------------+--------------
Sep 10-88 9:52p 10,756 | EUROMAP .MAP | C:\GRAFMAPS
Sep 10-88 9:52p 10,330 | USMAP .MAP | C:\GRAFMAPS
-----------------------------+--------------+--------------
Mar 12-89 12:02a 1,221 | TREX .MAP | D:\PASCAL\PROJ
-----------------------------+--------------+--------------




SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 7









Left to right the output shows file Statistics, file Name and Extension, and
the file Location. Separation of file Name and Location eases viewing when
large numbers of files are listed.

Top to bottom, we see that drive (C:) files were separated by a horizontal
line, from drive (D:) files.

Below the file listing is the optional Summary report (see below). If this
Option is ON or enabled, it will provide information about the last search.
Among other things, the search FileSpec is recalled. This is handy when many
files were listed and the last command line has scrolled off the screen.

The Summary provides storage information in the form of two numbers. The
first is APPARENT STORAGE. This is the sum of all file sizes that met search
parameters. Added together, you have the apparent storage requirements to
save these files to any disk. Stated another way, this number reflects the
least amount of storage needed. The truth is, that these files almost always
use more than this (apparent) number. The TRUE STORAGE number reflects how
much disk space is currently allocated to these files.

Other file information is available such as FILES FOUND, POSSIBLE MATCH,
DIRECTORIES SEARCHED, and MEGABYTES (or kilobytes) SPANNED. When Commands
are executed, you'll see a flashing message (in the empty line on the right
part of the Summary), indicating, how many files were COPIED, MOVED, or
DELETED.


Here is an example of the Summary report;


Specific Search General Search
info info
| |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------
File Spec ..... (*.C) Possible Match ..... 3,269
Files FOUND .... 14 Dirs Searched ..... 111
Appnt Storage .. 51,165
True Storage .. 64,544 Megabytes Spanned .. 108.6
-----------------------------------------------------------



Additional information may follow the file list and the Summary report. The
program adds statements about any Options or special search functions that
were used. These include Date Options, Size Options, Attribute Options and
Text Search.










SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 8








The following is typical program output;



SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 - Copyright (c) 1989 - by Thomas Price
-----------------------------+--------------+--------------
Apl 15-89 2:28p 6,495 | DR .COM | C:\BATCH
Apl 15-89 2:28p 6,495 | DC .COM | C:\BUTLS
-----------------------------+--------------+--------------
Apl 19-89 5:28a 7,291 | DIRCHK .COM | G:\
-----------------------------+--------------+--------------
File Spec ..... (D*.COM) Possible Match ..... 199
Files FOUND .... 3 Dirs Searched ..... 111
Appnt Storage .. 19,485
True Storage .. 22,912 Megabytes Spanned .. 108.6
-----------------------------------------------------------
AFTER . . . . Apl 10 1989
BEFORE . . . . Apl 20 1989
GREATER than 6,000
LESS than 8,000



The above example lists files that met search requirements, a Summary of
what transpired, and comments about additional search criteria.

You'll always know what happened at the end of a SUPER*SEARCH operation.

When output is directed to a file or the printer, the Summary report and the
extra comments are echoed to the screen.




PROGRAM USAGE
=============

The interface between user and program is a DOS command line. A command line
consists of typing a program NAME and any additional switches, parameters,
plus the final step of hitting the key.

The SUPER*SEARCH command line format can be thought of as;

SS [/Options] [Filespec] [(TextWord)] ['Command ']

All of the choices after SS and before are optional! Use the ones
that help you find and manipulate your target files.

The ORDER of the Options, Filespec, etc is up to you.


Context Sensitive Help
----------------------
When you type a command line, the context sensitive help facility will alert
you about any syntax or parameter errors. If your command line is okay, the


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 9








program will start the search operation.

The following is an example of the context help facility as it catches
command line errors. The program output is contained in asterisks for
clarity;


SS /w

****************************************************************************
* *
* SUPER*SEARCH - Copyright (c) 1989 by T. L. Price *
* *
* illegal Option letter /w *
* *
* Type: SS to get HELP screen *
* *
****************************************************************************

The facility detected the use of an illegal option letter. Here is another
example;

SS /p

****************************************************************************
* *
* SUPER*SEARCH - Copyright (c) 1989 by T. L. Price *
* *
* bad (month) in /P mm yy PERIOD opt *
* *
* Type: SS to get HELP screen *
* *
****************************************************************************

The notation /P mm yy is the format for the PERIOD Option.
This Option will qualify file locations occurring within the parameters of
starting Month-Year (the first mm yy numbers) and an optional ending
Month-Year (the second numbers).

From the error message [ bad (month) in ..], you can deduce that you're
having problems with the (mm) parameter of this Option. In fact, that
parameter was omitted to force the error message. If the parameter was
present, but not numeric or out of range, the same error message would be
output.

Most Commands, parameters, and Options are checked for proper range and
type, as is required to support a program feature. The context help
facility pinpoints any problems.

Filespecs (as opposed to numeric parameters) can be almost anything.
Therefore, you will not receive any bad filespec messages. However, your
Filespec cannot use any special SWITCH CHARACTERS in the FIRST LETTER
POSITION. These characters are [ / ' ( } ], not including the square
brackets. The (/) character may not be used in any position of a filespec.



SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 10









Wildcard Basics
---------------
As you become more experienced with file-find utilities, you'll discover
that much can be accomplished using 'wildcards'. Wildcards are used in the
filespec part of search criteria. Filespec is another way of saying we are
specifying a file NAME (and extension) using letters and wildcards.

DOS provides some useful shortcuts for typing file Names and Extensions. The
DOS wildcards are the characters (* and ?). They act as a substitute for
portions (or all) of a file Name and/or extension.

To illustrate this, you could issue a (DOS) DIR command with a filespec of
(*.BAT). All files in the current directory that have any NAME but an
EXTENSION of (.BAT) will be listed to your screen. In this case, DOS
(ignores) the Name portion - and shows those files that match the Extension
specification. The command line would be;

DIR *.BAT

You can think of the DOS (*) wildcard as having an (operative definition) of
IGNORE ALL AFTER. Since it showed up at the beginning of the Name portion
of the above example filespec, the entire Name field was (ignored) by DOS.
Only the Extension field determined the outcome of the command.

The IGNORE ALL AFTER operative is very useful when you know the STARTING
letters of a file Name.

Some example filespecs using this concept are;

ed*.* Names that START with (ED) {ignore after (ED)}
comm* Names that START with (COMM) {ignore after (COMM)}

This is fine, unless you can't remember the starting text of those files you
seek? If you want to search for files that END in a text pattern, you need
a different operative.



Extending Wildcards
-------------------
Some file-finder and directory programs extend the wildcard (operative
definition) to include a case of IGNORE ALL BEFORE. Typical filespecs
using this concept could be;

*nd.com Names that END with (ND) { ignore before ND }
*exec.bat Names that END with (EXEC) { ignore before EXEC }

Once you become accustomed to using the regular and extended wildcards, it
is natural to try both techniques at once. This would imply that you can
find files that have an INSTANCE of a text pattern, anywhere within the Name
field. This is sometimes referred to as pattern match or mid-string
searching.

Some example filespecs might be;


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 11








*er* Names with the PATTERN (ER) { ignore before/after }
*omma* Names with the PATTERN (OMMA) { ditto }

SUPER*SEARCH provides all of these wildcard operatives. You can locate
files that BEGIN, END, or have some INSTANCE of a text pattern.

The following examples show how you can use regular and extended wildcards.


SS er* Find files STARTING in 'er'.
Regular DOS wildcard.

SS *er Find files ENDING in 'er'.
EXTENDED wildcard.

SS *er* Find files INSTANCE of 'er'.
EXTENDED wildcard.



Using DATE OPTIONS
==================

SUPER*SEARCH provides comprehensive, DATE qualified file location. If you
can't remember a file Name, searching by Date might hit the bulls-eye.


The TODAY Option
----------------
This Option will find all files that have the current DOS system date. The
files would have been created or updated - not copied. Therefore, they
would bear TODAYS' month, day, and year.

Note that a copied file will still retain its original (or last updated)
date/time values. Only when you edit a file or somehow write to it (or
create it), will it bear the current DOS date/time values.

The following command lines are typical:


SS /t Find all files that bear
TODAYS' DOS date (*.* implied).

SS /t *.bak Same as above but with a file
extension qualifier.

SS /t *er* Find all files with pattern
(er) that bear TODAYS' DOS
date - any extension.


If you create files on a daily basis, you'll find the TODAY Command handy to
recap what got changed or created, TODAY.




SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 12








The SINCE number of days ago Option
-----------------------------------
This Option finds files whose dates range from the current system date (IE
today's date) back some arbitrary number of days. The number specified can
range from zero to thousands of days. SUPER*SEARCH calculates month sizes
and leap years, to land on the correct starting date.

If you specify that you want to list files dated SINCE 6 days ago, you will
get those 6 days PLUS whatever files are dated TODAY. I know this may sound
confusing, but it will make sense to you after you use the command.

The following examples illustrate using the SINCE Option;


SS /s 0 Finds files SINCE zero days ago
plus todays files. Same result as
the TODAY Option.

SS /s 7 Find files dated over the last
week (plus today).

SS /s 365 Find files dated over the last
year (plus today).




The BEFORE and AFTER Options
----------------------------
These Options qualify files dated either BEFORE or AFTER, a given date.
You can stack the BEFORE and AFTER options, to give you a specific
date-range.


SS /b 12 05 81 Find all files that bear a DOS
date occurring BEFORE 12/5/81.
(*.* implied).

SS /b 12 05 81 *.exe Same as above, but with file
extension qualifier.

SS /A 02 06 89 Find all that bear a DOS date
occurring AFTER 2/6/89.


SS /A 7 7 90 /b 7 21 90 Find all that bear dates AFTER
7/7/90 and BEFORE 7/21/90
STACKED OPTIONS.









SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 13








The PERIOD Option
------------------
This Option qualifies files that occur across a (monthly) range of dates.
The usage is a bit more involved.

First, you specify months and years - NOT days. This feature spans from the
FIRST day of the first (mm yy) parameters thru the LAST day of the second
(mm yy) parameter. { mm yy notation denotes month and year }

If you give only one set of (mm yy) parameters, you will get a search report
based on a (single month span) for the given month and year.

The usage is as follows;


SS /p 1 88 12 89 Find all files from Dec 1, 88
thru Dec 31, 89 (implied *.*).

SS /p 12 88 12 89 *.bak Same as above but with file
extension qualifier.

SS /p 10 89 10 89 Find all files whose dates
range from Oct 1,89 thru
October 31,89. see below.

SS /p 10 89 Same as above. Find all files
for the MONTH of October 1989
(implied *.*).



The DATE (specific) Option
--------------------------
Very few (search) programs let you locate files that occur on a SPECIFIC
date. Sooner or later, you'll find that this Option is a must.

The DATE Option will allow you two distinct ways to locate files. The first
way is to specify a (specific) date. Examples follow;


SS /d 12 25 89 Find all files of Dec 25, 1989.
(implied *.*).

SS /d 12 25 89 *.exe Same as above but with
EXTENSION QUALIFIER.



The DATE (wildcard) Option
--------------------------
The second way to utilize the DATE Option is to substitute a (?) for a DATE
Option PARAMETER. The Option supports the use of (? or ??) in ANY or ALL of
the parameter fields. The following examples illustrate;




SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 14








SS /d ? 03 86 Find files that occurred the
THIRD of (ANY MONTH) - 1986.

SS /d 12 ? 89 Find files that occurred on
DEC 1989 (ANY DAY). Same as
the PERIOD Option for a ONE
month range, but faster.

SS /d 12 09 ? Find files that occurred on
DEC 09 (ANY YEAR).

SS /d 12 09 ?? *er* Same as above but with a TEXT
PATTERN QUALIFIER.

SS /d ?? ?? 90 Find all files dated in 1990.


This DATE WILDCARD feature is currently a SUPER*SEARCH exclusive. There are
many more ways to apply it to your search needs. Try it, you'll like it.



Using SIZE OPTIONS
==================

Finding files that are greater or smaller than some size value can help you
zero in on what you're looking for. One application is to identify (large)
files that use a lot of storage.

If your hard disk has a cluster size of 2048 or 4096 bytes, then all really
small files are allocating (at least) one cluster each. The waste of many
small files could be horrendous.

When you run the following examples, watch the values of the APPARENT and
TRUE STORAGE figures, in the Summary report. You may be surprised at what
you learn about your storage situation.



The GREATER THAN Option
-----------------------
This works just like it sounds. You can locate files that are (greater than)
the size parameter entered. Here are some examples;


SS /G 1000000 Find files greater than
1 million bytes.

SS /G 1000000 *.asm As above but with extension
qualifier.


In case you're wondering, DOS reserves the symbols (<) and (>) for I/O
redirection. They cannot be used to substitute for the (/option-letter)
used to invoke the Size features. Therefore, you must enter (/g nnn)


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 15








instead of (> nnn).



The LESS THAN Option
--------------------
This Option will allow you to find files that are (less than) the size
parameter. Examples are;


SS /L 100 Find files less than 100
bytes.

SS /L 100 *.bat As above but with qualifier.


It is also possible to define a specific Size-range by stacking the (GREATER
than) and (LESS than) Options. This is illustrated as below;


SS /G 100 /L 500 Find files with size values
GREATER than 100 bytes (and)
LESS than 500 bytes.



The EQUAL TO Option
-------------------
You can find files of a specific size using this Option. Usage is;


SS /E 0 Find all zero byte files.

SS /E 1024 Find all 1024 byte files.

SS /E 12 *e?r* Find all 12 byte files with
an instance of the pattern
(*e?r*).



Using ATTRIBUTE OPTIONS
=======================

These options are useful when looking for files with Read_Only, Hidden, or
Archive attributes set. I needed these Options when my file compression
software refused to move certain areas of my disk. This was usually a result
of lost clusters, but it also turned out that Read_Only or Hidden files
could lead me on a merry chase (through dozens of directories).


**NOTE**

The READ_ONLY Attribute Option is only concerned with the Read_Only file
attribute. It ignores other file attributes. Files that have this attribute


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 16








set will be (found) during its use.

The HIDDEN Attribute Option is only concerned with the Hidden file
attribute. It ignores other file attributes. Files that have this attribute
set will be (found) during its use.

The ARCHIVE Attribute Option is only concerned with the Archive file
attribute. It ignores other file attributes. Files that have this attribute
set will be (found) during its use.



USAGE is;


SS /R Find any files with the
READ_ONLY attribute set.

SS /H Find any files with the
HIDDEN attribute set.

SS /V Find any files with the
ARCHIVE attribute set.



Using TEXT SEARCH for Word
==========================

This feature finds files that have a specific text word in the first 2000
bytes. The assumption is that the general Subject or Title (word) of the
file will be in the first text page.


The general format for this Option is;

SS (textword)

or

SS (-textword)


The program ignores many file extensions of NON text files. This includes
extensions of .EXE, .COM, .ARC, .ZIP, .ZOO, and numerous others.

To improve speed, this feature is CASE-SENSITIVE. Therefore (Tho) is
different from (tho). Syntax requires you to enclose your text word in
parenthesis (). You must not use more than one word or any spaces.

For maximum flexibility, there are two ways to specify the word search. One
way is to just type part of the word (pattern). However, this method could
find files with similar words. To overcome this possibility, it is best to
type the entire word. In cases where this fails, you can use a (dash)
modifier to explicitly specify an exacting search that won't be confused by


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 17








similar pattern words.

You must take care to specify the word correctly.

The following examples are NOT CORRECT;


(sammy ) WRONG - space in parenthesis.
( sammy) WRONG - space in parenthesis.
(Me and sammy) WRONG - space in parenthesis.
More than one word illegal.


These examples are CORRECT;

(Sammy) Correct specification.
(Tho) Correct specification.
(-resume) Correct specification.


The last example above (IE -resume), has a dash modifier to help discern
between true (words) and pattern likenesses. The text word (resume) could be
'found' in similar words such as (presume and resumed). Using (-resume)
modifies the search to look for the word ' resume ', which has a leading and
trailing space.


The proper usage is as follows;


SS (Tho) Find any text files that have
an instance of 'Tho' in the
first 2048 bytes.

SS (Tho) /A 12 9 89 Same as above - but only check
text files dated AFTER 12/9/89.

SS .asc (-January) Find any text files with the
extension (.ASC) with an instance
of ' January ' in the first 2048
bytes.



Using FILE MANIPULATION COMMANDS
================================

SUPER*SEARCH provides three (smart) file manipulation Commands. They are
COPY, MOVE, and DELETE. With them, you have the ability to perform file
maintenance tasks across multiple drives.

File Commands have the FORMAT ... 'CommandWord ' .

You must surround the Command with single (right) quotes (').



SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 18








The COPY and MOVE commands will optionally accept what is called a
DESTINATION directory. It is TO this directory that files are MOVED or
COPIED. If no destination is specified, the program assumes the current
logged directory is the intended destination. Should you specify a
destination that does not exist, the program aborts with an error message.


*** WARNING ***

USE THESE COMMANDS WITH CARE. IT IS POSSIBLE TO ERASE AN ENTIRE HARD DISK,
DIRECTORY BY DIRECTORY, AND PARTITION BY PARTITION.
READ THIS MANUAL CAREFULLY AND BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT COMMANDS DO AND
HOW TO USE THEM SAFELY - BEFORE YOU OPERATE THEM !



Command Smarts
--------------
The Commands check for adequate space at the specified destination. The
DELETE command will not act on Read_Only, System, or Hidden files. If there
is a problem, the commands will 'ask' permission to continue.

SUPER*SEARCH will not attempt to COPY or MOVE files that are encountered in
a specified (destination) directory. This prevents copying and/or moving
files over themselves.

To safeguard against large amounts of data loss, Command VERIFY is built in.
This feature (can) be defeated for use with batch files - or if you are
brave. Each time a Command is used (and VERIFY is enabled), you will be
asked if you want to proceed. This VERIFY question will include File Name
and Path along with the Operation involved.

As the program COPIES, MOVES, or DELETES files, it reports the result of
each completed operation with a (check mark), located to the right of each
file Location.



Special VERIFY features
-----------------------
VERIFY has certain special abilities. IF you issue a Command and you are
sure that all is well, you can answer the (Y/N ?) query from VERIFY - with
the 'A' key. This tells VERIFY to complete (ALL) file manipulation
operations, with files that meet search criteria. No further queries from
VERIFY will be received and the program runs to completion.

If you do use the (ALL) key, you can restore VERIFY by hitting any other
key. This is also true when the VERIFY feature is CONFIGURED to be OFF (not
recommended). Tapping a key, during search operations, will recall VERIFY
for that particular run. When you try this, remember that the current file
operation must be completed before VERIFY is re-enabled. Be prepared for a
delay.





SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 19









The COPY Command
----------------
COPY checks for adequate space at the destination drive to accept the source
file. If there is not enough, COPY sends the following message;

' Not enough space in destination disk - proceed ? Y/N '

If you have a floppy disk set as the destination, you can change disks and
enter (Y) for the Command to continue. If your destination is a Hard Disk,
then you have little choice but to enter (N). The Command ALWAYS checks to
see if there is enough space, before execution.

If there is enough space, COPY then checks if the file already exists at the
specified destination. If the file exists, the Command sends the following
message;

' D:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT already exists! COPY ? Y/N '

If you enter (Y), COPY will overwrite the existing (destination) file with
the source file. If you enter (N), then the next file in the Search
operation is processed.



The MOVE Command
----------------
This command moves files from anywhere (per your drive list) in your system
to a specified destination directory. MOVE first writes the source file to
the destination, then erases the source file.

MOVE knows to RENAME files when the source and destination directories are
within the same Drive Partition. This is not only faster but prevents
unnecessary fragmentation of files. In this case, additional disk space is
not needed, as only the DOS directory information is changed instead of
executing a copy/erase procedure.

When the source and destination Drive or Partitions are different, MOVE
checks for enough space at the destination. If there is not enough, the
Command sends;

' Not enough space in destination disk - proceed ? Y/N '

Again, if the destination is removable media, you can change the media and
enter (Y) to continue.

MOVE then checks if the file already exists at the destination. If the file
exists, the program sends the following message;

' D:\PATH\FILENAME.EXT already exists! MOVE ? Y/N '

If (Y), then MOVE writes the source file over its destination counterpart
and erases the source file.




SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 20








The DELETE Command
------------------
The Delete Command will erase files that meet search criteria. This command
has the potential to do a lot of damage, if used improperly. The Command
will NOT delete files that have the READ_ONLY, HIDDEN, or SYSTEM attributes
set.

When a file with any of these attributes is encountered, the program ignores
it - but leaves you an indication that an attempt to erase a protected file
was made. The indicator is a (!) character - in place of the check mark
character. Completed file manipulations are indicated by a check mark on the
far right of the CRT screen.



Command Usage
-------------
All File Commands must be surrounded in single quotes. The format for all
commands is;

'CommandWord '

The DELETE Command does not use a Destination. If you do include one, DELETE
will ignore it. The notation implies that it is an optional
parameter. If you do not include a destination with COPY or MOVE, the
Commands will assume the current logged directory to be the destination.

If you wish, you can shorten the CommandWords down to a single letter.


The following is usage for COPY;


SS *.bak 'copy a:\' COPY all (.BAK) files to A:\ .

SS /T 'cop' COPY all files with TODAY's
date to the current logged
directory. Short CommandWord.

SS /T 'c' Same as above but using shortest
CommandWord.

SS .exe /A 7 7 90 'c d:\work' COPY (.EXE) files that are
dated AFTER 7-7-90 to D:\WORK.
Implied leading (*) in (21s).
Short CommandWord.


The following is usage for MOVE;


SS C:*.asc 'move a:' MOVE all (.ASC) files of
Drive C: to Drive A: .

SS /T *.txt 'm' MOVE (.TXT) files with TODAY's


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 21








date to the current directory.
Short CommandWord.

SS /E 1020 *.BAT 'mov E:\SAV' MOVE (.BAT) files whose size
equals 1020 bytes to E:\SAV.
Short CommandWord.



The following is usage for DELETE;


SS *.bak 'delete' DELETE all (.BAK) files.
All drives that are in the
USER-DRIVE-LIST are affected
if MULTI-DRIVE Search is ON.

SS /T *.map 'del' DELETE all (.MAP) files that
bear TODAY's date.
Short CommandWord.

SS /B 2 1 80 .zip 'd' DELETE all (.ZIP) files
dated BEFORE 2-1-80.
Shortest CommandWord.

































SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 22








CUSTOM CONFIGURATION of SUPER*SEARCH
====================================

The program has a menu style method for you to custom set features and
action. You can select Screen Colors, Multi-drive searches, Turbo speed,
Drives to search, and more. After completion, you can verify all settings
by viewing the HELP screen.

The following illustrates how to CONFIGURE the program.



Starting CONFIGURE
------------------

The first step is to issue this command;

SS /C

The program will present the following menu.


# 1 - REPORT SKIPPED DRIVES - NO
# 2 - SEARCH MULTIPLE DRIVES - YES
# 3 - SUMMARY REPORT INCLUDED - YES
# 4 - VERIFY COMMAND ACTION - YES
# 5 - SEARCH at TURBO SPEED - YES
# 6 - PAUSE if SCREEN FULL - YES

# 7 - STRICT BEFORE/AFTER op - YES
# 8 - STRICT GREATER/LESS op - YES


The current status of each item is indicated by a YES or NO. To set any item
to your preference, simply hit the that corresponds to an item. To
set the 'REPORT SKIPPED DRIVES' item to 'YES', just hit the (1) key. If you
wish to reset that feature, hit the (1) key again. The selections will
toggle between YES and NO each time you hit the corresponding key.

When you have the items set to your preference, you hit the key to
accept the choices.

Next you are shown the following;


LAST DRIVE LIST WAS: CDEFG

ENTER the Drive LETTERS to SEARCH --> _

(Or just to use current list)



Enter your Drive-list letters. Be sure to enter them without spaces or
separators. For example use (cde) instead of ( c d e ).


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 23








SUPER*SEARCH comes to you with a default Drive-list of (CDEFG). In most
cases this gets everyone up and running for trial purposes. I recommend
that you enter (your own Drive-list) to be sure all works properly on your
system.

Next you are shown the following chart and text;


0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ?
@ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _
` a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
p q r s t u v w x y z { | }

Using characters from the above chart;

Enter COLOR OFFSET for FILENAMES or to accept


Each letter in the chart, will have a different foreground/background color
combination. These colors are relative to your current foreground and
background screen colors.

Choose the character that has your color preference and hit that key. Be
alert to upper/lower case selections.

If you have a Monographic system, you'll see very little difference,
although some choices (may) appear brighter than others. In this case you
can just hit <0> for no color. If you are satisfied with the current colors
and do not wish a change, just hit .

Last you are shown the following;


Enter COLOR OFFSET for SUMMARY or to accept


The same rules apply as before. The Summary Report fields can be of a color
in the chart. Choose a character that has the color combo you want and hit
that same key.

If you wish no color be used, just hit <0>. If you are satisfied with the
current colors, just hit .

Note that the above words - SUMMARY and FILENAMES, appear in the (preset)
foreground/background colors which were chosen at the last Configuration
setup.

That's all there is to it. Your selections are fixed into the program.








SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 24








HELP SCREEN Features
====================

Whenever you configure a copy of SUPER*SEARCH, you can check that the
operation was successful by viewing (that copy's) HELP screen. To view
HELP, just type the program name with no parameters. Assuming that the
program is still named SS.EXE, you would enter the following to view HELP ;

SS

the helpscreen appears as below;


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

V1.4 SUPER*SEARCH Copyright 1989, 1990 by T. L. Price

USAGE * SS [ /Options ] [ Filespec ] [ (TextWord) ]
[ 'Copy, Mov, Del ' ] [ }File, }Device or }Prn ]

/T TODAY system date
/S nnn SINCE system date - nnn days
/P mm yy PERIOD date to date
/B mm dd yy BEFORE date.
/A mm dd yy AFTER date.
/D m? d? y? DATE (specific or wildcard)

/G nnn GREATER than (bytes).
/L nnn LESS than (bytes).
/E nnn EQUAL to (bytes)

/R /H /V ATTRIBUTE rd_only, hid, arc
/Q QUIET batch file mode
/C CONFIGURE CDEFG

COMMAND VERIFY (*) AUTOSCREEN PAUSE (-) HI-SPEED SEARCH (*)
SUMMARY REPORT (*) MULTI-DRV SEARCH (*) SKIPPED DRV IND (-)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------



At the top, we have the USAGE line followed by various slash-type (/)
Options and Parameter info.

When we look down to the (/C) CONFIGURE line, we see the DRIVE LIST. The
list uses slightly different colors so it is easy to identify. The list is a
series of capital letters - signifying which drives are searched in
MULTI-DRIVE mode. There is room for 26 letters.

At the bottom, is an area devoted to the display of the current action
Options. This is called the STATUS. Items such as Pause, Verify, Hi-Speed
Search, etc are shown to be either enabled or disabled. The indication for
ENABLED is a (diamond symbol) on the CRT or a star (*), if output is
directed to a file or printer. The indication for NOT ENABLED is a (flashing


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 25








minus-sign) on the CRT - or a fixed dash, if output direction is used.

Additionally, the colors you choose during the CONFIGURATION setup, are used
with two areas of the HELP screen. The USAGE lines are written using the
colors associated with the File NAME field. The status lines use the colors
that are associated with the SUMMARY REPORT.

At a glance, you can quickly learn about the programs' personality. This is
especially useful if you decide to use multiple copies for different
applications.



TRICKS and TRAPS of SUPER*SEARCH
================================

SUPER*SEARCH is designed to make your file-search time productive. There
are some (not so) obvious enhancements and tricks to getting maximum program
benefit. It is presumed that you are now familiar with the program and have
read the sections dealing with Commands and Options.


Shortcut Tricks
--------------
One feature you should know about is the programs ability to deal with
shortcut notation. The following list of filespecs will illustrate ways for
you to save keystrokes. You may be surprised to learn that DOS supports
some of these conveniences directly.

The format of this list is ..... (shortcut way == the old way).
The (==) means (IS the SAME AS).


Shortcut Rule Comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------

(*) == (*.*) All Names and Extensions.

(.bat) == (*.bat) search by file extension.
(.exe) == (*.exe) implied leading star.

(.) == (*.) search for Names with NO
extension, implied leading star.

(text) == (text.*) implied trailing dot-star.
(abc*) == (abc*.*) |
(*xyz) == (*xyz.*) |
(*pat*) == (*pat*.*) implied trailing dot-star.

(\) == (Drive:\*.*) Root dir symbol (\) will give
current logged drive starting at
root.

(\subd) == (Drive:\subd\*.*) Root dir symbol (\) plus sub
dir.


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 26









TRAP!
=====
You may think that you can get the current logged directory of another drive

by using the DOS notation of (Drive-letter + colon - IE [C:]). The truth is
SUPER*SEARCH treats this notation as if you meant the entire drive. You must
enter a specific path in deference to searching an entire drive.



Command Tricks
--------------
Disk maintenance is a task that we all deal with from time to time. For
example, you may have certain files cropping up as a result of editor or
word processor operation. These files may carry extensions of (.BAK). If you
are running out of space and don't feel you 'need' these files, its a snap
to hunt them down and either MOVE them to a holding area or to DELETE
them.

The command for such an operation might be;

SS .bak 'd' DELETE all (.BAK) files

This would find (.BAK) files and allow you to eliminate them, one-by-one,
assuming VERIFY is ON. The first query from VERIFY will let you examine the
file Name and Command operation that is underway. IF you are confident that
all is well, you may hit the (ALL) key to complete the operation in one
pass. This would free you from verifying each file.

The MOVE version of the above, would probably include a destination
directory. The command for that operation might be;

SS .bak 'm d:\baksav' MOVE all (.BAK) files to the
directory of BAKSAV in drive D:.


Another application for Commands could be to back-up or save files that are
of some specific date, date range, or size.

SUPER*SEARCH is no substitute for a good back-up program. However, it can
(selectively) COPY or MOVE critical files to a holding area (such as a
floppy) until a proper back-up operation can be performed. For example;

SS .doc /a 9 9 90 'c a:\' Find (.DOC) files dated AFTER
Sept 9 1990 - COPY to A:\ .

SS /g 1000 /t 'c a:\' Find files GREATER than 1000
bytes - that bear TODAYS date.
COPY to A:\ .








SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 27









STRICT versus RELAXED relation Tricks
-------------------------------------
When you view the HELP screen of SUPER*SEARCH, you may notice that certain
Option descriptions end in a period (.). These include the relational
Options of;

GREATER than size
LESS than size

AFTER date
BEFORE date

The periods (at the end of the description statements in the HELP screen)
are a different type of STATUS indicator. Their presence indicates that the
operators act in the STRICT sense of their definition. If no periods are
visible, then these specific Options are in a RELAXED mode.

For example, if we are in the STRICT mode and using the (LESS than size)
Option with a parameter of 10 bytes, we should expect to see files that are
really LESS than 10 bytes - NOT INCLUDING 10 bytes.

On the other hand, if we are in the RELAXED mode with the above relation and
10 byte parameter, it IS possible to see files listed with LESS than 10
bytes - INCLUDING 10 bytes.

Okay, so why confuse your life with yet another complexity. Well, the answer
is to make the program flexible enough to meet your needs in an intuitive
fashion. That is - I am giving you a choice as to how you wish to 'think'
about using the relational Options.

If you use the relational Options in their STRICT sense, it may be that you
will need to do some mental arithmetic to define your parameters prior to
issuing a search command line. Doing mental arithmetic may NOT be to your
liking as the following example will illustrate.

Suppose you want to find files dated (from) January 1, 1987 (to) May 5 of
the same year. You will need to use the relational DATE Options of BEFORE
and AFTER along with appropriate parameters. If you are in the STRICT mode
of operation, you'll find that you must calculate parameters that are
different from the above. If you don't do this mental calculation, you will
actually skip the starting day of January 1 and the ending day of May 5. In
order to include these days in your search (IE using BEFORE and AFTER), you
must use December 31, 1986 and May 6, 1987 for the proper result.

While the above calculations are easy enough, they present a distraction
that can affect productive use of valuable time. To make things more
intuitive, you can RELAX the relation to include the parameter in the
search.

The CONFIGURE Option offers you this choice in its opening menu. You can
choose to separately select either the Date or Size relations (or both) to
be STRICT or RELAXED. The program comes to you with the STRICT modes set to
ON.



SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 28








Try it both ways and choose the modes that suit you.



Range Tricks with Relational Options
------------------------------------
Hang on to your hats folks. This is rather involved, but I'll attempt to
explain it in a way that makes sense. For the purposes of the following
text, we will assume STRICT relations hold true.

When we refer to a single-range operation in SUPER*SEARCH, we mean a (window
or span) of Dates or Sizes used to qualify a search operation.

A specification for a single-range (SIZE) window might be expressed as
GREATER than 100 bytes [ AND ] LESS than 200 bytes. Files larger than the
upper-limit or smaller then the lower-limit, will NOT be found in this
search specification. Graphically, this single-range span could be drawn
like this;


GREATER than Size [AND] LESS than Size
\ /
\ /
(100)| | (200)
0 -------------------------------------------------------------->
bytes /////////////| |/////////////////// Gigabytes
///////////////////| found files |/////////////////////////
///////////////////|<----------------->|/////////////////////////



This relationship has a definite LOGICAL connotation - the logical operator
[AND]. This means that both conditions must be true to fall inside the range
window. Stated another way, a file must be (both) GREATER than the 100
parameter [AND] LESS than the 200 parameter for a search 'hit'.


Similar statements could be made for DATE ranges. A (single) DATE-range
would be AFTER (some earlier date) [AND] BEFORE (some later DATE).
Graphically, a single Date-range would appear as;


AFTER this date [AND] BEFORE this date
\ /
\ /
(1-5-87) | | (12-25-91)
1980 ----------------------------------------------------------->
////////////////// | | /////////////// the future
////////////////// | found files | ////////////////////////
////////////////// |<----------------->| ///////////////////////



No doubt, you will usually search out files using single-range techniques.
However, you should know that SUPER*SEARCH will accurately search out files


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 29








using SPLIT-RANGES. What is a split-range? It occurs when there are TWO
WINDOWS of values to search through instead of one.

An example of split range parameters might take the form;

GREATER than a (Larger parameter = 200) [ OR ] <*****
LESS than a (Smaller parameter = 100)


A graphical depiction of a SPLIT-RANGE (SIZE) span might be;

LESS than Size [OR] GREATER than Size
\ /
\ /
(100)| | (200)
0 -------------------------------------------------------------->
bytes |///////////////////| Gigabytes
found files |///////////////////| found files
<----------------->|///////////////////|<----------------------->




A graphical depiction of the SPLIT-RANGE (DATE) span might be;

BEFORE this Date [OR] AFTER this Date
\ /
\ /
(1-9-82)| | (9-9-90)
1980 ---------------------------------------------------TIME---->
|///////////////////|
found files |///////////////////| found files
<----------------->|///////////////////|<----------------------->




SUPER*SEARCH recognizes these different range cases from the relationship
and mix of Option parameters. You can freely mix SIZE and/or DATE
ranges. The program knows which logical combinations of AND / OR are
required. You need only decide what you wish to search for.

One possible use for split-ranging is the (exclusion) of a span of dates or
sizes from a given search. For example, lets suppose you are searching for
all (.DOC) files that were (not) dated in 1988, but before and after that
year - are of vital interest. A good command line to accomplish this would
be;

SS .doc /b 1 1 88 /a 12 31 88 Find files BEFORE Jan 1 1988
OR AFTER Dec 31 1988 that have
(.DOC) extension.



Perhaps you seek files that are either LESS than 10 bytes (or) GREATER than


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 30








750,000 bytes. The reasons for such a search would be localized to your
particular system, file environment, and needs. In any case, the command
line might take the form;

SS /L 10 /g 750000 Find files GREATER than 750,000
bytes OR LESS than 10 bytes.



Summary Report Trick 1
----------------------
The Summary report has two STORAGE indicators called out as APPARENT and
TRUE. These readouts can provide you with information about waste in your
system. Since DOS allocates files on a cluster basis, no file can ever
allocate less than one cluster of storage. Also, no two files can share the
same cluster.

If you agree with the above, the next consideration is how big is a cluster
and how many are needed to hold a file? The answer depends on your disk
(hard or floppy) and DOS version. Generally, hard disk cluster size is
2,048 or 4,096 bytes. Some older disk systems used clusters as large as
8,192 and more. DOS allocates as many clusters as it needs to accommodate
the APPARENT size of any file in storage.

Assuming a cluster size of 2,048 and a batch file whose APPARENT size is 54
bytes, how much space is WASTED? The answer is (2048-54 = 1994). That is
equivalent to 93 percent waste. The TRUE (allocated) size of the batch file
is one cluster. The reason is that one cluster is the smallest allocation
unit available.

To see if (your) system has large amounts of waste, try the following
command line;

SS /L 500 Find all files LESS than 500
bytes in size.


Summary Report Trick 2
----------------------
You can learn how many of any type file exists on your system by viewing the
POSSIBLE MATCH figure in the Summary. This value indicates how many files
were actually checked per the Filespec.

If the Filespec was (*.*), such as in a lone TODAY Option, the total amount
of files on your system would be indicated. This presumes that your
Drive-list includes all drives (or partitions).

If the Filespec was (*.BAK), then the total number of (.BAK) files would be
indicated.








SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 31








Comparing File-search utilities Trap
------------------------------------
No doubt, some of you will compare SUPER*SEARCH to other file-finder
programs. I have learned that you must take certain steps to be sure you
don't fool yourself.

The physical location of a program (on disk) can impact its loading time.
Since most file-search programs are of the (command line) variety, the time
to load the program accounts for some of its apparent execution time.

Different areas of a hard disk exhibit different loading times. The closer
the file is to the start of the disk partition, the faster the access
(generally). The farther the file is from the start of the drive (or
partition), the longer the access. This has to do with disk head
positioning.

With the above in mind, it is easy to incorrectly compare one program to
another. This is especially true when one program ends in (.COM) and the
other ends in (.EXE) - and a disk compression utility has just 'ordered' all
your disk files (by name and extension).

To sidestep this problem, you need to create a ram disk. A ram disk is so
much faster than a hard disk, physical file placement has little to do with
access time. Once you move the files to the ram disk, you'll find your
program comparisons are more repeatable and accurate.

Also, after getting both files in a ram disk, be sure to explicitly use the
ram drive LETTER with the program name. I use a ram disk as drive (G:). When
I compare SUPER*SEARCH to other utilities, I am careful to use (G:) in the
command line. For example;

TIMER G:SS.EXE [filespec]

This guarantees that the copy of SS.EXE in the ram disk is used for the
timer run.

See your DOS manual about RAM disks and Config.sys .


Multiple version Tricks
-----------------------
Because SUPER*SEARCH does NOT use DOS environment strings to control its
actions, it can be replicated and configured to serve you in various ways.

Why would you bother? One reason is to make life easier. You now have at
least one copy of the program on your disk. As time goes by, you'll decide
to fine tune the CONFIGURATION to meet your needs. It may be that one day
you'll run into a situation where you are compelled to change the
configuration in a drastic sense, to solve some problem, or accomplish a
specific maintenance task.

When you encounter this situation, I recommend you copy the program to a new
NAME. Configure the copy to fulfill the new task requirements. At 40k
bytes or so per copy (TRUE allocation), you can afford to have two or more
versions resident at the same time.


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 32








Here is a specific example. I want to have one version of SUPER*SEARCH that
will search all drives and include a Summary at completion. I need another
version that is set for Single-drive searches and has NO Summary. The first
version already exists on my system. Here is how to create the second.

First, copy the program to a new name.

Copy SS.EXE MYFIND.EXE

Next configure the new copy using the CONFIGURE Option.

MYFIND /C

Using the menu selections, set MYFIND to Single-drive-search and No Summary.

Now there are two versions of SUPER*SEARCH, each with its own personality
and purpose. You can use different color sets to enhance recognizing which
is which.

When you view the HELP screen for MYFIND, you'll see that the status readout
reflects its CONFIGURATION. To get the HELP screen for the new version, you
would type;

MYFIND



More Filespec Tricks And Traps
------------------------------
One major concern with any search (or directory) utility is its ability to
deliver flexible and fast Filespec performance. Filespecs are the primary
search criteria for file location. If a file-search utility is weak in this
area, it is weak in general.

It is not obvious, but some file-search utilities cannot mix different
wildcards in just any combination (including SUPER*SEARCH). This requires
additional program size, performance tradeoffs, and (if you're lucky)
additional documentation.

SUPER*SEARCH offers users flexible wildcard variations, including nearly any
mix of the (*) and the (?) wildcard. There are times when using (exotic)
Filespecs (with mixed wildcards) can zero in on exactly what you're
searching for. This equates to being able to find files in a minimum number
of search operations (IE less time wasted).

But there are some unexpected traits associated with certain wildcards and
wildcards mixes that you should watch out for. They do not present any
barriers to the objective of finding a given file, but may give you cause
for concern.

The best way to illustrate this is to show a series of example command
lines;


SS ? Files with single letter names


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 33








SS ?? Files with 2 OR LESS letter names

SS ??? Files with 3 OR LESS letter names

SS ??er Files that end in (ER) with EXACTLY 2
preceding letters!

SS er?? Files that start in (ER) that end in
2 OR LESS letter names.


Okay, lets discuss this. When the (?) wildcard is used alone or at the end
of a Filespec (no star wildcards), the operation of the wildcard seems
somewhat relaxed. This is why certain explanations say (2 or less) instead
of (exactly) the number of wildcards. WHY is it this way? I don't know -
but it IS how DOS performs and as such, SUPER*SEARCH emulates the DOS action
to be compatible. (If I get enough requests [read that as registrations], I
may change this in a future version).

If you try using DIR commands with the above wildcard combinations, you'll
see that DOS does indeed act this way. Okay, lets carry things a little
further.


SS *ee? Files that have ANY starting pattern and
have (EE) plus EXACTLY 1 additional letter.

SS *ee?? Files that have ANY starting pattern and
have (EE) plus EXACTLY 2 additional letters.


Now you're really confused, right? Well, I don't blame you.

The catch with this apparent reversal of the above rules is that the
wildcard is EXTENDED. It is not available from DOS. DOS would respond to a
leading (*) with the (IGNORE ALL AFTER) operative. The result would be as
though you typed in (*.*). A different subroutine is used to accomplish the
above wildcard operations and it is not so flexible as DOS.


Here we go for some more;

SS ?ee* Files that have EXACTLY 1 starting letter
and (EE) followed by anything (or nothing).

SS ??ee* Files that have EXACTLY 2 starting letters
and (EE) followed by anything (or nothing).


Looks like were getting onto solid ground but, guess what? DOS accepts the
above filespec and gets rigid about how many letters are leading. In this
case, the results via DOS are exactly the same.



The above text illustrates that mixing wildcards is certainly feasible and


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 34








definitely useful but not without a few snags. The easy way for you to track
down files is to use the MID-STRING or PATTERN-MATCH techniques in your
Filespecs. At the risk of repeating myself, here are some examples;

SS *123* Files with (123) in their name.

SS *op* Files with (OP) in their name.






TRAP**********************************************************************

You can NOT do the following with the (*) wildcard;

SS com*nd ILLEGAL - treated as (COMND).

SS *co*mnd ILLEGAL - treated as (*COMND).

**********************************************************************TRAP

The (*) wildcard is either for the start or finish of a filespec. Don't get
caught in this trap. It (is) possible to achieve such a wildcard function,
but it would be quite slow compared to the more conventional approaches.


More examples of legal wildcard usage in SUPER*SEARCH are;


SS *e?r Files that END with (E, any letter, R).

SS e?r* Files that START with (E, any letter, R).

SS *e?r* Files with an INSTANCE of (E?R) pattern.


While this section on wildcards can certainly seem confusing, the purpose
was to illustrate what you can and can not do. The irregularities will prop
ably not give you any trouble because the worst that can happen is that
you'll see more files listed than expected. You'll find that this is not a
hardship.



Directory Tricks with TURBO mode
-------------------------------
WARNING *** The following is for advanced users. If you are new to
computers and/or DOS, skip this section. The author will not be responsible
for damage to data or media. See the disclaimer at the end of this manual!

Not long ago, a user registered his copy of SUPER*SEARCH and added an
interesting request. Could the program be improved to ignore (certain)
directories in a searched drive?


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 35








At first, I thought that this was impossible. But, then the answer came. The
TURBO mode was a way to improve search speed, at the expense of ignoring
directories that had an EXTENSION added to their name. If the user wished
to have the program ignore those directories, then all that was necessary
was to;


1) Enable the TURBO speed mode (ON by default).

2) Back up your hard disk to floppy or appropriate storage.

3) Make a new directory or Rename an existing directory with an
extension in its name.

If the the user wished to include these (extended) directories in a search,
at a later time, disabling the TURBO mode or renaming the directory would
return things to normal.

Renaming directories (back to their non-extended name) is too awkward for an
occasional search. A better way would be to create another copy of
SUPER*SEARCH that was CONFIGURED to have the TURBO mode switched (OFF).

This way, the user could run the appropriate program to search his or her
system for either situation. The tradeoff would be the speed of the
non-TURBO search. However, this would be far faster than renaming one (or
more) directories.

To rename a directory you need to find a directory renaming utility. They
are available through several sources, including most BBS systems. The one I
use (infrequently) is RENDIR, by a well known computing magazine. I believe
that there are high-level disk utilities that allow you to edit the name
directly, as well (for advanced users only).

Your alternative, is to create a new directory with an (extended) name and
then move the contents from the (non-extended) directory to the new
(extended) directory.

For example, you may have an existing directory on drive (C:) named
(C:\SAVDOCS). Lets assume that you wish to NOT have SUPER*SEARCH locate
files in this directory BUT you do want the program to search the rest of
drive (C:). Since you have the TURBO mode enabled (recommended), all you
need do the (C:SAVDOCS) NAME is add an extension.

If you do NOT have a renaming utility, you could try the following steps;


1) Make a new directory. The command is;

MD SAVDOCS.DIR

2) Move the contents from the old directory to the new one. One way to do
this is to use the DOS COPY command, then go back and remove the old
files with DOS DELETE.

An easier way is to use SUPER*SEARCH to do the file (moving) for you.


SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 36








** Remember - we are assuming that (C:SAVDOCS) has NO SUB-DIRECTORIES!
The command to move the files is;

SS c:\savdocs 'move c:\savdocs.dir'

3) Now remove the old (C:SAVDOCS) directory.

To accomplish that, you must be (above) the directory (in the
directory tree). Our example directory is subordinate to the root
directory of drive (C:). Therefore, the commands are;

CD .. (go up the directory tree)
RD SAVDOCS (remove the old directory)


***TRAP***

Performing the above will leave your storage area in a rather untidy state.
It is highly recommended that you double check that all files are moved. A
disk compression utility should be used to compact your disk and unfragment
any files!



Duplicate File elimination Trick
--------------------------------
SUPER*SEARCH is not intended as a duplicate file elimination utility.
However, it will easily allow you to perform such an operation - IF you know
the NAME or SIZE or DATE of the file.

For example, you may have multiple versions of the same utility stored in
different directories. To eliminate the duplicates, you would first locate
all of those files and compare them by DATE. The most recent dated file is
likely to be the one you wish to save. Next you would repeat the search
adding a DELETE Command - and eliminate all but one of these files.

An example of the first search command line could be;

SS someutil.exe

If multiple versions of the file exist, they will be listed in different
directories. The second search operation would include a DELETE Command in
the command line. If VERIFY is ON (highly recommended!), you can eliminate
the dupes, one by one, and skip (NOT DELETE) the desired copy.

An example of the second search command line could be;

SS someutil.exe 'del'

At this point the VERIFY query will interact with you on a file-by-file
basis to completion.






SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 37









Batch File Trick
----------------
There is another /Option available to enhance batch file operation. That
Option is the QUIET mode otherwise known as /Q.

It may be desirable to suppress SUPER*SEARCH screen output but to utilize
its power, via a batch utility file. To accomplish this, merely include the
/Q option in the command line with your other search parameters. The screen
does advance two line feeds to indicate that the program did indeed operate.

To make batch file operation more useful, SUPER*SEARCH returns (errorlevel)
codes to indicate if files were found (based on search criteria). An
errorlevel of (1) indicates that files were found. An errorlevel of (0)
indicates that files were not found. This provides the user a means to
automate SUPER*SEARCH operations as desired. If you do not understand how to
use errorlevel codes with batch files, then refer to you DOS manual.

The following text is source for a batch utility that you can try to confirm
proper operation on your system. You will need to create the file with an
editor and then run it as an executable file. This batch file is written for
DOS version (3.3).


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

@Rem Batch file to illustrate QUIET mode and ERRORLEVEL operation
@Rem with the SUPER*SEARCH program

@Rem We assume that SUPER*SEARCH is resident at the root of drive C:

@echo off

SS/q /a 10 9 90

@if errorlevel 1 goto FOUNDEM

@echo No files found after October 9, 1990

goto alldone

:foundem

@echo Files dated after October 9, 1990 were found by SUPER*SEARCH

:alldone

@echo off

@Rem End of Batch file test

---------------------------------------------------------------------------





SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 38










Sizing Directories and Drives Trick
-----------------------------------

You can use SUPER*SEARCH as a directory TREE sizing tool (similar to
TREECALC - another program by the author) by issuing a filespec that is only
a drive or a path. The program assumes a local filespec of (*.*) and then
'finds' all files in the specified directory (and all of its subdirectories)
or the entire specified drive.

The following examples illustrate;

SS c:\wp show all files in drive C:\WP and
all subdirectories. (*.*) implied.




SUPER*SEARCH Specifications and limitations
===========================================

The following specifications outline the abilities and limitations of the
SUPER*SEARCH file location program.


WILDCARDS: Support for regular and extended wildcards.
Usage of (*) at beginning, end, or both of
filespec. Flexible mixing of (*) and (?).

limitations; (*) may not be used mid-filespec.



FILESPEC: Any mix of numeric, alpha, and punctuation
characters less the exceptions noted below.

limitations; The characters ( ' / and } may not be used
in the first letter position of any FILESPEC.
The / character may not appear anywhere
in a filespec.

Only one filespec per search is available.
If multiple filespecs are issued in a
command line, the last filespec is used.



OPTIONS (search): Search by Date, Size, Attribute and text Word.

limitations; MONTH parameter must be in the range of 1 to
12, corresponding to January thru December.

DAY parameter must be in range of 1 thru 31.



SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 39








YEAR parameter must be in range of 80 thru 99.

SIZE parameter 2.147 Gigabytes max.

System ATTRIBUTE search not available.

2048 byte search depth (per file) maximum in
TEXT WORD search.

Program does NOT conduct searches within
compressed files such as ARC, PAK, ZIP, etc.




OPTIONS (Configure) User may selectively turn ON or OFF action
options of;

File Command VERIFY,
Screen full PAUSE,
High Speed TURBO,
Report SUMMARY,
Single drv or MULTI,
Indicator drvs SKIPPED,
Relaxed or STRICT relational operators.

User may enter a custom drive list - up to
26 drives (A..Z)

User may select color offsets for File NAME
and SUMMARY display fields.




OPTION (/Q) QUIET mode for batch processing. Errorlevel
returns 0 for search failure and 1 for search
success.

limitation; sends two carriage-return line-feeds to the
screen.




COMMAND LINE Context sensitive help facility catches syntax
and range errors. Options and Filespec may be
stacked in any order.

limitations; Only one filespec per search will be used. You
may not repeat the same options with different
parameters (reliably). OUTPUT direction must
be the last parameter in a command line.




SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 40










DISPLAY Program output is formatted for ergonomic
enhancement. Meant for color systems but will
operate in mono systems. Output can be
directed to printer or other device.


limitations; Long file locations are truncated at far right
of screen.





FILE COMMANDS Built in (smart) Copy, Move, and Delete
functions. VERIFY feature available for safe
operation.

limitations; Commands do NOT check for overflow on root
directory (max number of entries) limits set by
DOS. VERIFY can be disabled.

DELETE will ignore files bearing Hidden, Read
Only, and System attributes (any or all).

COPY works only on files - not with devices.





DISCLAIMER of WARRANTEE and LIABILITY
=====================================

The SUPER*SEARCH program, its documentation, and last minute README
files are provided "AS IS", without warrantee of any kind, either express
or implied, including without limitation, fitness for a particular
purpose or performance.

You are granted a one time 60 day LICENSE, to perform a TRIAL of the
program. By using the program, or acting on the information included
herein, YOU EXPLICITLY AGREE TO ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK, for any result,
performance, or lack of performance, including damage to data or
property.

Neither Thomas Price, his agents, nor any third parties shall be liable
to you, for any use of this program (including ANY INABILITY to use), for
its performance, for any incidental or consequential damages, or for any
claim by any other party.

In any COUNTRY, STATE, COUNTY, PROVINCE, or AREA where the above
conditions are ILLEGAL, or don't apply, your LICENSE is specifically NOT
GRANTED.




SUPER*SEARCH V1.4 Manual ________________________________________ Page 41



  3 Responses to “Category : File Managers
Archive   : SSEARCH4.ZIP
Filename : MANUAL.DOC

  1. Very nice! Thank you for this wonderful archive. I wonder why I found it only now. Long live the BBS file archives!

  2. This is so awesome! 😀 I’d be cool if you could download an entire archive of this at once, though.

  3. But one thing that puzzles me is the “mtswslnkmcjklsdlsbdmMICROSOFT” string. There is an article about it here. It is definitely worth a read: http://www.os2museum.com/wp/mtswslnk/