Home » Blog
date 27.Dec.2015

■ You don't see that kind of desktop search every day!


DeskRule is an industrial strength desktop search tool allowing searches for all system properties. Until recently you could only find files in the conventional way, say find documents modified in the last month or pictures with 4 stars rating and above. But what if you wanted to check file properties against each other? E.g. find files whose Modification date is older than their Creation date? Now you can do just that with the unique desktop detective search mode.

This super-advanced search mode allows you to write arbitrary search expressions, combining file properties with arithmetic, relational and logical operators and various constants that allow you to find anything whatsoever. For example the expression

    $DateModified < $DateCreated + 2

would find files that were created after being modified, a little conundrum explained elsewhere. Note how the standard less than < operator is used to compare dates and how we add 2 days to make the comparison stronger. File properties must be specified with their proper name (with or without the System. prefix). We can add extra search terms using boolean operators, e.g. specialize the above search for files that are Word (office) documents:

    $DateModified < $DateCreated + 2 & $ItemNameDisplay = '*.doc'

notice the use of boolean AND (&) operator to combine the search terms and the filename wildcard within single quotes. You will find more information on the syntax in the documentation — make sure you also watch the demo video play demo.

No doubt this is an impressive search capability, but whom is it for? Unless you are working as a forensic investigator for the FBI, why would anyone need such functionality? Arguably this kind of power isn't for everyday searches, but it could prove useful in many situations that you need to combine file attributes and check their relationship. Here are a few examples off the top of my head:

  • Find photos that were edited since shot:
    $System.DateModified > $System.Photo.DateTaken + 1
     
  • Find photos shot at non-standard aspect ratio:
    $System.Image.VerticalSize / $System.Image.HorizontalSize != 4/3
     
  • Find files with substantial hidden parallel streams (fishy?)
    $System.Size + 5KB < $Stock.TotalFileSize
     
desktop detective panel

Download DeskRule free trial (32 or 64 bit)

Merry (whatever is left of) Christmas!

Post a comment on this topic »

Share |

©2002-2015 ZABKAT, all rights reserved | Privacy policy | Sitemap