Chapter 10: The Find Utility

The WS_FTP Find Utility lets you search an FTP site for files that match your criteria, and then transfer the found files to your PC.
This is especially useful for anyone who is looking for one particular file on a large, complex FTP site.

This chapter gives an overview of the Find Utility and some examples of how you might use it. For detailed instructions on using the Find Utility, start the Find Utility and use its online Help.

Using the Find Utility

---

To find a file on an FTP site:

1. Start the Find Utility by doing one of the following:
   • From the Tools menu, select Find.
   • Click the Windows Start button and select Programs -> WS_FTP Pro -> WS_FTP Find Utility.
2. Use the Look in list box to select a site previously searched or click the Browse button to specify the site to which you will connect and search. You can also type in a host name or FTP URL.
3. Enter your search criteria. You can search by name, date modified, size, or any combination of the three.
4. Click Find Now. The Find Utility connects to the FTP site and searches according to your criteria.

   For example, if you search the Ipswitch FTP site for a file named filelist.txt, the following results are displayed.

Using the Search Results

Once you locate a file on an FTP site, you can:

• Transfer it.
• Schedule it for transfer at a later time, by selecting Send to Scheduler from the right-mouse menu.

To transfer a file:

1. In the dialog box above, select the file you want to transfer, and select Transfer from the right-mouse menu. A browse window appears.

   

2. Select the folder to which you want to download the file.

Examples

---

The following are examples of different types of searches.

Finding a File When You Are Not Sure of Its Name

The graphic below shows how to search for a file when you are not sure of the correct full name. In this case, the name begins with ws_f, but the rest of the name is unknown. The * at the end is a "wildcard" that takes the place of the missing characters. When this search is run, the Find Utility locates every file on the site that begins with ws_f.

The results of the search are shown below.

You can also use wildcard characters (* and ?) at the beginning of
a name if you are unsure about the beginning characters. For example, searching for *.exe returns all files ending with the .exe file extension.

Finding a File Modified During a Specific Time Period

To search for a file modified during a specific time period, click the Date Modified tab and set the options you need. In the example below, the WS_FTP Find Utility will search for all files modified between April 10, 2001 and April 20, 2001.

Finding a File in a Particular Folder

If you know the name of the folder in which the file you are looking for is stored, you can narrow your search by having the Find Utility look only in that folder.

To locate a particular folder:

1. Click the Browse button next to the Look In field to connect to the selected site and display a list of the available folders.

   

2. Select the folder that you want to search.
3. Click OK. The Look In box is filled in with the path of the selected folder.
4. Click Find Now to search through the files in that folder.

Finding a File Smaller Than a Certain Size

If you want to limit the size of the files found in a given search, enter the FTP site and file name on the Name & Location tab, then click the Advanced tab.

In the Size is box, you can select At least or At Most then enter the file size in kilobytes in the KB box.

Ipswitch, Inc. http://www.ipswitch.com

©Ipswitch 2003