Bob Vrooman

A: There are two issues here: searching for files by file name, and searching for files by contents. I'll start with the file-name search. Both the .zip and .cab compression formats store file names as plain, uncompressed ASCII text, so you can use any file search program to identify the archive. To use Windows' own File Finder, select StartòFindòFiles or Folders. In the 'Named' field under the Name & Location tab, enter *.cab; *.zip. Include the appropriate path in the 'Look in' field. Enter the file name you're looking for in the 'Containing text' field (in Windows 95, you must click the Advanced tab to get to this field). Press <Enter> or click Find Now. You'll get a list of every archive that contains a file with that name.

Unfortunately, if you don't know the file name, Windows' File Finder is of no use. It simply can't find text in a file that's within another file. Luckily, some utilities can (for .zip files, anyway; I know of none that search within .cab files).

One such utility is BigSpeed Zipper, a $US29 shareware program you can download from www.bigspeedsoft.com or www.fileworld.com. It's a basic compression program with one unique feature: Click the Locator button and you get a nice, easy-to-use tool for searching .zip files (see FIGURE 3). Version 3, just out, has several new features.

-Lincoln Spector