Contents

Overview

Install/Uninstall

Select directory/files

Reading from Clipboard

Sorting Urls

Search Options

Build Domains

Export functions

Options

Delete all with ...

Find in List

Hits

Misc

Disclaimer of Warranty

Registration


Install/Uninstall

This version of UrlSearch consists of the files

      urlsearch.exe,  urlsearch.hlp, and readme.txt.

To install UrlSearch,  place these files in a separate directory. To uninstall, simply remove the directory from the disk. UrlSearch will not make changes to the Registry nor add/replace any system files.


Overview

UrlSearch extracts web addresses from files on your disk or from text on the clipboard and sorts them by domains. You can export the results into your browser's bookmarks (Netscape, MSIE, or Opera), print or save them as a text or html file or directly launch them into your browser. It can also be used to edit 'Typed Urls' lists and to view history and cookie files. UrlSearch runs on Win9x, WinMe, WinNT 4.0 or later, and Win2000. The latest version of UrlSearch can be downloaded at http://people.freenet.de/h.ulbrich.


Select Files/Directory

When selecting a directory you can choose Search in all non binary files. In this case UrlSearch stops searching a file when it meets Ascii characters smaller than 20h (except line feeds and tabs). You may also choose Search in all files of the form or Search in all files except. In either case you may specify up to twelve expressions of the form 'X*.Y' where X stands for the beginning term of a filename and Y for its extension. They must be separated by ';'. The first entry of the drop down list can be saved on exit (see Options).

Alternatively you can choose a number of files from the standard Open Files Dialog. To choose more than one file, keep the Shift key pressed (or Control key, respectively) when clicking.You may also start a search from another application by 'Drag and Drop' to the UrlSearch window.

When you look for some 'lost' Url, it may be a good idea to search in the folder Windows\History or in your Browser's Cache folder.


Search Options

You can specify up to 10 strings which must be part of the url and/or title, or which must  not be part of it, respectively. Terms may be separated by spaces or commas. Type \, if the comma should be interpreted as a string by itself. If you choose Suspend, the specifications will not be applied until you choose Ok again. Press the paper basket button to get rid of strings no longer needed.


Build Domains

This will sort the results displayed in the main list in an Explorer-like style window with domains displayed as folders. This will make it easier to look through the search results. This is however only avalaible when a search for 'http and ftp' has been performed and it also needs the list to be sorted by the ascending Url column. If necessary click on the left most section of the Url column header to sort the list correctly. The export functions may be applied to each folder and will reflect its subfolder structure. Once the domains are created the toolbar's tree-view button can be used to toggle view between the main list and the domain's window. Accordingly, the toolbar buttons for exporting items will either refer to the main list or to the folder selected in the domain's window. Deleting url's from the domain's window will automatically delete them from the main list and vice versa. When the Menu item Rebuild domains after search is checked, the domains will automatically be rebuilt after each search. This can be saved on exit by checking Search Options.


Export functions

Add to Bookmarks

You can add the search results to the bookmarks of Netscape, MSIE, or Opera, respectively. UrlSearch will save them in a new folder named for example UrlSearch, Saturday February 17, 2001, 10:35:40  with the second term being the date and time of creation of the new folder. When a folder from the domains' window is exported the new bookmark folder will be named UrlSearch, Name of exported folder and its subfolders will keep their name. Note that since Browsers keep their bookmarks in memory while running, it may be necessary to reload the bookmarks before you can use the folder added by UrlSearch. Especially, when you use older versions of Opera you will not be able to add bookmarks while Opera is running since, for example, Opera v3.21 writes its bookmarks from memory back to disk without checking for changes made by other programs. Adding a bookmark to MSIE means a new file is created. Creating large amounts of files at a time (let's say more than 1500) can make the running session very slow. You can press the toolbar's stop button to cancel the process.

 Save as

You can save the results as a text file. When choosing an existing file for saving you will be asked whether the new entries should be appended to the file. The main list can also be saved as an HTML file. Using the 'Replace Text' function each Url can be appended a delimiting comma, for example.

Print, Copy to Clipboard

Before printing the results you can choose a printer font from the corresponding menu item or toolbar.

You can choose in the Option's dialog which list columms should be saved.

If you choose any of the export functions from the list's Context Menu (Shift+F10) via Selected Items then only the selected list entries will be exported.


Options

Bookmarks

here you should specify the location of your bookmarks so that UrlSearch can append Url's to them. Note that it may be necessary to reload the browser's bookmarks before you can use the new ones inserted by UrlSearch.

Initial search directory

UrlSearch will suggest this directory the first time you choose any of the Open File Dialogs.

Search for

except for http and ftp addresses you can alternatively search for mailto, news, gopher, wais or telnet addresses, or for a single user defined string (which may also contain spaces). If the minimal length of the output string is set to a value that exceeds the length of the search string it may happen that no items are obtained although the search string may be contained in the file. Also note that UrlSearch replaces most HTML specific strings by their corresponding ascii characters, for example "&gt;" with ">". Therefore an output string may contain characters that are not actually contained in the file. Specifications made in this section are saved when 'Save on exit Search Options' is checked. You can also save all the current search settings in a separate file which can be loaded again for later use. Use the Menu item 'Options, Save Search Settings'.

Save on exit 'Search Options'

if this option is checked UrlSearch will save the settings made in the 'Search Options' dialog including whether the restrictions should be applied or not. It will also save the first entries of the dropdown lists in the 'Search directory' dialog so that they will always reappear as first entries. Use the paper basket symbol to delete entries from the drop down lists. Current search settings can also be saved in a separate file for later use (see above).

Export

choose the list columns that should be exported. Prefixes like 'http://' and 'ftp://' can be omitted or replaced by a different string using the 'Replace Text' function from the Edit Menu.


Delete all with ...

You may specify in each box up to 5 strings separated by  commas, or simply by spaces. For example, the specification

          cgi, banner

made in the 'containing' box will delete all entries containing  cgi and/or banner from the list. Type cgi\, if you want items containing  cgi, (including the comma) to be deleted. The specification

          computer, altavista

made in the 'not containing' box  will delete all entries containing neither computer  nor  altavista. Hence http://www.geocities.com/Avenues/Computers_and_Technology  would not be deleted. Note that this is not case sensitive. Note also that the 'containing' box will have priority over the 'not containing' box.

The same applies to the  Select all with...  dialog.


Find in List

Use this menu item to search for a list entry containing a specified string. Check Title or File  if the string must be contained in the title or in the file name, respectively. Use the F3 or Space key to search for the next entry and F4 or Ctrl+Space to go back.


Hits

After having performed a search the number of hits per file or over all files, respectively, can be calculated from the output list. When interested in Hits you should have checked 'Do not suppress duplicates' in the Option's dialog because otherwise UrlSearch automatically suppresses duplicates which follow closely each other in the same file, or even omits all duplicates if that option is checked. Also make sure that the minimal length of the output string is set to a value not exceeding the length of the search string because that also could result in omitting items. The resulting list can be saved as an HTML table from the context menu.


Misc

Edit Typed Urls

these are the Urls that appear in the Browser's drop down list for entering a new Url in the  address bar. UrlSearch lets you edit these Urls and save them as the Browser's new drop down list (choose 'Save to Browser' from the context menu).

Current History, History files

For MSIE v5.0 or higher 'Current History' displays information of the file Index.dat in the History directory . For Netscape the contents of the file Nestcape.hst is displayed. If you have old copies of these files you can choose 'History file' in order to view their contents (only in the registered version). For MSIE this can also be used for the Index.dat file of the Cache folder (Temporary Internet files). These two features are not supported for Netscape 6.0.

List Cookies

This displays information stored in the File index.dat of the Cookie directory. Each cookie saves its data in an associated text file the name of which is contained in the 'Text file' column. If this text file no longer exists its name is preceded by a double star. Double click to view the contents of the file.


Disclaimer of  Warranty

This software is provided 'as is'.  There is no warranty of fitness for a particular use, and no other warranty of any kind either expressed or implied regarding this software.  Accordingly, the entire risk as to the use, results and performance of the software is assumed by the user. In no event will the author be liable to the user or anyone else for any consequential, special, or indirect damages resulting from use, possession or malfunction of this product.


Registration

Among the benefits of the registered version are

        Search in subdirectories,

        Export functions for selected list items,

        Reading  from Clipboard,

        Correct summing up of Hit rates,

        reading copies of History files,

        no Shareware Reminder screens.

UrlSearch can be registered through RegNet at http://www.reg.net  (product ID number is 5579). The registration rate is US $16 for a single-user license. You will then receive a full version via e-mail. For licenses other than single-user please contact the author


Reading from Clipboard

When reading from Clipboard, preceding results are not deleted so that new results can be added. For example, you can use your Browser's page source function to copy a web page to the Clipboard and then use 'Read from Clipboard' to extract its web addresses by UrlSearch.


Sorting Urls

For sorting the list by a specific column, click on the left most section of the column header. Apart from standard sorting, urls can be sorted by their length and their ending. For this go to the 'Edit' Menu and choose 'Sort Urls'. Note however that some functions require the list  to be sorted by the ascending Url column. These functions are 'Remove Dupes', 'Build Domains' and 'Hits'.