# Hints & Tips

Top Previous Next

Searching for multiple file types | You can search multiple files by using regular expressions or Wildcard expressions. e.g. Searching the file types .cpp, .h, .c, .INL the regular expression would be: \.(cpp|h|c|INL)$ OR, alternatively as a Wildcard expression it would be: *.cpp;*.h;*.c;*.INL

Excluding file types | Prefix Wildcard expression with NOT: to exclude certain file types from being searched. For example, you can search everything but COM and EXE files by setting the file name to the Wildcard Expression: NOT:*.exe;*.com
Searching multiple locations | Agent Ransack can search multiple folder paths. In the 'Look In' field separate each folder with a semi-colon e.g. c:\winnt;c:\tmp
Using expressions in the Look In field | Expressions are supported on folder paths, to use the feature use the expression drop down list next to the Look In edit field. The expression is not processed on the whole path but on the path parts, e.g. c:\usr\dev\.*\release would match all folders called "release" two levels down from the "c:\usr\dev" folder.

Launching Agent Ransack from Windows Explorer | Agent Ransack can be integrated with the Windows Shell through the Shell Extensions settings. For example, while browsing files and folders in Windows Explorer you can launch Agent Ransack by right-clicking on the folder and selecting Agent Ransack from the folder's context menu or using the short-cut key combination Ctrl+F.

Common searches | Save your most common search criteria as a SRF file and put a shortcut to the file on the Start menu. Then when you open the shortcut Agent Ransack will start up with your most common search options. Note: Make sure that Agent Ransack is associated with SRF files in the Shell Integration settings.

Specifying default values via the command line | You can specify the initial values for Agent Ransack through command line parameters. There is even an option to switch off the GUI (Graphical User Interface) and save the results directly to a file, useful when integrating Agent Ransack with other applications. To see a list of valid command line parameters go to the "Help->Command Line Parameters" dialog (or run AgentRansack.exe -h).

Performance effect of word wrapping | Word wrapping is expensive, especially when trying to display a lot of contents. If the Contents View display is slow consider switching Word Wrapping off.
Performance effect of Contents View | If you are selecting a large number of files and do not need to see the search contents of those files it is much quicker to turn the 'Contents View' off, through the "Window->Contents View->Hide" menu option.
Performance effect of deferred searching | Agent Ransack deferred searching works in a two phase process. The first phase collects a list of files that match the File name criteria. The second phase searches the contents of the files found in the first phase. If many files are found in the first phase Agent Ransack may use a significant amount of memory resources maintaining the list of files.

Therefore there is an option Immediate in the Search Settings to instruct Agent Ransack to search the contents of the file as soon as the File name is matched, avoiding the maintenance of an internal file list. The only drawback to immediate searching is that Agent Ransack cannot display a progress meter. Use this feature for more memory efficient contents searching of a large group of files (i.e. > 1,000,000), normally this option is NOT required.

Agent Ransack will automatically switch to immediate searching if it detects a very large search.

Note: The multi-phase searching option is compromise of these two methods and is now the default search method.

Searching Unix and Mac files | Unix and Mac text file formats use a different sequence to mark the end of a line. Windows and DOS use the character sequence CR-LF (Carriage Return - Line Feed) but Unix only uses LF and Mac only uses CR. To instruct Agent Ransack to look for alternative EOL (End of Line) sequences go to the Configuration settings (via the menu option "Tools->Configuration") and select Character Processing.

Testing regular expressions | Test your regular expressions through the "Tools->Regular Expression Tester" menu option.
Hiding/Showing Menu | The menu can be hidden/shown by using the key combination Alt+Ctrl+M.

More information can be found online at the Mythicsoft Knowledge Base: http://www.mythicsoft.com/kb.

Copyright © 2026 Mythicsoft Ltd. All rights reserved.
Help file version: 9.0
PDF and CHM versions of this help file are available here:
http://mythicsoft.com/filelocatorpro/help