How to do things
AI Noob vs. Pro

List biggest files
List newest files
Show subdir sizes
Search in files
Replace word in files
List dir differences
Send files in LAN

Free Open Source:

Swiss File Knife

a command line
multi function tool.

remove tabs
list dir sizes
find text
filter lines
find in path
collect text
instant ftp or
http server
file transfer
send text
patch text
patch binary
run own cmd
convert crlf
dup file find
md5 lists
fromto clip
hexdump
split files
list latest
compare dirs
save typing
trace http
echo colors
head & tail
dep. listing
find classes
speed shell
zip search
zip dir list

Depeche View
Source Research
First Steps

windows GUI
automation

command line
file encryption

free external tools,
zero install effort,
usb stick compliant:

zip and unzip
diff and merge
reformat xml
reformat source

cpp sources

log tracing
mem tracing
hexdump
using printf

articles

embedded
stat. c array
stat. java array
var. c array
var. java array
view all text
as you type
surf over text
find by click
quick copy
multi view
find nearby
fullscreen
bookmarks
find by path
expressions
location jump
skip accents
clip match
filter lines
edit text
highlight
load filter
hotkey list
receive text
send in C++
send in Java
smooth scroll
touch scroll
fly wxWidgets
fly over Qt
search Java

collect thousands of text files, e.g. java or c++ source code, into one large file for fastest loading and searching. free open source tool for the Windows command line, Mac OS X Terminal, Linux shell or Raspberry Pi.
  • Download the free Swiss File Knife Base from Sourceforge.
  • Open the Windows CMD command line, Mac OS X Terminal or Linux shell.
  • OS X : type mv sfk-mac-64.exe sfk and chmod +x sfk then ./sfk
  • Linux: type mv sfk-linux-64.exe sfk and chmod +x sfk then ./sfk. OS X and Linux syntax may differ, check the help within the tool.

there are several ways to search text within 3000 text files:

1.)   let your IDE/editor scan the files directly on hard disk.

this will take at least 30 seconds, or even several minutes.

2.)   index files on hard disk, then scan them.

IF your files are indexed already, this will only take seconds.
but in most cases, the index is "out of sync", and after the
sync is done, depending on your IDE, you may have to click
once for every hit to view it's context. but every superfluous
click is a boring waste of time.

3.)   collect all text files into one large text file,
then load this within an editor or IDE.

it's simple: loading one large file is at least 10 times faster
then loading many small files. therefore sfk snapto was created.

on the command line, cd into the toplevel of your working tree,
then say

sfk snapto=all-src.cpp .

which means "collect all text files from the current dir (.),
including all subdirectories, into all-src.cpp".

when this is done, load all-src.cpp into you favourite editor
and run some searches. you will see that jumping through
results across everything has become much easier and faster.

4.)   collect all text files into one large text file,
then load this within depeche view.

as an extension to the above example, say

dview all-src.cpp

the snapfile is loaded. now, to search anything, just type
the word, wait one or two seconds, then use MOUSE WHEEL DOWN
(or SHIFT+CRSR DOWN for notebook users) to fly through
the results.

5.)   alternatively, let depeche view load a directory tree directly,
without creating a snapfile:

cd into your favourite working dir, then say

dview .

and depeche view will load and display all text files instantly.

6.)   how to include also binary files:

to collect text files AND .doc .ppt .xls contents from mydir:

sfk snapto=all.txt mydir -all .doc .ppt .xls

only ASCII text portions will be extracted from .doc, .ppt and
.xls files. all binary content will be ignored.

alternatively, to view the same contents directly:

dview mydir -all .doc .ppt .xls


it is recommended to use snapfiles on very large directory trees,
and to load the tree directly on smaller ones. for more infos
about depeche view, read on here.
 

there are several ways to search text within 3000 text files: 1.) let your IDE/editor scan the files directly on hard disk. this will take at least 30 seconds, or even several minutes. 2.) index files on hard disk, then scan them. IF your files are indexed already, this will only take seconds. but in most cases, the index is "out of sync", and after the sync is done, depending on your IDE, you may have to click once for every hit to view it's context. but every superfluous click is a boring waste of time. 3.) collect all text files into one large text file, then load this within an editor or IDE. it's simple: loading one large file is at least 10 times faster then loading many small files. therefore sfk snapto was created. on the command line, cd into the toplevel of your working tree, then say sfk snapto=all-src.cpp . which means "collect all text files from the current dir (.), including all subdirectories, into all-src.cpp". when this is done, load all-src.cpp into you favourite editor and run some searches. you will see that jumping through results across everything has become much easier and faster. 4.) collect all text files into one large text file, then load this within depeche view. as an extension to the above example, say dview all-src.cpp the snapfile is loaded. now, to search anything, just type the word, wait one or two seconds, then use MOUSE WHEEL DOWN (or SHIFT+CRSR DOWN for notebook users) to fly through the results. 5.) alternatively, let depeche view load a directory tree directly, without creating a snapfile: cd into your favourite working dir, then say dview . and depeche view will load and display all text files instantly. 6.) how to include also binary files: to collect text files AND .doc .ppt .xls contents from mydir: sfk snapto=all.txt mydir -all .doc .ppt .xls only ASCII text portions will be extracted from .doc, .ppt and .xls files. all binary content will be ignored. alternatively, to view the same contents directly: dview mydir -all .doc .ppt .xls it is recommended to use snapfiles on very large directory trees, and to load the tree directly on smaller ones. for more infos about depeche view, read on here.

you are viewing this page in mobile portrait mode with a limited layout. turn your device right, use a desktop browser or buy the sfk e-book for improved reading.

 
sfk is a free open-source tool, running instantly without installation efforts. no DLL's, no registry changes - just get sfk.exe from the zip package and use it (binaries for windows, linux and mac are included).

 

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