Finding recently opened files?

[terrypin]

I've so far not managed to do this, and expect it will prove very simple once I find the right syntax. I simply want to find those files I've opened ('run') for example between 22nd February and today, 25th February.

I tried tackling this in several steps, but it doesn't seem to work. For instance, if I enter
dr:<today> *.txt
I get a about 75,000 hits, yet I've probably opened only a dozen text files so far this morning.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[salazor]

Try:

Code: Select all

dr:today *.txt

And:

Code: Select all

dr:2016/2/22-today *.txt

[terrypin]

Thanks salazor - I forgot to remove those < > in my impatience!

I've done one search, but it took about 20 minutes. I thought it would be slower than a 'normal' search, but not that slow! Obviously not something I'll do very often then.

And a second, with dm:today c: *.txt has just crashed (frozen). Somehow I also got a second instance running at one point, but with a message "Cancel previous query". Looks like there's more to this than i thought...

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[salazor]

What Everything version?

Try Version 1.4 Beta 713b or 716b

[terrypin]

Version 1.34.686 (x86)

The more tests I make, the more confused I become. Presumably the colon tells Everything to use what follows to define the search. So typing 'dr' gives me 279 hits (files beginning with that string) and then 'dr:' delivers 16,986. Same if I type 'dr:24/2' which I assume should be files run on 24th Feb, i.e. yesterday. But 'dr:today' gave zero hits. And 'dr:24/2/16' which is also yesterday gave 16,984.

Changing 'c: *.txt dr:25/2/16' to 'c: *.txt dm:25/2/16' changed results from 16,974 to zero, yet I'm confident I've modified text files today.

What is supposed to happen if you alter the search target while the search is running? That's always the case anyway, as it starts as soon as the first character is typed in. But the ':' after 'dr' or 'dc' or 'dm' changes the nature of the search radically, so I wonder if that causes trouble?

Any further clarification would be appreciated. As usual, I'd love to see some practical examples rather than just the rules.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[froggie]

I believe you need 2016 as the year not just 16

[terrypin]

Thanks froggie, but I'm not sure. It seems inconsistent to me.

I saved a new file called xyz.txt today, 26th February. This is what various searches gave:

c: xyz.txt dm:26/2/16 Zero hits
c: xyz.txt dm:26/2/2016 Two hits (xyz.txt and xyz.txt.lnk)

c: xyz.txt dc:26/2/16 Zero hits
c: xyz.txt dc:26/2/2016 Two hits (xyz.txt and xyz.txt.lnk)

Those seem to support your suggestion that the full year is needed. But what about these, which suggest the opposite?

c: xyz.txt dr:26/2/16 Two hits (xyz.txt and xyz.txt.lnk)
c: xyz.txt dr:26/2/2016 Zero hits

Perhaps the author could clarify?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[salazor]

Do you opened earlier file xyz.txt?

If you do not open dr: not work

[terrypin]

Yes, I've opened it several times (in two text editors) but
c: xyz.txt dr:26/2/2016
still gives no hits.

Can you reproduce, or does it work correctly?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[salazor]

Do you opened from Everything window?

For me works - 1.4.0.716b (x86)

Try only:

Code: Select all

dr:26/2/2016

[therube]

Just what is "dr:" (date run)?
How does it differ from "dm:" (date modified)?

Also note that MM / DD ordering is going to be based on locale, AFAIK.
And I believe year needs 4 digits.
(What happens in 10,000 ?)

[froggie]

Those seem to support your suggestion that the full year is needed. But what about these, which suggest the opposite?

c: xyz.txt dr:26/2/16 Two hits (xyz.txt and xyz.txt.lnk)
c: xyz.txt dr:26/2/2016 Zero hits

dr: - daterun: has nothing to do with Windows running a file, rather it references Everything's Run History. See https://www.voidtools.com/support/every ... n_history/

dr: works a bit differently than dc:, dm: or da: Any value that is not a correct numeric date or starts with a Date Constant: "abcd" "//" or "26/2/16", will result in no change in the results from not having dr: present at all. Any value that is a correct numeric date or starts with a Date Constant: 1/1/2016, Today, etc, results in zero output unless Everything Run History is turned on. The test case of c: xyz.txt is too limited to illustrate this.

The topic of this thread is "recently opened files." For that, use dateaccessed. However, note that updating of the date accessed field is turned off by default for Windows 7 and later. It is only updated when the file is created or modified. You can search for "date accessed" on the Web to find out why it was turned off and to find instructions for turning it back on.

[salazor]

dr:<date> Search for files and folders with the specified date run.

Date run file from Everything window.

Opened file beyond Everything - you need the date of last access, if not disabled.

[terrypin]

Thanks froggie, very helpful. Will try further tests shortly based on your new information.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[terrypin]

(What happens in 10,000 ?)

I expect I'll have upgraded from XP by then.

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK