On large content searches FileLocator Pro appears to not be searching the files

Question

When I perform a small content search I can see FileLocator Pro finding the results I expect. However, on large searches the program appears to be skipping the files.

In the MicroHelp I can see it searching through folders I know have results but nothing is appearing. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

By default FileLocator Pro searches files in two phases. The first phase gathers the files to be searched and the second phase actually searches those files. This can sometimes cause confusion on large searches because it may take a while before the actual content is searched.

You can tell which phase you're in by the language used in the MicroHelp. During the first phase FileLocator Pro uses the term Filtering so should show something like:

Filtering: C:\My\Documents\Archive

Once all the files have been filtered it will switch to phase two and use the term Searching and so the MicroHelp will change to something like:

Searching: (4 threads) C:\My\Documents\Archive\2004\invoice14445.doc

If you'd prefer that files are searched immediately, ie all in a single phase, then you can switch the search to Single Phase in the Search Settings. The main drawback to running the search like this is that the program won't display the progress bar.