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find (Windows)
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<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> <p>The find command is a <a href="/facts/Filter_(software)/PKwFrEfI">filter</a> to find lines in the input data stream that contain or don't contain a specified string and send these to the output data stream. It does not support <a href="/facts/Wildcard_character/LErwSxvh">wildcard characters</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>The command is available in <a href="/facts/DOS/sWwDXNmX">DOS</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Digital_Research/9bYQl2pI">Digital Research</a> <a href="/facts/FlexOS/563z8WWo">FlexOS</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a>/<a href="/facts/Toshiba/QHRaw8Tr">Toshiba</a> <a href="/facts/4690_Operating_System/wEIsvjtF">4690 OS</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> IBM <a href="/facts/OS/2/uVBl6ItP">OS/2</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> and <a href="/facts/ReactOS/BFmfC6BB">ReactOS</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> On <a href="/facts/MS-DOS/fVrrz1uN">MS-DOS</a>, the command is available in versions 2 and later.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> <a href="/facts/DR_DOS_6.0/GcCTKutW">DR DOS 6.0</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> and <a href="/facts/Datalight/I6X8HJNC">Datalight</a> <a href="/facts/ROM-DOS/I6X8HJNC">ROM-DOS</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> include an implementation of the find command. The <a href="/facts/FreeDOS/61fuGd0j">FreeDOS</a> version was developed by <a href="/facts/Jim_Hall_(computer_programmer)/8c87X2vu">Jim Hall</a> and is licensed under the <a href="/facts/GNU_General_Public_License/S75KhLSX">GPL</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a> command <a href="/facts/Find_(Unix)/bg18ASlI">find</a> performs an entirely different function, analogous to <a href="/facts/Forfiles/yXJccfL9">forfiles</a> on Windows. The rough equivalent to the Windows find is the Unix <a href="/facts/Grep/PdGQeFfD">grep</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="syntax">Syntax</h2> FIND [/V] [/C] [/N] [/I] "string" [[drive:][path]filename[...]] <p>Arguments: </p> <ul><li>"string" This <a href="/facts/Command-line_argument/R9JpGmXQ">command-line argument</a> specifies the text string to find.</li> <li>[drive:][path]filename Specifies a file or files in which to search the specified string.</li></ul> <p>Flags: </p> <ul><li>/V Displays all lines NOT containing the specified string.</li> <li>/C Displays only the count of lines containing the string.</li> <li>/N Displays line numbers with the displayed lines.</li> <li>/I Ignores the case of characters when searching for the string.</li></ul> <p>Note: If a pathname is not specified, FIND searches the text typed at the prompt or piped from another command. </p> <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2> C:\>find "keyword" < inputfilename > outputfilename C:\>find /V "any string" FileName <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Findstr/VBVu0RcN">Findstr</a>, Windows and ReactOS command-line tool to search for patterns of text in files.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Find_(Unix)/bg18ASlI">find (Unix)</a>, a Unix command that finds files by attribute, very different from Windows find</li> <li><a href="/facts/Grep/PdGQeFfD">grep</a>, a Unix command that finds text matching a pattern, similar to Windows find</li> <li><a href="/facts/Forfiles/yXJccfL9">forfiles</a>, a Windows command that finds files by attribute, similar to Unix find</li> <li><a href="/facts/Regular_expression/KFL3veHX">Regular expression</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_DOS_commands/d72UqhJ3">List of DOS commands</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Cooper, Jim (2001). <i>Special Edition Using MS-DOS 6.22, Third Edition</i>. <a href="/facts/Que_Publishing/UNq9rds8">Que Publishing</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0789725738.</li> <li>Kathy Ivens; Brian Proffit (1993). <i>OS/2 Inside & Out</i>. <a href="/facts/Osborne_McGraw-Hill/srSyQSsY">Osborne McGraw-Hill</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0078818714.</li> <li>Frisch, Æleen (2001). <i>Windows 2000 Commands Pocket Reference</i>. <a href="/facts/O%27Reilly_Media/Fr3Kv7sm">O'Reilly</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-596-00148-3.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: <i>Guide to Windows Commands</i> <ul><li><a href="https://github.com/microsoft/MS-DOS/blob/master/v2.0/source/FIND.ASM">Open source FIND implementation that comes with MS-DOS v2.0</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Paterson, Tim (2013-12-19) [1983]. "Microsoft DOS V1.1 and V2.0: /msdos/v20source/FIND.ASM". Computer History Museum, Microsoft. Retrieved 2015-10-01. <a href="/wiki/Tim_Paterson" target="_blank">/wiki/Tim_Paterson</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Shustek, Len (2014-03-24). "Microsoft MS-DOS early source code". Software Gems: The Computer History Museum Historical Source Code Series. Retrieved 2015-10-01. <a href="http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/microsoft-ms-dos-early-source-code/" target="_blank">http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/microsoft-ms-dos-early-source-code/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Find - Search for text - Windows CMD - SS64.com". ss64.com. <a href="https://ss64.com/nt/find.html" target="_blank">https://ss64.com/nt/find.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Jamsa, Kris A. (1993), DOS: The Complete Reference, Osborne McGraw-Hill, p. 206, ISBN 0078819040. <a href="0078819040" target="_blank">0078819040</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"FlexOS User's Guide" (PDF). www.bitsavers.org. 1986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190925131719/http://bitsavers.org/pdf/digitalResearch/flexos/1073-2003_FlexOS_Users_Guide_V1.3_Nov86.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190925131719/http://bitsavers.org/pdf/digitalResearch/flexos/1073-2003_FlexOS_Users_Guide_V1.3_Nov86.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Users guide". archive.org. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://archive.org/details/4690OSV6r2UsersGuide/page/n169" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/4690OSV6r2UsersGuide/page/n169</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"JaTomes Help - OS/2 Commands". Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-07-20. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190414130029/http://www.jatomes.com/Help/Os2Cmd.php#FIND" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190414130029/http://www.jatomes.com/Help/Os2Cmd.php#FIND</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Find". Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-26. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170826163346/https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490906.aspx" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20170826163346/https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490906.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"reactos/reactos". GitHub. 3 January 2022. <a href="https://github.com/reactos/reactos" target="_blank">https://github.com/reactos/reactos</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Wolverton, Van (2003). Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN 0-7356-1812-7. <a href="0-7356-1812-7" target="_blank">0-7356-1812-7</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips <a href="https://www.4corn.co.uk/archive/docs/DR%20DOS%206.0%20User%20Guide-opt.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.4corn.co.uk/archive/docs/DR%20DOS%206.0%20User%20Guide-opt.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Datalight ROM-DOS User's Guide" (PDF). www.datalight.com. <a href="https://www.datalight.com/assets/files/ROM-DOS_Users_Guide.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.datalight.com/assets/files/ROM-DOS_Users_Guide.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"ibiblio.org FreeDOS Package -- find (FreeDOS Base)". www.ibiblio.org. <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.2/repos/pkg-html/find.html" target="_blank">http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.2/repos/pkg-html/find.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Equivalent of UNIX Grep command in Dos/Windows". January 26, 2009. <a href="https://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/equivalent-of-unix-grep-command-in-doswindows-726" target="_blank">https://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/equivalent-of-unix-grep-command-in-doswindows-726</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>