This command enables searching the file directories of the current conference for a particular filename. Wildcard characters are permitted.
| [#] | Directory #. | When using this command, you must specify a directory or range of directories that PCBoard should search for the desired file(s). You may list a single directory, a range of directories in the format [#-#] or a list of directories in a [#;#;#] format. There are three letters you may use to represent special file directories. If you use A for the directory number, PCBoard will search all file directories in the current conference. Likewise, if you use U for the directory number, the upload directory of the current conference will be searched. Finally, if you have sufficient security, you may use P to specify the private upload directory for the current conference. |
| [filename.ext] | Filename to search for. | In order to search the file directories for a filename you must supply the filename you want PCBoard to search for. The filename you specify can be a simple filename like READTHIS.TXT, or more frequently something that contains wildcard characters like READ.. The advantage in using wildcard characters is that you are not required to know the exact filename. |
| D | Flag the files for download that are found in the search. | If a file that matches the parameters is located, it is flagged and prepared for download later during the call. If more than one file is found, all files will be flagged. |
| N | Combine the locate search with a new file scan. | This subcommand will help limit your search by only searching for files equal to or after a specific date. If you use the N command you also need to include the minimum file date from which the scan should search for. If you would like to use the date you last scanned for files you may simply add an S to the N subcommand. |
| NS | Display the files found in non-stop mode. | Files are displayed in non-stop mode (no More? prompts will be displayed). |
Quite often you will want to search the file directories on a BBS to determine if a particular file exists on the system. If you are looking for a particular filename, you would use this command to help you find that filename. Most of the time your search will include some sort of wildcard like TCRN. or similar. If you attempt to search for HSXM, PCBoard will automatically append an . making the search criteria HSXM. to help you find the file(s) you are looking for.
If you want to locate any files that begin with ABC in all file directories for the current conference, type the following at the conference command prompt:
L;ABC;A
If you wanted to search for files that began with ABC in directories 1, 3, 9, and 15, type in the following command:
L;ABC;1;3;9;15
If you found that two many files were showing up on your searches, you may want to restrict the files you search for by date. To do this, you would use the N subcommand that was described previously. For example, to search for any filename that begins with ABC in all directories but only show those that have a file date equal to or later than 10/21/93, type the following at the command prompt:
L;ABC;N;102193;A