Searches one or more files for the specified strings and displays
the lines containing those strings.
Format
SEARCH filespec[,...] search-string[,...]
1 – Parameters
filespec[,...]
Specifies one or more files to be searched. You must specify
at least one file name. If you specify more than one file name,
separate the file specifications with commas (,).
You can use the asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard
characters in the file specification.
search-string[,...]
Specifies the character string to be located in the specified
files. Enclose strings containing lowercase letters, blanks, or
other nonalphanumeric characters (including spaces) in quotation
marks (" ").
You can use the /MATCH and /EXACT qualifiers to alter the way
that SEARCH matches search strings.
2 – Qualifiers
2.1 /BACKUP
Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the
/SINCE qualifier. The /BACKUP qualifier selects files according
to the dates of their most recent backups. This qualifier
is incompatible with the /CREATED, /EXPIRED, and /MODIFIED
qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.
2.2 /BEFORE
/BEFORE[=time]
Selects only those files dated prior to the specified time. You
can specify time as absolute time, as a combination of absolute
and delta times, or as one of the following keywords: BOOT,
LOGIN, TODAY (default), TOMORROW, or YESTERDAY. Specify one of
the following qualifiers with the /BEFORE qualifier to indicate
the time attribute to be used as the basis for selection:
/BACKUP, /CREATED (default), /EXPIRED, or /MODIFIED.
For complete information on specifying time values, see the
OpenVMS User's Manual or the online help topic Date.
2.3 /BY_OWNER
/BY_OWNER[=uic]
Selects only those files whose owner user identification code
(UIC) matches the specified owner UIC. The default UIC is that of
the current process.
Specify the UIC by using standard UIC format as described in the
OpenVMS User's Manual.
2.4 /CONFIRM
/CONFIRM
/NOCONFIRM (default)
Controls whether a request is issued before each search operation
to confirm that the operation should be performed on that file.
The following responses are valid:
YES NO QUIT
TRUE FALSE Ctrl/Z
1 0 ALL
<Return>
You can use any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters
for word responses. Word responses can be abbreviated to one or
more letters (for example, T, TR, or TRU for TRUE), but these
abbreviations must be unique. Affirmative answers are YES, TRUE,
and 1. Negative answers include: NO, FALSE, 0, and pressing
Return. Entering QUIT or pressing Ctrl/Z indicates that you want
to stop processing the command at that point. When you respond by
entering ALL, the command continues to process, but no further
prompts are given. If you type a response other than one of
those in the list, DCL issues an error message and redisplays
the prompt.
2.5 /CREATED
/CREATED (default)
Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
qualifier. The /CREATED qualifier selects files based on their
dates of creation. This qualifier is incompatible with the
/BACKUP, /EXPIRED, and /MODIFIED qualifiers, which also allow
you to select files according to time attributes. If you specify
none of these four time qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED
qualifier.
2.6 /EXACT
/EXACT
/NOEXACT (default)
Controls whether the SEARCH command matches the search string
exactly or treats uppercase and lowercase letters as equivalents.
By default, SEARCH ignores case differences in letters.
Specifying the /EXACT qualifier causes the system to use less CPU
time; therefore, if you are sure of the case of the letters in
the string, it is more efficient to use the /EXACT qualifier.
2.7 /EXCLUDE
/EXCLUDE=(filespec[,...])
Excludes the specified files from the search operation. You can
include a directory but not a device in the file specification.
The asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard characters
are allowed in the file specification; however, you cannot use
relative version numbers to exclude a specific version. If you
specify only one file, you can omit the parentheses.
2.8 /EXPIRED
Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
qualifier. The /EXPIRED qualifier selects files according to
their expiration dates. (The expiration date is set with the
SET FILE/EXPIRATION_DATE command.) The /EXPIRED qualifier
is incompatible with the /BACKUP, /CREATED, and /MODIFIED
qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.
2.9 /FORMAT
/FORMAT=option
Formats output in one of the following five ways:
DUMP Displays all control characters (including <HT>, <CR>,
and <LF>) and nonprintable characters as ANSI mnemonics.
NOFF Replaces control characters in text with ANSI mnemonics
(for example, Ctrl/C is replaced with <ETX>). The
terminal formatting characters <HT>, <CR>, <LF>, <VT>
are passed without change. Form feed characters are
replaced with <FF>.
NONULLS Same as DUMP, but removes all null characters from the
input file before reformatting. (In dump mode, the null
character is displayed as <NUL>.) NONULLS is convenient
when you are searching binary format files, such as EXE
or OBJ files, that generally contain many zero bytes.
PASSALL Moves control and nonprintable characters to the output
device without translating them. The terminal driver
cannot send 8-bit characters to the terminal unless SET
TERMINAL/EIGHT_BIT is already in effect.
You can use /FORMAT=PASSALL whenever you do not want
the SEARCH command to substitute the ANSI mnemonic for
control characters (for example, <BEL> for Ctrl/G).
TEXT Replaces control characters in text with ANSI mnemonics
(for example, Ctrl/C is replaced with <ETX>). The
terminal formatting characters <HT>, <CR>, <LF>, <VT>,
and <FF> are passed without change. TEXT is the default
format.
2.10 /HEADING
/HEADING (default)
/NOHEADING
Includes file names in the output file and displays a line of
30 asterisks(*) as a window separator between groups of lines
that belong to different files. With the default heading format,
file names are printed only when more than one file is specified
or when the asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard
characters are used.
The /WINDOW qualifier displays a line of 15 asterisks to separate
each window within a file.
2.11 /HIGHLIGHT
/HIGHLIGHT[=keyword] (default)
/NOHIGHLIGHT
You can use one of the following keywords: BOLD, BLINK,
REVERSE, and UNDERLINE. BOLD is the default highlighting on
ANSI video terminals with advanced video; REVERSE is the default
highlighting on ANSI video terminals without advanced video.
For hardcopy printing, you can use the HARDCOPY=OVERSTRIKE and
HARDCOPY=UNDERLINE keywords. This specifies that the strings
should be highlighted in a manner suitable for most hardcopy
printers. With overstrike highlighting, matched strings are
double-printed, so that they appear darker. The matched strings
are underlined with the underscore character.
Hardcopy printing is accomplished by adding a carriage return and
spacing back over the line to overprint the string or underlines.
Note that this can as much as double the length of the line,
and perhaps lead to truncation if the device buffer size is too
small.
HP recommends that you use the /HIGHLIGHT=UNDERLINE
qualifier with the LN01 printer rather than using the
/HIGHLIGHT=HARDCOPY=UNDERLINE qualifier. The LN01 printer ignores
OVERSTRIKE highlighting.
HP recommends that you use either the /HIGHLIGHT=BOLD or the
/HIGHLIGHT=UNDERLINE qualifier with the LN03 printer rather
than using the /HIGHLIGHT=HARDCOPY=UNDERLINE qualifier. The LN03
printer ignores OVERSTRIKE highlighting.
NOTE
You cannot specify /WILDCARD_MATCHING with /HIGHLIGHT. An
error will occur.
2.12 /KEY
/KEY=(POSITION=n,SIZE=n)
Searches the records of a file (beginning at the specified
position) for the length of the specified size.
You can specify the POSITION keyword value as 1 to 32,767. The
first byte in a record is considered position 1.
NOTE
The /KEY qualifier must appear before the file name, or
after the specified search string. If the qualifier is
placed between these parameters, it is ignored.
2.13 /LIMIT
/LIMIT=n (Alpha/Integrity servers Only)
Limits the number of matches displayed to the number specified by
n.
2.14 /LOG
/LOG
/NOLOG (default)
Outputs a message to the current SYS$OUTPUT device for each
file searched. The message includes the file name, the number
of records, and the number of matches for each file searched.
2.15 /MATCH
/MATCH=option
Interprets and matches multiple search strings in one of the
following ways:
AND A match occurs only if the record contains all the
strings.
EQV A match occurs if none or all of the search strings are in
the record.
NOR A match occurs only if the record contains none of the
strings.
NAND A match occurs only if the record does not contain all of
the strings.
OR A match occurs if the record contains any of the strings.
XOR A match occurs if any of the search strings are in the
record but not if all or none of them are in the record.
When only one search string is specified, the OR and AND options
produce identical results. Similarly, NOR and NAND produce
identical results for a single search string. If you specify
none of these options, the default is /MATCH=OR.
2.16 /MODIFIED
Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
qualifier. The /MODIFIED qualifier selects files according to
the dates on which they were last modified. This qualifier
is incompatible with the /BACKUP, /CREATED, and /EXPIRED
qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
modifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.
2.17 /NUMBERS
/NUMBERS
/NONUMBERS (default)
Controls whether the source line number is displayed at the left
margin of each line in the output.
2.18 /OUTPUT
/OUTPUT[=filespec]
/NOOUTPUT
Controls whether the results of the search are output to a
specified file. The output is sent to the current default output
device (SYS$OUTPUT) if you omit the /OUTPUT qualifier or omit the
file specification with the qualifier. The /NOOUTPUT qualifier
means that no matching records are output as a result of the
SEARCH command.
2.19 /PAGE
/PAGE[=keyword]
/NOPAGE (default)
Controls the display of information on the screen.
You can use the following keywords with the /PAGE qualifier:
CLEAR_SCREEN Displays information one page at a time.
SCROLL Displays information on a continuous stream.
SAVE[=n] Enables screen navigation of information, where n
is the number of pages to store.
The /PAGE=SAVE qualifier allows you to navigate through screens
of information. The /PAGE=SAVE qualifier stores up to 5 screens
of up to 255 columns of information. When you use the /PAGE=SAVE
qualifier, you can use the following keys to navigate through the
information:
Key Sequence Description
Up arrow key, Ctrl/B Scroll up one line.
Down arrow key Scroll down one line.
Left arrow key Scroll left one column.
Right arrow key Scroll right one column.
Insert Here (E2) Scroll right one half screen.
Remove (E3) Scroll left one half screen.
Select (E4) Toggle 80/132 column mode.
Prev Screen (E5) Get the previous page of information.
Next Screen (E6), Get the next page of information.
Return, Enter, Space
F10, Ctrl/Z Exit. (Some utilities define these
differently.)
Help (F15) Display utility help text.
Do (F16) Toggle the display to oldest/newest
page.
Ctrl/W Refresh the display.
The /PAGE qualifier is not compatible with the /OUTPUT qualifier.
2.20 /REMAINING
/REMAINING
/NOREMAINING (default)
Includes in the output all records from the first matched record
to the end of the file. This qualifier overrides the value n2 in
the /WINDOW qualifier, but allows the qualifier /WINDOW=n1.
2.21 /SINCE
/SINCE[=time]
Selects only those files dated on or after the specified time.
You can specify time as absolute time, as a combination of
absolute and delta times, or as one of the following keywords:
BOOT, JOB_LOGIN, LOGIN, TODAY (default), TOMORROW, or YESTERDAY.
Specify one of the following qualifiers with the /SINCE qualifier
to indicate the time attribute to be used as the basis for
selection: /BACKUP, /CREATED (default), /EXPIRED, or /MODIFIED.
For complete information on specifying time values, see the
OpenVMS User's Manual or the online help topic Date.
2.22 /SKIP
/SKIP=n (Alpha/Integrity servers Only)
Skips the first n matches found before outputting match
information.
2.23 /STATISTICS
/STATISTICS[=(keyword,...)]
/NOSTATSTICS[=(keyword,...)]
/STATISTICS=SYMBOLS (default)
Controls whether the following statistics about the search are
displayed:
o Number of files searched
o Number of records searched
o Number of characters searched
o Number of records matched
o Number of lines printed
o Buffered I/O count
o Direct I/O count
o Number of page faults
o Elapsed CPU time
o Elapsed time
You can use the following keywords with the /STATISTICS
qualifier:
Keyword Explanation
OUTPUT Writes the statistics output lines into the
output file in addition to the standard SYS$OUTPUT
device. The default is /NOSTATISTICS=OUTPUT.
SYMBOLS Define symbols to hold statistic values. The
default value is /STATISTICS=SYMBOLS. The symbol
names are as follows:
SEARCH$CHARACTERS_ Displays the number of
SEARCHED characters searched.
SEARCH$FILES_SEARCHED Displays the number of
files searched.
SEARCH$LINES_PRINTED Displays the number of
lines printed.
SEARCH$RECORDS_MATCHED Displays the number of
records matched.
SEARCH$RECORDS_SEARCHED Displays the number of
records searched.
2.24 /STYLE
/STYLE=keyword
Specifies the file name format for display purposes.
The valid keywords for this qualifier are CONDENSED and EXPANDED.
Descriptions are as follows:
Keyword Explanation
CONDENSED Displays the file name representation of what is
(default) generated to fit into a 255-length character string.
This file name may contain a DID or FID abbreviation
in the file specification.
EXPANDED Displays the file name representation of what is
stored on disk. This file name does not contain any
DID or FID abbreviations.
The keywords CONDENSED and EXPANDED are mutually exclusive. This
qualifier specifies which file name format is displayed in the
output message, along with the confirmation if requested.
File errors are displayed with the CONDENSED file specification
unless the EXPANDED keyword is specified.
See the OpenVMS User's Manual for more information.
2.25 /SYMLINK
/SYMLINK=keyword
The valid keywords for this qualifier are [NO]WILDCARD and
[NO]ELLIPSIS. Descriptions are as follows:
Keyword Explanation
WILDCARD Indicates that symlinks are enabled during wildcard
searches.
NOWILDCARD Indicates that symlinks are disabled during directory
wildcard searches.
ELLIPSIS Equivalent to WILDCARD (included for command
symmetry).
NOELLIPSIS Indicates that symlinks are matched for all wildcard
fields except for ellipsis.
If the file named in the SEARCH command is a symlink, the command
operates on the symlink target.
2.26 /WARNINGS
/WARNINGS (default)
/NOWARNINGS
Allows or disallows the following messages to be displayed when
search operations are performed:
NOMATCHES
TRUNCATE
NULLFILE
2.27 /WILDCARD_MATCHING
/WILDCARD_MATCHING[=keyword] (Alpha/Integrity servers Only)
Specifies that the following characters in the search string are
to be interpreted as wildcard characters:
asterisk (*) - Accept any number of unspecified characters in
this position when searching for a match.
percent sign (%) - Accept any single character in this
position when searching for a match.
The optional keyword can be either of the following:
RELAXED (default) - Automatically appends asterisks to the
beginning and end of the string to be searched.
STRICT - Performs a narrow search based on the exact search
string with no appended asterisks. An entire record must match
the criteria specified for the wildcarded search.
NOTE
You cannot specify /WILDCARD_MATCHING with /HIGHLIGHT. An
error will occur.
2.28 /WINDOW
/WINDOW[=(n1,n2)]
/NOWINDOW (default)
Specifies the number of lines to be displayed with the search
string.
If you specify n1 and n2, the /WINDOW qualifier displays n1 lines
above the search string, the search string, and n2 lines below
the search string. Either of these numbers can be zero.
If you specify the /WINDOW qualifier without the values n1 and
n2, two lines above the search string, the search string, and the
two lines below the search string are included in the output.
If you specify the /WINDOW qualifier with a single number (n1),
n1 specifies the number of lines to display including the search
string. Half the lines precede the matched search string and
half follow it. (If n1 is even, one line is added to the lines
following the matched search string.)
For example, if you specify /WINDOW=10, nine additional lines
are listed along with the line containing the search string. Four
lines are listed above the line containing the search string and
five lines are listed below it, for a total of 10 lines.
If you specify /WINDOW=0, the file name of each file containing
a match (but no records) is included in the output. This
specification creates a file (using the /OUTPUT qualifier) that
can be inserted into a command file to manipulate the files
containing matches.
If you omit the /WINDOW qualifier, only the line containing a
match is displayed.
The /WINDOW qualifier displays a line of 30 asterisks to separate
each window within a file.
2.29 /WRAP
/WRAP
/NOWRAP (default)
Use with the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier to limit the number of columns
to the width of the screen and to wrap lines that extend beyond
the width of the screen to the next line.
The /NOWRAP qualifier extends lines beyond the width of the
screen and can be seen when you use the scrolling (left and
right) features provided by the /PAGE=SAVE qualifier.
3 – Examples
1.$ SEARCH CABLE.MEM,JOYNER.MEM "MANUAL TITLE"
This command searches the files CABLE.MEM and JOYNER.MEM for
occurrences of the character string MANUAL TITLE. Each line
containing the string is displayed at the terminal. It is
necessary to enclose the string in quotation marks because
it contains a space character.
2.$ SEARCH/OUTPUT=RESULTS.DAT/WINDOW=9 DISLIST.MEM NAME
The SEARCH command searches the file DISLIST.MEM for
occurrences of the character string NAME and sends the output
to the file RESULTS.DAT. The four lines preceding and following
each occurrence of NAME are included in the output.
3.$ SEARCH/OUTPUT=ALLSUB.COM/WINDOW=5000 *.COM SUBMIT
The SEARCH command searches all command files in the current
directory for the string SUBMIT. If a match is found, SEARCH
effectively copies the entire command file to the output file,
because the window is so large.
4.$ SEARCH/OUTPUT=COLUMBUS.OH/WINDOW=(3,0)/NOHEAD/MATCH=AND -
_$ *.DAT COLUMBUS,OH
The SEARCH command searches all files of type DAT for lines
containing both COLUMBUS and OH. When a match is found, the
three previous lines (containing blank line, name, and street
address) are copied to the new file. The new file COLUMBUS.OH
is ready to use, because it does not contain headings and
window separators.
5.$ SEARCH/OUTPUT=SWAP.LIS/FORMAT=PASSALL/NUMBERS/EXACT -
_$ /WINDOW=10000 SWAP.PAS SWAP
This SEARCH command produces a listing file with the line
numbers at the left margin. The /FORMAT=PASSALL qualifier is
specified so that form-feed characters in the source are passed
through. The /EXACT qualifier is specified for efficiency
(because it is known that the name SWAP in the program
statement is always in uppercase). The /WINDOW qualifier is
entered so that the entire file is copied to the output file
SWAP.LIS.
6.$ SEARCH/REMAINING CABLE.LOG FORTRAN
The SEARCH command displays all the lines in the CABLE.LOG file
that follow the first occurrence of the string FORTRAN.
7.$ SEARCH OMAHA::DISK1:[EXP]SUB.DAT,DATA.LIS VAX
The SEARCH command searches through the files SUB.DAT and
DATA.LIS at remote node OMAHA for all occurrences of the string
VAX. The list of all records containing the string VAX is
displayed at the local terminal.