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There was/is a unix command grep which someone wrote a windows version of. If it's been updated it should be what you need. It was very fast and powerful.
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Here is a download, looks like it is still current:<br />
&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wingrep.com/" rel="ugc">http://www.wingrep.com/</a>
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Have you tried?:<br />
<a href="http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html" rel="ugc">http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.jam-software.com/ultrasearch/" rel="ugc">http://www.jam-software.com/ultrasearch/</a>
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Are you talking about a windows server or something else?
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Yes,on a windows 2003/2008. &nbsp; &nbsp;I'm not looking to search files for exact text such as <br />
54-011-9876, but as a matching pattern. &nbsp; You ask the utility to find any files with data matching a pattern like xx-xxx-xxxx. This is just an example, it might be other patterns as well.
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Does anyone know of a good utility to search an entire 2003/2008 file server looking for matching patterns in files. &nbsp; for example to search all files on a files server that have text matching xx-xxx-xxxx (SS#).
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Does anyone know of a good utility to search an entire 2003/2008 file server looking for matching patterns in files.   for example to search all files on a files server that have text matching xx-xxx-xxxx (SS#).

Searching Files for Pattern

A miscellany is defined as a "collection of various pieces of writing by different authors", but it has come to mean something "Of items gathered or considered together of various types or from different sources" or "a collection or group composed of members or elements of different kinds". The word "miscellaneous" comes from the Latin word "miscere", meaning "to mix." You might have heard the expression "a mixed bag," which applies when you don't quite know what you're going to get. More commonly, a miscellaneous group is made up of an odd group of things that don't fit anywhere else.