The search command searches a file for the existence of one or more strings of characters in any attribute and optionally creates and saves a list.
search file.reference {item.list*} {(options)}
| options | a | Outputs in standard assembly listing format. |
| d | Outputs entire item on any match. | |
| f | Outputs only the first line containing the string in an item. | |
| e | Allows searching a file for items that do not contain any of the specified strings. | |
| i | Suppresses the item-ID output. Does not affect other output. | |
| j | Outputs only one match per item (overridden by the d option). | |
| l | Prompts for list name and saves the resulting list under the given name. This does not show matches or leave an active list at the end of the process. | |
| n | Outputs the report without pausing at the bottom of each page. | |
| o | Displays item-IDs with matches and does not create a list. | |
| p | Directs output to the system printer, via the spooler (overridden by the l option). | |
| s | Suppresses line number output. | |
| u | Outputs two attributes after, and one line before, the matching line. |
After invoking the command, the prompt search for: displays on the screen. Any of these responses to this prompt are valid:
The item-IDs can be saved in a list when the l option is specified. As the search progresses through the file, it displays all lines that match the specified search strings by default.
The following example searches for vb in the master dictionary and saves the list as vb.list after completing.
search md (l search for:vb search for: list name: vb.list logoff sselect td ... [2000] 15 out of 1512 item(s) found.