New user help needed: finding files; options window

[seldsalt]

I think that this program is going to be a lovely fit for my needs if I can figure out how to use it properly. But (apologies for taking space in a development forum to ask user questions, but perhaps this will assist you make your help files more explicit for less techsome users) there are two things that even after reading all of the forum I haven't been able to figure out how to deal with.

First, I see multiple references in the forum to FARR searching file names as well as programs. I can't seem to get my installation to see files unless I create a specific alias for them. I have hundreds of files, so creating an alias for each seems beyond unwieldy and I can't imaging anyone else is doing that. How have I overlooked enabling this? I have added *.doc and all my other usuals to the pattern scoring list with the same weight as *.exe and even tried boosting it higher, but don't get anything but help files in my returns. And yes, My Documents is correctly referenced in the folders to be searched. I wondered if I needed to list each subfolder, but it doesn't even return a file I place in My Documents itself, so that doesn't seem to be my problem. I should add that the search that returns program files is lightening fast and works exactly as I'd expect from what I've read, so the fact that files aren't turning up makes me think it's somehow my problem, not program misbehavior.

The second mystery I can't seem to solve on my own (and I'm not really sure it's not an intended behavior) is that the options window always opens behind the little search window. I have the impression that it didn't the first few times I used the program, but now it inevitably does, no matter what key I use to start the search (pause/break or a custom I've set). At least it dismisses along with the search window when the program launches, but it's visually distracting and I'm a bit afraid that if I mistype/misclick on something when windows are flying around rapidly, I'll change my options without noticing or commit some other difficult-to-reconstruct mayhem. Is there a setting that dissociates these two that I simply haven't read/interpreted correctly yet?

[jgpaiva]

apologies for taking space in a development forum to ask user questions

-seldsalt (May 23, 2006, 01:53 PM)

Avtually, almost everyone is a user, here
No problems at all, and it's always good to know about bugs.

For the first issue, you don't need to list sub-folders, they are automaticly included.
Do you have the checkbox before the "my documents" folder checked?  This wasn's supposed to happen, i think.

As for the second issue, if you close the options dialog on the close cross, and then bring farr up again, is it still there?

I think mouser might be able to explain something better, as i can't reproduce any of your problems..

[edit]Oh, and BTW... welcome!  [/edit]

[mouser]

just hit the close button (upper right

• ) of the options form, and it should not come up again until you ask it to.

you might try moving your document folder up to the top in the search list (just drag and drop), and see if that helps.

[seldsalt]

Okay, by checking and unchecking and checking and then fiddling around with order of the folders checked, I've gotten files to show up. So whatever might have been the original problem there (the check boxes are so tiny on my screen  at 1024 res that it takes a careful look to determine their checked state), fiddling seems to have undone it and it's working as I would like. That options area was, I'd guess, definitely the source of my problem.

As for the other problem, the opening of the options window when I open the search window, that has not been as satisfactorily resolved. Yes, when I open just the options window, by right-clicking the systray icon and selecting options, I can dismiss it by clicking that close window button. But that doesn't prevent it from re-apearing next time I open the search. In fact, it opens first and then the search opens on top of it (when I use the custom key, the pause key, or the right-click menu for the icon), and it disappears when the search window is dismissed. If I bring the options window to focus by clicking on it, it properly comes up on top of the search. Then if I click that right corner button to close the options window, it blinks out and immediately reappears again on top of the search. In other words, I cannot dismiss it while the search is open although I can close it if I open it alone.

FWIW, I'm using a fairly vanilla Win2k and shutting down, one by one, all of my running programs except for NOD32 and ZoneAlarm failed to affect this behavior. But shutting down FARR and restarting it a couple times (once, yesterday, didn't do it) now has, for the moment, managed to let me get a search window by itself again. If it resumes, I'll try to record the circumstances and let you know so you can see if it's reproduceable or just some random moment of cosmic injustice.

Thanks for the help.

[mouser]

i've definitely never heard of the options apearing bug before..
if it comes back please do let me know.