Searching for Text in OpenOffice Documents Using File Explorer
Searching by File Name
File Explorer is the main tool in Windows for navigating through files and folders. Once you open it, follow these simple steps to search for text in OpenOffice files:
- Go to the folder where you think your OpenOffice documents are located.
- Click the search bar in the top right corner of File Explorer and type the word you’re looking for.
With these steps, you can search for any files, but if you want to search only for OpenOffice files, do the following:
- For text documents: Add the extension .odt after the word you’ve typed. This will show only OpenOffice Writer files whose titles contain that word.
- For spreadsheets: Add the extension .ods
- For presentations: Add the extension .odp
- For drawings: Add the extension .odg
Searching by Content
If you want to search for a specific word or phrase inside OpenOffice documents on, click in the search box in File Explorer to open the “Search” tab, then from “Advanced options” enable “File contents”. This way, when you type a word in the search field, the files containing that word will also appear. To search specifically for a certain file type, add one of the extensions described above. If you want to learn more about the ways to search using File Explorer and beyond, you can visit this article - How to search text in Windows 11.
Searching for Text in OpenOffice Documents Using SeekFast
SeekFast is a program for searching text in multiple files simultaneously, providing results in a clear and convenient way by highlighting the keywords within the context of sentences. It supports searching in various text formats, including .odt (the OpenOffice format), .doc, .docx, .pdf, and others.
Searching OpenOffice Documents with SeekFast
To search files with SeekFast, follow these steps:
- Download the program from the official SeekFast website.
- After opening the program, click the “Browse” button and select the folder on your computer where you want to search.
- Enter the word or phrase you want to find in the search field.
- Click the "Search" button. The results will appear as a list of sentences containing the searched text.
If you want to search only in odt files, follow these steps:
- Click the button with four horizontal lines at the top of the screen.
- Remove other file types you don’t want to search by unchecking them, leaving only those you want to include.
- Click Apply and then OK.
Advantages of SeekFast
- Speed and efficiency: Searches text in hundreds of documents in seconds.
- Support for multiple formats: Besides OpenOffice, it supports many other popular formats.
- Intuitive interface: Easy to use, with no technical skills required.
Disadvantages of SeekFast
- Limited free version: The number of files that can be searched at once is limited in the free version.
Conclusion:
SeekFast is an extremely useful tool for anyone who works with OpenOffice documents and needs an efficient way to search for text. It offers many advantages such as speed, convenience, and practicality. Despite some limitations, SeekFast remains one of the leading tools in this field.
What is DocFetcher?
DocFetcher is a completely free, open-source program created by a team of developers in 2007. It is compatible with Windows (from Windows XP onward), Linux, and macOS (via Java).
The program is a fast and easy-to-use tool for searching text within documents. It stands out from most file search software because it is both free and open source.
The software works by scanning the documents on your computer and creating an index similar to those used by internet search engines. Once the index is created, you can search for text in files without opening them.
Steps for Using DocFetcher
- Download the program from the official DocFetcher website.
- Follow the installation instructions that appear on the screen.
How to Search with DocFetcher?
The user specifies a folder or location where the files are located.
The program scans the contents of the documents and creates an index. This process is done once, after which searching becomes instant. Here’s what you need to do:
- Right-click on the white area at the bottom left labeled Search Scope.
- Then click create index from folder.
- Next, select the folder on your computer where you want to search.
- A window will open where you need to click Run, then wait for the indexing process to complete. This will take time depending on the number and size of files in your folder.
- Type the word you’re looking for in the search field at the top left, and you’ll get results for it.
At the top left of the screen, there is a panel with options to choose the type of document you want to search. By default, all types are selected. If you want to search only in OpenOffice documents, simply uncheck all file types except the one you want to search (in this case, odt). This way, only odt files will appear.
Advantages:
- Free program
- Desktop version
- Does not require many system resources
Disadvantages:
- Initial indexing – can be slow
- No automatic index update – when files change, the index must be updated manually
- No mobile version
Searching Text in OpenOffice Files with FileLocator Pro
FileLocator Pro was created by the software company Mythicsoft Ltd, based in the United Kingdom. The first version of the product was released in April 2003 as a paid and professional version of Agent Ransack, which debuted in April 2000.
FileLocator Pro is a tool for searching files and their contents. It can search text only within OpenOffice files (such as those with the extensions .odt, .ods, or .odp). The program is free for personal and professional use, offering an easy interface and many advanced search options.
Unlike DocFetcher, which requires prior indexing of files, FileLocator Pro works in real time. This means that you don’t need to create an index of folders on your computer first – you simply specify a folder and start the search. Also, compared to File Explorer (the built-in Windows search tool), FileLocator Pro supports much more advanced search filters using regular expressions, making it an excellent tool for advanced users.
Similar to SeekFast, FileLocator Pro allows you to view the text inside documents found by the program without opening the actual file. This option is not available in the File Explorer search.
- To search with FileLocator Pro, follow these steps:
- Download the program from the official website.
- Install and open the program on your computer.
- Select the location on your computer where you want to search for files by typing the folder path or clicking Browse and selecting the desired folder.
- In the “File Name” field, you can search for a file by its title by entering a word you think appears in the file name.
- If you want to search for a word contained within the file, type the word in the “Containing text” section.
If you want to search only odt files, type .odt in the field labeled “File name.” To search for other types of OpenOffice files, enter the extension for the corresponding file. (hyperlink to extensions)
After completing these steps, the found files will appear under the search field on the left side of the screen. You can also view the text in those files by clicking on the text in the right section of the screen.
Advantages:
- High search speed, even with large data volumes.
- Easy-to-use interface
- Extended format support
Disadvantages:
- A paid license is required
- No direct integration with popular cloud platforms like Google Drive or OneDrive
