MACRO REQUEST: Text Search within DC files

[williamj]

MikeDesign has brought attention to an issue that has pestered me off and on for quite some time. For me it’s a small issue. I don’t have anywhere near as many .dc files as Mike has, but every once in a while it rears its unpleasant head.

I have at most two to three hundred different .dc files. Most of them are located in a single Windows folder but there are still over a hundred .dc files scattered throughout my hard drive. Looking for a particular file can indeed be a rather large pain. Every once in a while I find myself using Windows file search to find all .dc files just so I can go through them one by one.

I’m the first to admit that my organizational skills are nonexistent. So I’m hoping that someone out there is willing to share their file management skills here. That and maybe we can come up with a file naming convention that will make identifying and locating a particular file easier.

[Click to view the original 'Request Help' thread post by "MikeDesign"]

[williamj]

I’m just thinking out loud here. I know next to nothing about programming and even less about writing macros, so I’m going to be making a lot of assumptions here.

Seeing that macros can access different functions of DeltaCad, (i.e. shapes, circle, line and edit tabs) then I would assume that macros could also access some of, if not all of, the Windows functions as well (i.e. File, Edit, Window etc.).

If the macro could access the File section of the DeltaCad window then it stands to reason the macro should also be able to access all of the items within the drop down menu of the File section.

If that is indeed the case then a "Catalog" macro might be written that could go through the File, Open function and then search for and find any and all .dc files. Once a file is located the file path could be copied and pasted in a DeltaCad drawing. It might also be possible to copy and paste alongside of the file path, the small preview associated with that particular .dc file. Icing on the cake would be for the pasted file path to act as links that would, when selected, open that file in a new DeltaCad drawing.

As if that weren’t enough, how about the macro also acting as a Catalog maintenance macro? Once a day or once a week just run the maintenance function of the macro and let it search for files on the disc that aren’t in the Catalog and if found copy those paths to the Catalog. Once that’s done then it would look for files that are in the Catalog but are no longer on the disc, at which time that Catalog listing would be deleted.

[AlwMVMO]

Using long file names (255 characters) you should be able to give each drawing file a complete part description in the file name.
With this file naming system a catalog isn't needed.

It would also be helpful if each different project was in it's own sub-folder if it has several drawing files.

[AlanCooper]

I have a few suggestions:

1. Create directory called "_Junk" in your work directory and move any old versions, temporary files etc. to that directory. This means you only keep your best/current/final version in your work directory and you can always get back an old version when accidents happen. When you are done with the "job" you can delete the "_Junk" directory. The "_" puts the directory at the top when sorted by name.
2. When finished with a work directory and want to start a new version, rename the old version directory with a date prefix. Use the date you created the new version. Then you will know the date of the old version and that it is an old version.
3. Create a "Demo" directory of you best work. This is what you backup - avoid the temptation to backup everything.
   

Regards AlanC