This page is about different ways to locate a file anywhere on your file system. 

Emacs command `find-file' (`C-x C-f') finds a file within a given directory -- you can change directory, but only one directory is searched at a time. ''What do you do if you don't know what directory to search?'' The answer is here.

* Unix or GNU/Linux `find' command -- Use `find' from within Emacs -- commands `find-dired', `find-name-dired'. See node "Dired and `find'" in the EmacsManual.

** Library <tt>[[find-dired+.el]]</tt> adds a '''Run find Command''' submenu to the '''Dir''' menu of DiredPlus, with enhanced versions of the Emacs `find-*dired' commands.

* Emacs front ends to Unix or GNU/Linux `locate' command, which maintains a database of file locations in your file system:

** Standard Emacs library ##locate.el##, with Emacs command `locate'.

** GlobalFF -- library ##globalff.el##, shows matching files with `locate' command as you type

** `<tt>[[IciclesUserDefinedCommands#icicle-locate|icicle-locate]]</tt>' -- Icicles [[multi-command]] wrapper for `locate' program.

** LocateMode -- library ##gse-locate.el##.

* [[Everything]] -- Bridge to MS Windows desktop-search engine Everything: [http://www.voidtools.com/]

* FileNameCache -- You load file names into a (non-persistent) cache, which you can subsequently use for finding files with `find-file'. See section "File Name Cache" in the EmacsManual

* [[http://marmalade-repo.org/packages/find-file-in-repository|FindFileInRepository]] -- Autocomplete file names inside of projects. Uses ##git/mercurial/etc## to provide fast auto-completion. Automatically ignores files specified in ##.gitignore/.hgignore##, etc. Supports git, mercurial, darcs, bazaar, monotone, and svn.

* [[gds]] -- Uses Google Desktop Search to find files to open. Current interfaces to the hits are `iswitchb' and `dired'.

* <tt>[[glimpse.el]]</tt> -- Search for files with [[Glimpse]]

* [[Icicles - File-Name Input]] -- Provides '''[[Icicles]]''' [[regexp]] [[completion]] for [[command]]s like `find-file'. You can match any part(s) of a file name, including parts of any of its ancestor directories. No need for another, OS program, such as `find' or `locate', but if you have `locate' then '''Icicles''' takes advantage of it. Match also against file mofication date. [[Icicles - Fuzzy Completion|Fuzzy completion]] too.

* [[Icicles - Persistent Completions]] -- Save a set of completion candidates persistently. Create a persistent image of all of the files in your file system. Retrieve it quickly anytime, to find a file. 



== Comparison of Approaches ==

* All of the approaches let you glob file names (use shell wildcards).

* [[http://marmalade-repo.org/packages/find-file-in-repository|FindFileInRepository]] is the only approach that takes advantage of version control systems such as git, mercurial and others.

* [[Icicles]] is the only approach that does not require you to use an operating-system command such as `find' or `locate'.

* [[Icicles]] is the only approach that lets you save a cache of file names persistently. In Icicles, you can have any number of cache files, and they can contain any strings to use as completion candidates -- you are not limited to file names.

* [[Icicles]] and [[GlobalFF]] are the only approaches that let you use a [[regexp]] to match a file name, and to let you match parts of directory names.

* [[Icicles]] is the only approach that lets you also find files by (regexp) matching last modification date. 



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CategoryFiles
CategoryDirectories
CategoryCompletion
CategoryProgrammerUtils