Last issue I provided some tips to shake
loose the secrets of assorted system files.
Unfortunately, this involved manually scanning large
segments of the file to locate the information. To the
rescue: an online newsletter from Lockergnome
pointed me towards a uniquely useful utility: TextExtract.
Since computers are well-suited to
performing drudge jobs, assign this task to your machine
while you take a break. TextExtract (
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~fangorn/ultimathule/) is a
freeware program that will scan a file, or a batch of
files, for letters, numerals and text strings. The
default parameters can be user-defined. The source file
could be a corrupted word processor file or any system
file (for example, .COM, .EXE, .DLL, or .VXD).The results
are saved in a user-specified file that you can examine
at your leisure.
A couple of suggestions: download the
full installation routine (TextExtract.zip, about 670 KB)
instead of the much smaller TextExtractFiles.zip (about
27 KB). Otherwise, you will likely face a variety of
error messages since the installation routine contains
essential auxiliary files that may not be present on your
system. You system must also have the Microsoft Visual
Basic 6 runtime files installed. If not, a link is
provided on the Ultima Thule site.
For me, this certainly beats the dreary
chore of examining file-after-file for that elusive
source and version information. Give it a try.
Oh, yes, send the author an email to say
thanks for his efforts!
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Any club member who would like to give this program
a try can download it from PUB II
(Area 28 - Utilities - File Utilities) as TXTEXT2.ZIP
Cheers, Chris
OPCUG Sysop
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Bottom Line:
TextExtract (Freeware)
Ultima Thule Ltd.
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~fangorn/ultimathule/
Originally published: February, 2000
