FIND--Notes
 
Specifying a string
 
Unless you specify the /I switch, FIND searches for exactly what you specify
for string. For example, to the FIND command the characters "a" and "A" are
different. If you were to use the /I switch, however, FIND would ignore case
and search for "a" and "A" as if they were the same character.
 
If the string you want to search for contains quotation marks, you must use
two quotation marks for each quotation mark contained within the string.
 
Using FIND as a filter
 
If you omit a filename, FIND acts as a filter, taking input from the MS-DOS
standard source (usually the keyboard, a pipe, or a redirected file) and
displaying any lines that contain the string.
 
Using wildcards with FIND
 
You cannot use wildcards (* and ?) in filenames or extensions that you
specify with the FIND command. To search for a string in a set of files you
specify with wildcards, you can use the FIND command in a FOR command.
 
Using the /V or /N switch with the /C switch
 
If you specify the /C and /V switches in the same command, FIND displays a
count of the lines that do not contain the specified string. If you specify
the /C and /N switches in the same command, FIND ignores the /N switch.
 
Using FIND in files with carriage returns
 
The FIND command does not recognize carriage returns. When you use FIND to
search for text in a file that includes carriage returns, you must limit the
search string to text that can be found between carriage returns--that is, a
string that is not likely to be interrupted by a carriage return. For
example, FIND does not report a match for the string "tax file" wherever a
carriage return occurs between the word "tax" and the word "file".
 
FIND exit codes
 
The following list shows each exit code and a brief description of its
meaning:
 
0
    The search was completed successfully and at least one match was found.
 
1
    The search was completed successfully, but no matches were found.
 
2
    The search was not completed successfully. In this case, an error
    occurred during the search, and FIND cannot report whether any matches
    were found.
 
You can use the ERRORLEVEL parameter on the <If> command line in a batch
program to process exit codes returned by FIND.