Search Engine for files inside Common Folders.

[Mr.Rhett]

Hello Everyone. At our department, we have a common folders that we have been saving all quotations we received from Vendors. Basically we have 1 folder name "quotation" and inside this folder there were more than 5 subfolders named by Vendors (let say M1, M2, M3, ...Mx). Each subfolder have the saved quotation files in random format (pdf, excel, word, etc). So, my plan is to create a search engine using excel VBA that will ask the users to input a "keywords" into a textbox. Then a click of a button will pop-up a form showing the list of results. The form that showing the results should have the two buttons also. One named "open" to open the file from the result's list and "close" to exit the form. Please help. Need it badly...Thanks a lot.

[snb]

Do you want help or a 'turn-key' solution ?

[Mr.Rhett]

Turnkey may work...i will just study the code....thanks in advance...have a great day!

[SamT]

for Turn Key Apps, check out this link VBA Express Consulting (http://www.vbaexpress.com/consulting.php).

Ho0wever, IMO, you would be much better served to develop an in-house RFQ form with an attached Quote submission form. These standard forms will make it much easier to search for and analyze relevant information.

You should also consider developing the form in XML to make it easy to use in almost all MS applications and various other Office Suites. An interactive PDF form is another viable technique.

[Mr.Rhett]

Do we have other ways to get the code for free? Otherwise, i rather need help instead.

[shrivallabha]

There are ways if you want to have code for free. Google for your requirement and you should find something that comes close to your requirement e.g. a code that loops through files in a folder
http://excelnoob.blogspot.in/2010/07/excel-vba-loop-through-all-files-and.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/139724

Search of this site should get you some of these:
http://www.vbaexpress.com/forum/showthread.php?42482-More-Robust-Directory-List-Generator

They all deal with listing files and subfolders. You will have to workout a userform and call one of these routines from there.

[Paul_Hossler]

that will ask the users to input a "keywords" into a textbox.


Do you mean some (1) text as part of the file name, or literally (2) a document 'keyword'?

(1) Entering "RFQ" and "FRED" returns "RFQ-20130701 from Fred on project 12345"

or

(2) Actually searching for the embedded keywords within the file like in the screen shot?


(1) is much easier that (2)

Paul

[Mr.Rhett]

Yes looks like no.1 is close...Let say inside the common folders we got files like --> caat.xls, aag.pdf, bag.doc <-- so when enter a keyword "aa" returns caat.xls & aag.pdf
Thanks in advance...

[Mr.Rhett]

Hope we're not reluctant to help for free :hi:

[SamT]

No. We all "work" for free. Rather, we work for the pleasure of helping others, or the challenge a project holds, to show off our skills or to improve them, and a host of other personal reasons.

The lack of a response can mean that the project is not meeting any of the above, or it might mean that it is beyond out expertise.

However. there is already a Windows App that does all you want and more. It can browse to any folder, even one on a network and recursively search inside that folder for files by name, age, size, type, and even by keywords inside the files. It allows you to open, copy, rename or delete the files with just the mouse buttons.

It is automatically installed with Windows, so it should be available to everybody in your office.