File Lists

Everything File List (EFU) are recommended for off-line files or files that do not change, for example a CDRom, DVDRom or read only NAS.

An EFU file is a Comma-separated Values (CSV) file containing a list of filenames, sizes, dates and attributes.

File lists can be opened with Everything or included in your Everything index.

File lists can be searched and sorted by size, date or attributes instantly.

How do I make an EFU file list?

In Everything, from the Tools menu, click File List Editor....
In the File List Editor, drag and drop files into the list to add to your file list.
You can also add files and folders from the Edit menu.
When you are finished, from the File menu, click Save.

How do I make an EFU file list from Everything?

To save the current search as an EFU file list

In "Everything", from the File menu, click Export....
Change Save as Type to EFU Everything File List (*.efu).
Type in a filename and click OK.

How do I make an EFU File list from the command line?

To create a file list from the command line:

Everything.exe -create-filelist <output-filename> <path-to-scan>

Combine with -create-file-list-exclude-files <filters> to exclude files.

Combine with -create-file-list-exclude-folders <filters> to exclude folders.

Combine with -create-file-list-include-only-files <filters> to include only the specified files.

Examples

To create a file list excluding tmp files:

Everything.exe -create-file-list "myfilelist.efu" "c:\" -create-file-list-exclude-files "*.tmp"

To create a file list excluding lnk and thumbs.db files:

Everything.exe -create-file-list "myfilelist.efu" "c:\" -create-file-list-exclude-files "*.lnk;thumbs.db"

To exclude folders with the name 1033:

Everything.exe -create-file-list "myfilelist.efu" "c:\" -create-file-list-exclude-folders "1033"

To exclude a specific folder

Everything.exe -create-file-list "myfilelist.efu" "c:\" -create-file-list-exclude-folders "c:\windows"

To exclude specific folders

Everything.exe -create-file-list "myfilelist.efu" "c:\" -create-file-list-exclude-folders "c:\windows;c:\program files;c:\program files (x86)"

To include specified files only:

Everything.exe -create-file-list "myfilelist.efu" "c:\" -create-file-list-include-only-files "*.mp3;*.flac"

regex can be used in the exclude lists, for example, exclude files starting with A-M

Everything.exe -create-file-list "myfilelist.efu" "c:\" -create-file-list-exclude-files "regex:^^[A-M]"

Path matching can be done by including a \ in your filter (\\ for regex).

Everything.exe -create-file-list "myfilelist.efu" "c:\" -create-file-list-exclude-files "c:\folder\a specific file.txt"

Does Everything access the files in the file list?

Everything will only access the files if you try to open a file or right click a file.

File size, dates and attributes are read from the file list.

How do I change the volume for all the files in a file list?

Open the file list in Notepad.
Press Ctrl + H to replace.
Change Find what to the old volume (eg: D:)
Change Replace with to the new volume (eg: E:)
Click Replace All.
Save changes to the file list.

Can I use relative paths in a file list?

Yes, filenames are relative to the file list location.

Optionally use . and .. for locations relative to the file list location.

You can use \ at the start of a filename to specify a file relative to the root of the file list.

Specify a filename with a full path to override relative filenames.

Update a file list with the Task Scheduler

To rebuild a file list every hour with the task scheduler:

Open the Task Scheduler from Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Task Scheduler.
Click Create Task....
Set the Name to Everything File List
Click the Triggers tab.
Click New....
Select One time.
Check Repeat task every.
Change the Repeat task every time to 1 hour.
Change for a duration of to Indefinitely.
Click OK.
Click the Actions tab.
Click New....
Select Start a program for Action.
Click Browse to select Everything.exe
Set Add arguments to:
```
-create-filelist c:\filelist.efu c:\
```
Click OK.
Click OK.

Include a file list in the Everything index

In "Everything", from the Tools menu, click Options.
Click the File Lists tab.
Click Add... to add a file list.
Select a file list.
Click Open.
Click OK.

Modifying file lists

"Everything" will automatically reload modified file lists that are included in the Everything index.

To disable this feature:

In "Everything", from the Tools menu, click Options.
Click the File Lists tab.
Select the file list to stop monitoring.
Uncheck Monitor changes.
Click OK.

What is the format of an EFU file list?

EFU files are comma-separated values (CSV) files.

A header is required with at least the Filename column specified.

File size is specified in bytes.

Dates are FILETIMEs (100-nanosecond intervals since January 1, 1601.) in decimal or ISO 8601 dates.

Attributes can be zero or more of the Windows File Attributes.

EFU files are encoded with UTF-8.

Opening a file list with Excel

To open a file list with excel:

In Excel, from the Data menu, from the Import External Data submenu, click Import data....
Select your exported csv and click Open.
Change File origin to 65001 : Unicode (UTF-8).
Click Next.
Check Comma.
Click Next.
Click Finish.
Click OK to put the data in the existing worksheet at $A$1.