Find-Replace Tool Recomendation...

I typically open all files into Notepad+ in order to find and replace code...

If I have a project going and tons of files to search through, I open them all in Notepad+ and keep them in there for the duration of the project so I don't have to keep finding and opening them....but this isn't always convenient- obviously.

I'm wondering what other coders use that would allow searching for code lines, snippets, and single words in files that are in a directory or sub-directories without having to open them?

Need I say- Preferably a quality free program option?

~Much Thanks~

I use Agent Ransack. http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack


EDIT: Sorry. Thats a search tool only. It does not do global replacements. I don't normally do global replacements anyway. I find it to risky that something will get replaced that i did not want replaced.

 Much Thanks Deano- Yeah, I just need it for searching to quickly find only the possible files I'll need to be editing.

Linux, Mac or Windows? Either way... you can find a bit info here File Comparison Tools.

I use Kaleidoscope (not free) which is for Mac.

Windows only: I use PsPad.  You go to search files, and you can search without a replacement to find text or you can set a replacement and you can keep case for the search so that CaptionResult is different from captionresult and whole words only as well.  PsPad will search subdirectories automatically as well.

To compare two files of the same, I use WinMerge; a windows tool.  It is a great tool when you are upgrading and need to apply code changes from modules to the upgrade files.  It will show where the files differ and you can then use copy to left/right to make the changes.  Saves a lot of time when doing upgrades.

Personally I use SubLime Text  the only real feature I wish it had was when working on pages it would upload the changes to the remote server...

It has cross platform look/feel and functionality (Linux, Windoze and Mac).

Beyond that it has many features and is wonderful. Jeff Way has some tutorials on tuts plus (google Jeff Way Sublime Text). A small fee is asked but not required for the software.

DiffMerge ... does whole directories too. Quick and easy to put back customizations after an upgrade.