Searchibng Large TB Inbox file - which program?

[eager to learn]

I have an old TB Inbox file which is 1, 953,590 KB.

I want to search it for a person’s name.

I’ve opened it in Word, WordPad, Notepad and Libre Office but all I get is the “Not responding” cycle.

What program can I use to open and search this large file?

Thank you.

[tanstaafl]

You need a text editor that can handle a 2GB file. See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Edit_large_mbox_files for some suggestions. You don't want to use a word processor as that will want to change the format of the file from a 7 bit ASCII flat plain text file to something else. Notepad++ is a safe choice.

[tomdkat]

If possible, I would use "grep". It would have a command line interface but should search that file easily and in a matter of seconds. However, if a graphical application is desired, I would second Notepad++.

Peace...

[tanstaafl]

GrepWin from https://www.snapfiles.com/get/grepwin.html essentially adds a graphics interface to grep if you prefer to use a grep like tool rather than a text editor.

[eager to learn]

I'm not sure why I would need a "graphics" editor? Why do others use a graphics editor? I visited https://www.snapfiles.com/get/grepwin.html and downloaded some 1.92 file there. Is that a 32 bit program? Can I run it on a flash drive? Thank you.

[tanstaafl]

That is not a graphics editor. That is a version of grep that has a graphical user interface rather than a command line interface. Since it supports Vista through Windows 10 and Snapfiles usually explicitly tells you if a program is 64-bit, I assume its a 32-bit windows program. It says its "portable" so you should be able to run it from a flash rive.

FYI notepad++ is not a graphics editor either. It is a text editor with a graphical user interface. A graphics editor is something like paint or irfanview where you can see and edit a graphics image.

[morat]

I bet Notepad++ chokes trying to open a 2 GB file.

How to open a big file in Notepad++
http://superuser.com/questions/286106

Text editor to open big files
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/159521
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/18208524

[tanstaafl]

I've used the 64bit version of Notepad++ with a 2GB file before. The main reason (despite its deficiencies) why I suggested Notepad++ was that it wasn't too different from what the OP had tried. I had considered HxD (it can handle up to 8 exabytes and doesn't need a lot of memory) but its based on a hex editor, which I thought would be an issue.

Glogg (a read-only editor that was mentioned in one of your stackoverflow links) didn't exist when I wrote that KB article. That would be a better choice if the OP doesn't want to use a grep or findstr type tool. In hindsight I should have taken a fresh look rather than rely upon that KB article.

https://www.andreafortuna.org/2017/04/0 ... n-windows/

[eager to learn]

I downloaded Glogg and it was't helping.

I downloaded grepp and it only seem to search folders - not files. It will search a subfolder like C:\Stuff\PC but not my TB Inbox file.

I've tried Notepad++, Libre Writer, too.

Is there any Linux built-in Text Editors I could use with a Linux version I could burn on to a flash drive to use it live (as opposed to installed version)?

This is taking so much time and effort just to search a TB Inbox file for a person's name.

Thanks.

[morat]

Maybe you can split the file, then search the smaller files.

How to split a large file on Windows
http://superuser.com/questions/94083

[eager to learn]

Not sure how to split.

Is there a way to open TB offline and then open the old TB Inbox file saved on my hard drive?

No text editor has worked so far.

Morat is right Notepad++ did choke on it.

What file format is my old TB Inbox file saved as?

I look under Windows Explorer in W7 and it just lists File as file type (not ASCII, .odt. .docs, etc.

[morat]

I use the split.exe executable in GnuWin32 CoreUtils.

http://superuser.com/a/731145

The INBOX file is a mbox file. (a type of plain text file)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbox

[eager to learn]

Hi,

Can anyone please share the step-by-step directions on how to open an old TB Inbox file in TB installed on my desktop W7? I have 1 GB RAM and about 40 GB hard drive free space. I have the file saved on a flash drive. I want to search that file for a person's name. None of the text editors shared here worked. Splitting a TB file seems daunting and labor intensive. It's a 1.9 GB file. I think only TB can open this large TB file. Thanks.

[DanRaisch]

Have you tried UltraEdit? https://www.ultraedit.com/downloads/ultraedit-download/

[tanstaafl]

What was the problem with gloog? I found it useful enough that I've kept my copy installed.

The free version of the UltraEdit program at https://www.snapfiles.com/get/ultraedit.html supports editing 4GB files. https://www.ultraedit.com/support/tutor ... dling.html gives some practical configuration advice (faster performance, less memory usage etc.) when using UltraEdit to edit large files.

"What file format is my old TB Inbox file saved as?"
It is using the mbox format. That means its a ordinary plain text file with no 8 bit characters in it.