How to find files in Ubuntu?

[ActionParsnip]

I recommend the find command in terminal, super simple and fast

find / -type f -newermt '01 Jan 2024 00:00:01'

Will give only files from only this year[/COLOR]
Obviously change "/" to the folder you want to search. Eg:

find $HOME -type f -newermt '01 Jan 2024 00:00:01'

Will search your users home and display only files that have been modified this year

Other options include:

-newerXY reference
          Compares the timestamp of the current file with reference.   The
          reference  argument  is  normally the name of a file (and one of
          its timestamps is used for the comparison) but it may also be  a
          string  describing  an  absolute time.  X and Y are placeholders
          for other letters, and these letters select which time belonging
          to how reference is used for the comparison.


          a   The access time of the file reference
          B   The birth time of the file reference
          c   The inode status change time of reference
          m   The modification time of the file reference
          t   reference is interpreted directly as a time

[TheFu]

... because just like I do not need to read the 400 pages manual on a Volvo only because I drove a Merc before

So I opened that "hideous" terminal and got my list of files (I still cant believe that there is no GUI that can do that, unreal ). How do I move that list to Dolphin so I can create a zip? Thanks

You don't need to do that. Just feed the list of files from the find output into the zip program. BTW, it works the same on DOS/Windows in the command prompt there too.

When I was knew to UNIX, I often asked small questions because my history with OS/2, MS-DOS and TSO/ISPF had my mind thinking that the way those OSes forced things to be done was the only way. Alas, an old guy slapped me and said, to ask questions for what my final goal was, since putting 10 small steps together to accomplish things the MS-Windows way was seldom the way anyone would do it on UNIX. So, I started asking for the final goal, instead of asking for individual steps.

If you are trying to copy files off to be shared with other people, there are better ways.
If you are trying to make backups or backups of recently changed files, there are better ways.

Just sayin'.

There is a problem feeding filenames/directories that begin with a '/' into any archive program. The full path will be retained, which means it will want to be restored to exactly the same place. On a different computer, the exact directories won't exist and many not be something your userid can create. This is one of the reasons that Unix-like OSes use different archive tools that other OSes. On Linux, there are many different versions of ZIP - and some aren't compatible with that other OS at all. Instead, if you have 500MB of files are less, I'd strongly suggest using a tgz archive for sharing files. GNU Tar is good at this sort of stuff and if you save the exact command to a file, called a script, you'll be able to run it over and over and over and over and get the same results for years. Tar isn't a good backup tool for a number of reasons. It used to be the standard backup tool used when HDDs were 1-2GB in size, total. Now that we have 4G-20TB HDDs, the tar storage format isn't a good choice, I'm afraid. It has many of the same problems that ZIP has for larger data.

By using a little script, you can automate the running of the backup so it is done when you aren't there, once a day or once a week. Having consistent, correct, results. is very important. It is harder to automate GUI stuff, which is why Unix people prefer using CLI tools and scripts. We won't accidentally forget to check a box in the GUI and end up with results that aren't what we need. Consistency matters.

To be honest, I don't know if there is a GUI program that will do what you want. I've never bothered looking. Most of my computers don't have any GUI, so I can learn 1 way to accomplish a goal that works everywhere, of I can learn 1 way that only works on 2 of my computers, maybe. Of course, your needs are different. Google found Ark - which is a KDE program: https://opensource.com/article/22/2/...-linux-ark-kde and https://docs.kde.org/stable5/en/ark/ark/ark.pdf Looks like Ark and Dolphin integrate together in KDE. Might be useful for your needs. IDK. It may not.

Advanced Batch Mode
Ark has an advanced batch mode to manage archives without launching a graphical user inter-
face. This mode allows you to extract or create archives and add files to them.
The batch mode is documented in Ark’s man page

https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages...an1/ark.1.html is the manpage for the 24.04 version of ARK. The manpage is also on your computer. Just use xman to find it.

[firesdhgsht]

Thank you for all the hints and explanations.
When I asked the question I was hoping for 1 single reply "go there, check this box, done" ... now we have a 3 pages thread

"So, I started asking for the final goal, instead of asking for individual steps."
... that is probably still the problem with Linux. As a layman user I do not want to ask questions, nowadays I expect a common tool like a laptop to be self explanatory at least for the rudimentary daily tasks.

Nevertheless I dug deeper and figured out that KFind is the best option. It does not take "/*" but it takes "" to find all files created/modified in a given time span. The problem is, that KFind cannot distinguish between created and modified. Anyway, I go with that for now. Ark is used in Dolphin for archives and works great.

[TheFu]

"So, I started asking for the final goal, instead of asking for individual steps."
... that is probably still the problem with Linux. As a layman user I do not want to ask questions, nowadays I expect a common tool like a laptop to be self explanatory at least for the rudimentary daily tasks.

And we still don't know your end goal ....

[currentshaft]

joy

[firesdhgsht]

Laziness is my sole motivation to use a computer. What's your point?

I paid good money for my Linux laptop. I think I am "entitled" to expect it can find a file.... without me having to learn terminal commands.

[aljames2]

The Linux desktop environment GUI tools give you maybe 5% of the power of what your Linux laptop is capable of. Some here may correct me which I welcome…it may be 1%.

Your complex search criteria & package need is not a basic thing and most GUIs are not written to anticipate all variations of complexity a user may need or expect. In these cases you need to learn (with patience), how to leverage the more capable commands under the hood. Raising the hood on occasion in Linux is really a pre-requisite. All the folks here have given you the solution, it just works.

In hindsight, if I were in your shoes again, the first five things I would learn in Linux are: 1) Linux permissions, 2) pwd command, 3) cd command, 4) ls command, & 5) find command

[firesdhgsht]

Thank you for the encouragement. But I am really an end user. I know that Linux is safer than any other OS and that is why I use it. I know not to log in as root but this is how far I go. I have no time to learn any terminal command, I need to get things done, I want to grab the picture I need with my clumsy finger on the touchscreen, throw it on the hard drive, unplug the drive, close the lid and go. I was told that works with Linux, hence here I am, even if I leave 95 % performance on the table

[currentshaft]

4

[yancek]

Do you know if your Kubuntu installed entirely on a single partition
If you have multiple partitions or multiple hard drives with multiple partitions with data on which to search, are they accessible (mounted)?
Do you know what the owner:group is for any other partitions if there are any? Owner:group and permissions on Linux are a big part of what makes it more secure. You need to be aware of this.

Have you read the page at the link below "File Searching on Kubuntu"? It is 5 steps.

https://www.ubuntubuzz.com/2021/10/f...n-kubuntu.html