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REGISTRY FINDER




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The latest version of Registry Finder is 2.55 (November 06, 2022). What's new

Installer - both 32-bit and 64-bit SHA-256:
204a201125e26b1992129c53e81aeca07e8b19012b6e0fc8bee5abb770dcc808. Check it on
VirusTotal

Archive 32-bit SHA-256:
56ebfc80eb32f5893b83df427606d5a9e70867271ad05438007bdd1f27ace455. Check it on
VirusTotal

Archive 64-bit SHA-256:
9a78872df4ab484878d5e96ccf4288b492a251e7d0f77165bcb71d3625aebb74. Check it on
VirusTotal

If you are unsure of what archive to use for portable mode, I recommend to
select one that matches architecture of your Windows. Installer does that
automatically.

Note. To check SHA256 of a file, in the command prompt type

powershell get-filehash <filename>

and compare the output with the SHA256 above.


DESCRIPTION

Registry Finder is an improved replacement for the built-in Windows registry
editor. It has many features that makes working with registry more productive,
comfortable and safe, including:

 * Cut/Copy/Paste keys and/or values.
 * Undo and redo registry modifications (except changing permissions).
 * Multiple local and remote registry windows.
 * Fast, non blocking search.
 * Whole search results are displayed in a list.
 * Multiple search results window.
 * Ability to search within previous search results narrowing down your search
   scope.
 * Ability to search for hidden keys.

Registry Finder allows you to browse the local registry; create, delete, rename
keys and values; modify values as its natural data type (string, multistring,
DWORD) or as a binary data. It is allowed to open multiple Registry windows.
Next time you start Registry Finder, those windows will be reopened on the same
keys as before.

The Find operation is efficient and quick. All found items are displayed in a
separate window as a list. Each line represents a single match with the search
criteria. The icon shows where the match occurred: key name, value name or value
data. Matched text is highlighted with red.
You can jump to any found item in the Registry window or edit/delete items right
in the Find Results window.
Items in the Find Results window can be saved to file in .reg or .txt format. In
latter case, items are separated by tabulator. It allows easy data importing and
analyzing in other programs, such as Microsoft Excel.

With the Replace feature you can easily replace all or particular occurrences of
one string with another. The replacement is performed only in items that are in
the Find Results window. In the Replace dialog you specify either all items or
just selected ones. After replacement is done, items in the window are updated.
If some item do not match the search criteria any more it still remains in the
list.

All operations that alter the registry including deletion and replacement can be
undone and redone. The operations are listed in the History window. To open it,
click View|History in the main menu. The last performed operation is marked with
a yellow arrow.

Full name of the key can be copied to clipboard.


SCREENSHOTS

More screenshots...


INSTALLATION

Registry Finder can be used without installation. Just download archive with
binaries, unpack it into any folder on HDD or USB drive and start the
executable. The utility does not store any of its data in the registry. It
stores settings in the RegistryFinder.config file located in the same folder as
the executable.

Another option is to download and run the installer. It contains both 32-bit and
64-bit versions of binaries, so you do not need to choose. The installer can
deploy Registry Finder either in Normal mode or in Portable mode. The later just
unpacks binaries into the folder you specify. The Normal mode performs standard
things - unpack binaries, create shortcut in the Start Menu, create a desktop
icon and make uninstallation entry in the Control Panel. One little difference
is that in Normal mode the config file is stored in another place. Specifically,
in the %APPDATA%\RegistryFinder folder.


RUNNING AS ADMINISTRATOR

Unlike Windows registry editor, by default, Registry Finder runs with limited
privileges even when you are an administrator. This is more secure, but may
cause Access denied errors when you're attempting to do some changes. To avoid
such errors you should launch Registry Finder with elevated privileges.

Registry Finder allows you to restart himself as admin through the File |
Restart as Administrator menu. (This menu is absent if Registry Finder already
running as admin.)

If you want to always launch as admin, you can create shortcut and set the Run
as administrator option (right click the shortcut, select Properties, click
Advanced).

When Registry Finder is running as administrator, the window title contains the
word "Administrator", for example: Registry Finder - Administrator - [Local
Registry].


DARK THEME

Registry Finder automatically uses dark theme when you turn on dark mode in
Windows. (Head to Settings > Personalization > Colors. Select the "Dark" option
under the "Choose your app mode" section.) Dark mode is available only in
Windows 10 so, in turn, the dark theme in Registry Finder is available only in
Windows 10.

It is possible to turn off dark theme when Windows dark mode is on through the
config file.
After the first run, Registry Finder creates the following entry:


<ForceLightMode>false</ForceLightMode>

Make sure Registry Finder is not running and change the entry to

<ForceLightMode>true</ForceLightMode>

I could not make some UI elements to be dark (some due to technical issues, some
due to I was too focused on the main window and did not noticed them on time).
This include the status bar in the main window, drop-down list in all combo
boxes, data controls in the Find dialog, the main control in the Modify Binary
dialog, tabs in the Properties dialog, the links list in the Edit Favorite
dialog.
The grayscale icons that Registry Finder uses by default are not good with the
dark theme. I recommend to use custom toolbar icons.
If you notice other incompleteness or issues, don't hesitate to contact me.


WINDOWS EXPLORER INTEGRATION

To facilitate importing .reg files with Registry Finder you can add a command to
Windows Explorer's context menu for .reg files.

To do so, just execute the ContextMenu-Add.bat file. To remove the command,
execute the ContextMenu-Remove.bat file.

Also, you can make Registry Finder, instead of regedit, to perform import when
you double-click a .reg file: execute RegFileAssoc-Add.bat.
RegFileAssoc-Remove.bat restores import with regedit.

Note. You must execute files with administrator rights, otherwise you'll get the
Access denied error.


REPLACING WINDOWS REGISTRY EDITOR

As of version 2.51, Registry Finder can replace Windows' built-in registry
editor (regedit). Select the File | Replace Windows Registry Editor menu to have
Registry Finder execute instead of regedit when you launch regedit.
Replacig regedit is equivalent to the following command:

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution
Options\regedit.exe" /v "Debugger" /t REG_SZ /d
"\"REGISTRY_FINDER_DIR\RegistryFinder.exe\" -z" /f

Note. This is a global setting that affects all users regardless of how they
start regedit (for example, through a command line, the Run dialog or by double
clicking a .reg file). If you are using Registry Finder in portable mode, make
sure that the folder where Registry Finder resides is accessible to any user.
Make sure you revert the changes before deleting Registry Finder, otherwise
regedit cannot be started. In normal mode, uninstaller will revert the changes
for you.

If you replaced regedit and want to launch regedit, not Registry Finder, you can
do it with the --regedit command line argument:

RegistryFinder --regedit


RUNNING FROM WRITE-PROTECTED MEDIA

In some use cases the folder where Registry Finder stores its settings and undo
history is not accessible for write. The most evident is running from a
write-protected USB stick.

In that case, Registry Finder is fully functional except that the undo history
and application settings are not saved (so called No-Save mode). On startup,
appropriate message is shown and the status bar contains a yellow triangle sign.

The pop-up message can be suppressed by manually editing the
RegistryFinder.config file. Add the following line at the end of the file:

<WarnStoreReadOnly>false</WarnStoreReadOnly>


OFFLINE REGISTRY

Registry Finder is able to treat set of registry hive files as a separate
standalone registry. This feature saves you from tedious procedure of loading
and unloading hive files separately. It allows you to, say, easily examine a
backup of the registry or modify registry of unbootable Windows when running
Registry Finder from bootable USB drive.

The usage is simple: you specify a folder with registry hive files. Registry
Finder loads particular files from that folder as hives and gives you familiar
interface to work with much as it were live registry: you can browse, create
keys and values, import, export, search and so on.

The following files are loaded as corresponding subkeys of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE:
SAM, SECURITY, SOFTWARE, SYSTEM, and .DEFAULT is loaded a subkey of HKEY_USERS.

In this version, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and HKEY_CURRENT_USER keys are not supported.
Viewing and editing the keys security information is not implemented.

Because of limitations of API, this feature is not available on Windows XP.


COMMAND LINE

Registry Finder has a number of command line parameters you can use to customize
its behavior.

--helpPrints help message. --computerName argSpecifies the name or IP address of
a computer to connect to. --navigate argSpecifies a registry key to navigate to.
If this parameter is set to "clipboard" then the path is taken from the
clipboard. --reopenLocal argRestore or not previously opened local registry
windows when Registry Finder starts (arg: true or false, default is true).
--reopenRemote argRestore or not previously opened remote registry windows (arg:
true or false, default is true). --findDialogOpen the Find dialog on startup.
--dataFolder argSpecifies folder to store settings and undo history. --import
argImports the specified .reg file into the registry.
The work is always performed in a separate instance (that is the --multiInst is
implied). --importSilentDo not display a confirmation of import. --multiInstWhen
an instance of Registry Finder is already running, starts a new instance. By
default, the running instance is activated instead of starting another one.

Note 1. The parameter names are case insensitive.

Note 2. There are additional parameters (displayed with --help) but they are
left undocumented since they are experimental and may not work as expected.


KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Registry Finder uses the following keyboard shortcuts.

ShortcutAction Ctrl+LActivate address bar Middle Click in address barPaste
registry path from clipboard and navigate to it Ctrl+NOpen new local registry
tab Ctrl+Shift+NConnect to a remote computer's registry Ctrl+SSave changes to
offline registry Ctrl+EExport current key or entire registry to a file
Ctrl+ZUndo the last action Ctrl+YRedo the previously undone action F7Create a
new key Ctrl+CCopy the selection to clipboard Ctrl+VPaste content from clipboard
DelDelete selected items F2Rename key or value Ctrl+ASelect all content
Ctrl+FSearch Ctrl+RReplace in search results Ctrl+GNavigate to the item in
Registry tab. Uses existing tab if possible. Ctrl+Shift+GNavigate to the item in
new Registry tab. Alt+EnterOpen properties of registry key or favorite item.
Ctrl+HShow/activate/hide the History window Alt+Left ArrowGo to the previous key
in navigation history Alt+Right ArrowGo to the next key in navigation history
Alt+Up ArrowGo to up one level in registry hierarchy F5Refresh current registry
tab Ctrl+IOpen Favorites tab Ctrl+0 .. Ctrl+9Go to corresponding favorite item
Ctrl+Shift+0 .. Ctrl+Shift+9Edit corresponding favorite item


SEARCH RESULTS LIMIT

By default, search results are limited by 1000 items. The limit protects you
from bad consequences when search criteria is specified in a way what generates
a huge number of matches. For example, an empty string or a single-character
string, e.g. "a". (Possible consequences are unresponsive user interface, high
memory and CPU usage and eventual crash.)

If it is needed, you can increase the limit, through editing the
RegistryFinder.config file. Locate and modify the following entry:

<MaxMatches>1000</MaxMatches>

Changes take effect on the next search, restart of Registry Finder is not
required.


HIDDEN KEYS

Registry Finder supports searching so called hidden registry keys. These are the
keys with the null character in the name. Such keys cannot be created, deleted,
modified or viewed by standard Windows API, so they are not accessible by
regedit and most other registry editors.

To quickly evaluate this feature, you can use the "Search only hidden keys"
checkbox in the Find dialog.

In the results list the null character is displayed as the bullet sign:

The downloaded archive contains the NReg utility that you can use to create and
delete hidden keys for demonstration purposes. Type NReg -h to see the usage
information.

Note. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a special case. Registry Finder correctly finds
hidden keys in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, but it does not go inside them. If you need to
look deeper, you have to search at least in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes
plus HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes.


TRANSLATIONS OF REGISTRY FINDER

Available translations are listed here.


TRANSLATING REGISTRY FINDER INTO ANOTHER LANGUAGE

In order to translate Registry Finder into another language, follow the
instructions below:
 1. Start MakeLang.exe with the -i parameter:
    
    MakeLang -i
    
    That creates RegistryFinder_lang.ini file containing all strings used in
    Registry Finder UI.
 2. Open the created language ini file in Notepad or in any other text editor.
 3. Translate all string entries to the desired language and save the file.
    
    Optionally, you can add your name and/or a link to your Web site. This is
    the "1018=TranslationAuthor" entry under the "[Dialog_#100]" section.
    TranslationAuthor must be in the form of the <a> HTML tag. For example,
    
    1018=<a href="www.johnsmith.com">John Smith</a>
    
    This information is shown in the About box.

 4. Start Registry Finder. It automatically invokes MakeLang with the -d
    parameter to create the RegistryFinder_lang.dll file containing all
    translated resources in binary form.
    
    If you want to run Registry Finder without the translation, rename the
    language ini and dll files, or move it to another folder.

Here you can find some clarifications to certain lines in the language file.

If you translate Registry Finder into you language, please send me the language
ini file and I will share it with other people. Alternatively, you can make a
pull request in the translations repository.


CUSTOM TOOLBAR ICONS

 * An icon set from Martin
   

 * An icon set from SirTazofMania
   

 * An icon set from Joe P. - rework of SirTazofMania's icons in Windows 11 style
   

 * An icon set from Spitfire XIV
   

 * An icon set from Marcio de Andrade
   

 * An icon set from Frédéric Bellec
   

 * An icon set from amshevch
   

To install a custom icon set, just download an archive and unpack it to the
"res" folder located in

 * For portable mode, the program's folder.
 * For normal installation mode, %APPDATA%\RegistryFinder.

(The folder does not exist by default. You should create it yourself.)

For details on how to create custom toolbar icons, see here.


CRASH REPORTS

When Registry Finder encounters an unexpected error it generates crash report
and asks you to send it to the developer.

This report contains information essential to investigate and fix the problem.
So please prefer pressing the Send report button. If you encounter crash
multiple times, do not hesitate to send report two or three times - it is
possible, the latter contain slightly different information not available in the
former. Press the Close the program button when you believe you already reported
the same problem several times.

Please note that due to lack of time, I analyze reports from the latest version
only.


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 32-bit and 64-bit versions.


LICENSE

In brief, this utility is released as freeware. You are allowed to freely
distribute this utility via removable media, Internet, or in any other way, as
long as you don't charge anything for this. For details, please see License
Agreement.


DISCLAIMER

The software is provided "AS IS" without any warranty, either expressed or
implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The author will not be
liable for any special, incidental, consequential or indirect damages due to
loss of data or any other reason.


PAD FILE



Software listing web sites that support PAD files can use this file to
automatically update the product information when new version of Registry Finder
is released. For more information about pad files, click here.




FEEDBACK

If you have any problem, suggestion, comment, or you found a bug in Registry
Finder, please send a message to feedback@registry-finder.com or create a topic
at GoogleGroup forum.

Registry Finder will be developed further, so your feedback is greatly
appreciated!

Copyright © 2014-2022 Sergey Filippov