Thank you both for the replies. I don't think I'm executing your suggestions correctly, I've tried all 3.

Jim,

I'm definately confused by which files go where when I read yours.

assume:
strings.txt = file with strings I want find
results.txt = output file of search results

I am trying:

find /directory/I/want to/search/ -type f | \
while read results.txt
do
grep -f strings.txt $results.txt
done

When I use this, I get:

read: `results.txt': not a valid identifier

era,

I didn't get any errors with your suggestions but strings I'm searching are still being broken up, meaning the spaces or '/' in the strings are being handled as breaks turning 1 string into several small strings that are each getting searched.

A better example of what I was originally trying to do is:

for h in `cat strings.txt`; do grep -rl "$h" /directory/path/I want/to/search/ >> /home/directory/results.txt ; done

using /../../ in my original post was not the best choice on my part when they are the equivalent of back ticks.


I'm going to continue to fiddle with all the suggestions, if any further guidance can be offered it would be a great help.


Thanks upstate boy