Nirsoft is offering two new free portable registry tools for Windows called OfflineRegistryFinder and OfflineRegistryView which aim to view and search registry files offline.
These tools do not load the registry from the Windows operating system, as they look for copies or snapshots of it and work without interfering with the current registry file. Note that the programs do not work with the Registry backup files that you may have created with basic Windows registry editor.
Although you can use the built-in Windows registry editor (regedit) to manage your current registry file, it is often much faster and safer to work with offline copies.
OfflineRegistryFinder
The OfflineRegistryFinder is a portable program for Microsoft Windows devices. It does not require installation and can be run from any location. The program is compatible with all versions of Windows from Windows XP to the latest version of the operating system. The application is provided as a 32 bit and 64 bit version.
OfflineRegistryFinder allows you to scan registry files stored on external drives and find specific registry keys, values or data. Your search results can then be exported as registry (.reg) files for purposes creationof backup or import using the built-in Windows registry editor.
The application, which currently does not support Greek, displays the search configuration window on startup. There you can specify the path where the copies of the Registry are located. Another option you have is to create a snapshot of the registry (the registry of the system the program is running on). Note that the last option requires administrator rights. From there, it is theme specifying search parameters to use the functionality of the program. The following options are provided:
- Set a time range for searching registry keys, e.g. 10 days or "from" and "to" date and time values.
- Specify types to include in the search: keynames, price names, prices.
- Add one or more search strings and specify whether the registry keys or values should contain the strings or match exactly.
- Look for binary or Dword values.
- Set the maximum number of registry items that will be returned to you as results from the program.
- OfflineRegistryFinder scans uploaded mapping files and displays them all in its main window. The scanning process is quite fast and all visits are displayed in individual lines on the interface.
Search results are displayed in full key item type, value name, data type, length, actual value, key modification time, and the registry file in which it was found.
One click on the header of each column sorts the data accordingly. You can export one, multiple, or all registry keys to a .reg file. Just select the items you want to save and then right-click and select "export selected items to .reg file" from the context menu.
OfflineRegistryView
The OfflineRegistryView is just a registry file viewer that also supports search. It is also compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows from Windows XP to the latest supported versions of Windows.
The program supports Greek, is portable and can be run from any location. You must specify the path of a snapshot of a registry file for it to read. Does not include the option to create a current system snapshot. If you need to create a snapshot, use OfflineRegistryFinder.
The program displays in its tab the data of a selected key. You can set different key depths to include or exclude subkey data. There is an option to save data to a .reg file, but it is not possible to copy data directly from the tab that appears in front of you.
Briefly
OfflineRegistryView and OfflineRegistryFinder are two specialized Nirsoft programs. Some users may prefer a single application with these two programs as it would make things easier. Either way, the programs work well and provide exactly the functionality you would expect from them.
