Findwild is (yet another) free open source Linux program to search for files. It works quite differently from the other programs you may have used.
Findwild offers the following search criteria:
* directory path to search, with multiple wildcards placed anywhere
* file name(s) to search for, with multiple wildcards anywhere
* file name(s) to exclude, with multiple wildcards anywhere
* file content string(s) to search for, with multiple wildcards anywhere
* file content string(s) to exclude, with multiple wildcards anywhere
* file modification date (or age) within a desired range
* search string delimiters can be changed as needed
Search criteria can be saved and recalled. It is relatively easy to modify a query incrementally, to zero-in on the results you need.
Performance Indicators:
+ Search /usr/share/* (69000 files) for all files containing the string thumb*
193 files found, 89 seconds
+ Modify the query to search only files named *.html
51 files found, 12 seconds
To run, Menu->Filesystem->Findwild, or enter findwild in a console window.