diff -uriwbB mc-4.6.1/doc/mc.1.in mc-4.6.1-find_ignore_dirs_regex-4/doc/mc.1.in
--- mc-4.6.1/doc/mc.1.in	2005-06-08 14:27:06.000000000 +0200
+++ mc-4.6.1-find_ignore_dirs_regex-4/doc/mc.1.in	2006-06-02 20:01:54.000000000 +0200
@@ -1218,12 +1218,12 @@
 .B Misc
 section of your ~/.mc/ini file.
 .PP
-Directory components should be separated with a colon, here is an
+The variable holds a regular expression, here is an
 example:
 .PP
 .nf
 [Misc]
-find_ignore_dirs=/cdrom:/nfs/wuarchive:/afs
+find_ignore_dirs=^\.?/(cdrom|nfs/wuarchive|afs)/
 .fi
 .PP
 You may consider using the
diff -uriwbB mc-4.6.1/src/find.c mc-4.6.1-find_ignore_dirs_regex-4/src/find.c
--- mc-4.6.1/src/find.c	2005-05-27 16:19:18.000000000 +0200
+++ mc-4.6.1-find_ignore_dirs_regex-4/src/find.c	2006-06-02 20:01:54.000000000 +0200
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
 } FindProgressStatus;
 
 /* List of directories to be ignored, separated by ':' */
-char *find_ignore_dirs = 0;
+char *find_ignore_dirs = NULL;
 
 static WInput *in_start;	/* Start path */
 static WInput *in_name;		/* Pattern to search */
@@ -606,12 +606,9 @@
 		    stop_idle (h);
 		    return 0;
 		}
-		if (find_ignore_dirs){
+		if (find_ignore_dirs && find_ignore_dirs[0] != '\0'){
                     int found;
-		    char *temp_dir = g_strconcat (":", tmp, ":", (char *) NULL);
-
-                    found = strstr (find_ignore_dirs, temp_dir) != 0;
-                    g_free (temp_dir);
+		    found = regexp_match (find_ignore_dirs, tmp, match_regex);
 		    if (found)
 			g_free (tmp);
 		    else
diff -uriwbB mc-4.6.1/src/find.h mc-4.6.1-find_ignore_dirs_regex-4/src/find.h
--- mc-4.6.1/src/find.h	1998-12-02 22:27:39.000000000 +0100
+++ mc-4.6.1-find_ignore_dirs_regex-4/src/find.h	2006-06-02 20:01:54.000000000 +0200
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #ifndef __FIND_H
 #define __FIND_H
 
+extern char *find_ignore_dirs;
 
 void do_find (void);
 #endif
diff -uriwbB mc-4.6.1/src/setup.c mc-4.6.1-find_ignore_dirs_regex-4/src/setup.c
--- mc-4.6.1/src/setup.c	2005-05-27 16:19:18.000000000 +0200
+++ mc-4.6.1-find_ignore_dirs_regex-4/src/setup.c	2006-06-02 20:10:56.000000000 +0200
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 #include "win.h"		/* lookup_key */
 #include "cmd.h"
 #include "file.h"		/* safe_delete */
+#include "find.h"
 
 #ifdef USE_VFS
 #include "../vfs/gc.h"
@@ -58,8 +59,6 @@
 #endif
 
 
-extern char *find_ignore_dirs;
-
 extern int num_history_items_recorded;
 
 char *profile_name;		/* .mc/ini */
@@ -434,20 +433,18 @@
     return mode;
 }
 
-#ifdef USE_NETCODE
 static char *
-do_load_string (const char *s, const char *ss, const char *def)
+do_load_string (const char *s, const char *ss, const char *def, size_t size)
 {
-    char *buffer = g_malloc (BUF_SMALL);
+    char *buffer = g_malloc (size);
     char *p;
 
-    load_string (s, ss, def, buffer, BUF_SMALL);
+    load_string (s, ss, def, buffer, size);
 
     p = g_strdup (buffer);
     g_free (buffer);
     return p;
 }
-#endif /* !USE_NETCODE */
 
 char *
 setup_init (void)
@@ -517,13 +514,10 @@
 	GetPrivateProfileInt ("Dirs", "current_is_left", 1, profile);
 
 #ifdef USE_NETCODE
-    ftpfs_proxy_host = do_load_string ("Misc", "ftp_proxy_host", "gate");
+    ftpfs_proxy_host = do_load_string ("Misc", "ftp_proxy_host", "gate", BUF_SMALL);
 #endif
 
-    load_string ("Misc", "find_ignore_dirs", "", setup_color_string,
-		 sizeof (setup_color_string));
-    if (setup_color_string [0])
-	find_ignore_dirs = g_strconcat (":", setup_color_string, ":", (char *) NULL);
+    find_ignore_dirs = do_load_string ("Misc", "find_ignore_dirs", "", BUF_MEDIUM);
 
     /* The default color and the terminal dependent color */
     load_string ("Colors", "base_color", "", setup_color_string,