--- title: How to search your PhotoStructure library url: https://photostructure.com/guide/search/ description: Details about searching for assets in your PhotoStructure library date: 2021-04-05 keywords: library, search, tags, metadata, video, filename --- Asset search was a [user-requested feature](https://forum.photostructure.com/t/asset-search-support/97): be sure to join us in the [PhotoStructure forum](https://forum.photostructure.com/) to discuss and vote on what gets built next! ## What do search queries look like? A search query includes one or more **search terms**. ## What's a search term? Search terms may be **simple words**, like `cat`. Simple terms match all assets associated to any tag whose path contains the search term. Search terms may be "**filtered**", like `camera:canon`. Filtered search terms limit matches to the filter. In the case of `camera:canon`, only assets associated to "camera" tags that contain the word "canon" will be matched. ## Search term filters | Filter | Description | Examples | | --------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `camera:` | matches all assets whose camera make or model includes the search term | `camera:canon`, `camera:EOS` | | `lens:` | matches all assets whose lens make or model includes the search term | `lens:50mm`, `lens:Nikkor` | | `type:` | matches all assets that have an asset file variant whose type is the search term | `type:image`, `type:video`,
`type:jpeg`, `type:heic`, `type:raw/sony` | | `who:` | matches all assets associated to a `Who` tag that includes the search term | `who:alice`, `who:rogers/fred` | | `kw:` | matches all assets associated to a `Keywords` tag that includes the search term | `kw:sky` | | `fs:` | matches all assets where any asset file variant _pathname_ includes the search term | `fs:backup` | | `name:` | matches all assets with a filename containing the search term. Aliases: `file:`, `fn:`, `filename:`, `basename:` | `name:vacation`, `name:*.jpg`, `name:=IMG_0012.JPG` | | `faved` | matches assets that have been marked as a favorite. For convenience, `faved`, `favorite`, and `favourite` are all equivalent to `faved:true`. | `faved`, `faved:true`, `faved:false` | | `deleted` | matches assets that have been marked for deletion. For convenience, `deleted` is equivalent to `deleted:true`. | `deleted`, `deleted:true`, `deleted:false` | Note that all root tags are valid filters. ## Filename search The `name:` filter searches asset filenames. This is useful when you remember a filename but not its tags or date. | Term | Filename | Match | Why? | | -------------------- | ------------------- | ----- | --------------------------------------------------- | | `name:vacation` | `vacation.jpg` | ✅ | "vacation" is a substring of the filename | | `name:vacation` | `my_vacation.jpg` | ✅ | Substring match works anywhere in the filename | | `name:vacation` | `sunset.jpg` | ❌ | "vacation" doesn't appear in the filename | | `name:*.jpg` | `sunset.jpg` | ✅ | `*` matches any characters, so this finds all JPEGs | | `name:*.jpg` | `sunset.png` | ❌ | The extension doesn't match | | `name:=IMG_0012.JPG` | `IMG_0012.JPG` | ✅ | Exact match on the full filename | | `name:=IMG_0012.JPG` | `IMG_0012.JPEG` | ❌ | Exact match requires the full filename | | `-name:screenshot` | `vacation.jpg` | ✅ | Negation excludes files containing "screenshot" | | `-name:screenshot` | `screenshot_01.png` | ❌ | This file is excluded by the negation | Aliases: `file:`, `fn:`, `filename:`, `basename:` all work the same as `name:`. ## Dated search term filters The `date:`, `before:`, `after:`, and `updated:` filters accept a date term and, optionally, an operator. Operators are "`<`", "`<=`", "`>`", and "`>=`". The search term for dated filters must be formatted as `YYYY-MM-DD`, `YYYY-MM`, or `YYYY`. | Filter | Description | Examples | | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | `date:` | matches assets' [captured at](/captured-at/) time. | `date:2018`, `date:<=2018-09-03` | | `before:` | is added as a convenience, and is equivalent to `date:<` | `before:2018`, `before:2010-04-03` | | `after:` | is added as a convenience, and is equivalent to `date:>` | `after:2018`, `after:2010-04-03` | | `updated:` | matches all assets last synchronized with your PhotoStructure library | `updated:>=2021-04-21` | ## Tag path terms [PhotoStructure's tags are hierarchical](/faq/whats-a-hierarchical-tag/). You can match on parent/child paths by including a slash in your search term to limit to specific parent-child tags. - `who:Fred` will match all people whose first or last name contains the word "Fred" - `who:Rogers/Fred` will limit matches to [Fred Rogers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Rogers) 🚋. ## Substring and wildcard search terms Tag search uses substring matching. To match tags that start with your search term, add a "`*`": | Term | Tag | Match | Why? | | ------------ | ------------------------- | ----- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `kw:abc` | `Keywords/abc` | ✅ | `kw:` is an alias for `Keywords:`. `kw:abc` matches Keywords tags whose path contains "abc" | | `kw:abc` | `Keywords/ABC` | ✅ | Latin characters are matched case-insensitively, so `abc` also matches "ABC" | | `kw:abc` | `Keywords/2018-12-30_abc` | ✅ | "abc" appears as a substring within the path element | | `kw:abc` | `Keywords/abcdef` | ✅ | "abc" is a substring of "abcdef". Use `kw:=abc` for exact matching | | `kw:abc` | `Keywords/a/b/c` | ❌ | "abc" doesn't appear as a substring in any single path element | | `kw:abc*` | `Keywords/abc` | ✅ | The `*` wildcard matches zero or more characters | | `kw:abc*` | `Keywords/2018-12-30_abc` | ✅ | "abc" appears as a substring | | `kw:abc*` | `Keywords/abcdef` | ✅ | "abc" followed by any characters matches "abcdef" | | `kw:abc*` | `Keywords/a/b/c` | ❌ | The path separators prevent matching across elements | | `kw:a/b/c` | `Keywords/a/b/c` | ✅ | To match partial path hierarchies, use `/` in your search term | | `kw:a/b/c` | `Keywords/abc` | ❌ | Path separators must match | | `kw:a*/b/c*` | `Keywords/a/b/c` | ✅ | You can combine both `/` path separators and `*` wildcards | | `kw:a*/b/c*` | `Keywords/aaa/b/cde` | ✅ | | ## Quoted terms Terms with whitespace may use double-quotes, like `fs:"My Pictures"`. ## Exact-match search terms PhotoStructure applies "inheritance" to tagged assets. To disable inheritance and only match assets directly tagged with a path, use the `:=` operator. - `tag:TERM` will match assets tagged with any path that **includes** TERM. - `tag:=TERM` will match assets tagged with any path that **ends with** TERM. To match tags that start with a TERM, start the TERM with a "`/`". - `tag:/TERM` will match assets tagged with any path that **starts with** TERM. - `tag:=/TERM` will match assets tagged with the tag that **exactly matches** TERM, because the `/TERM` means it must **start with** TERM, and `:=` means it must **end with** TERM. | Term | Tag | Match | Why? | | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- | ----- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `where:california` | `Where/California/San Francisco/Golden Gate` | ✅ | Terms normally match any word in the tag's path | | `where:"san francisco"` | `Where/California/San Francisco/Golden Gate` | ✅ | Use double quotes for paths that include spaces | | `where:"golden gate"` | `Where/California/San Francisco/Golden Gate` | ✅ | Terms are matched case-insensitively for latin-based characters. | | `where:="golden gate"` | `Where/California/San Francisco/Golden Gate` | ✅ | Adding the `=` operator disables tag inheritance | | `where:="san francisco"` | `Where/California/San Francisco/Golden Gate` | ❌ | The tag doesn't **end with** "san francisco" | | `where:="san francisco"` | `Where/California/San Francisco` | ✅ | The tag **ends with** "san francisco" | | `who:chris` | `Who/Robin/Chris` | ✅ | `Who/Robin/Chris` **includes** "Chris" | | `who:=chris` | `Who/Robin/Chris` | ✅ | `Who/Robin/Chris` **ends with** "Chris" | | `who:chris` | `Who/Chris/Robin` | ✅ | `Who/Chris/Robin` **includes** "Chris" | | `who:=chris` | `Who/Chris/Robin` | ❌ | `Who/Chris/Robin` doesn't **end with** "Chris" | | `what:a` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | Matches due to tag inheritance | | `what:b` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | | | `what:c` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | | | `what:a/b` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | Any portion of the path can match if the term doesn't start or end with "`/`" | | `what:b/c` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | | | `what:a/b/c` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | | | `what:=a/b/c` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | The tag **ends with** "a/b/c" | | `what:=a/b` | `What/a/b/c` | ❌ | The tag doesn't **end with** "a/b" | | `what:=b/c` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | The tag **ends with** "b/c" | | `what:/a/b` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | The tag **starts with** `/a/b` | | `what:/b/c` | `What/a/b/c` | ❌ | The tag doesn't **start with** `/b/c` | | `what:=/a/b/c` | `What/a/b/c` | ✅ | The tag **exactly matches** the term | | `what:=/a/b/c` | `What/ZZZ/a/b/c` | ❌ | The tag doesn't **exactly match** the term | ## Negated terms All filtered terms may be negated by prefixing the filter with a minus sign. For example, `-lens:nikkor` will return all assets not captured with a Nikkor lens. ## Clauses of terms - Terms may be grouped together with `AND`, `OR`, and parenthesis. `faved AND (who:alice OR date:2020-07-04)` will match all faved assets that include Alice or were taken on 4 July 2020. - Terms separated by whitespace are grouped together with `AND`. `faved after:2012` is equivalent to `faved AND after:2012`. - Search terms, filters, and `AND` and `OR` are all case-insensitive. ## More examples - `faved after:1990 who:alice` matches all assets marked as a favorite taken after 1990 that includes Alice. - `type:video faved after:2010 before:2015` matches all video assets marked as a favorite taken in 2011 through and including 2014. - `(type:video after:2010) or (faved date:2015)` matches all video assets taken after 2010 as well as all favorite assets taken in 2015.