Searching your catalogs

  • Article

You can search catalogs quickly in Microsoft Expression Media. You can perform a search in the active catalog directly from the search box in a catalog toolbar, or you can perform a more detailed search using the Find command. Searching is not case-sensitive and includes all annotations (EXIF, IPTC annotations, descriptions, and so on), media fields, and catalog set names.

To quickly search the active catalog

  • Type the word or words in the search box in the catalog toolbar, and then press the RETURN key or click the search icon Cc507703.3386561f-f7e4-4039-8b24-35f3e09a2f4e(en-us,Expression.10).png .

To search catalogs using the Find command

  1. On the Find menu, click Find, or press Cc507703.82129f4e-af63-4dcd-9a10-417a9c3800be(en-us,Expression.10).png+F.

  2. In the Find itemsin field, select front catalog to search the active catalog, allopen catalogs to search each any of the catalogs you have opened, recentcatalogs to search catalogs you have opened recently, or all catalogs in aparticular folder.

  3. To refine your search, use the choices in the menus to specify particular file characteristics to search for. Type the word or words that you want to search for in the search box. To add or subtract search criteria, use the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. To use Boolean search criteria, choose and or or in the drop-down box.

  4. To customize the results of your search, choose one of the following options from the menu in the lower-left corner of the Find dialog box:

    • Find next   Highlights the first item that meets your search criteria.

    • **Select all   **Selects all items that meet your criteria.

    • **Show all   **Hides all items in the catalog that do not meet your criteria.

    • **Showin new catalog   **Puts all matching results in a new catalog.

Filtering and sorting by metadata

Use any of the following methods to sort and display your files according to their metadata or file attributes.

To filter files by using the Organize panel

  1. On the toolbar, click Organize.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To display items that match an attribute (date, media format) or annotation (events, locations), or that are all in a particular catalog set, click the dot next to the field name in the Catalog Field index of the Organize panel. hold down Cc507703.82129f4e-af63-4dcd-9a10-417a9c3800be(en-us,Expression.10).png and click to select multiple attributes or annotations. The dot turns green as soon as Expression Media uses the filter.

    • To display files according to their location on your computer or on removable disks, click the dot next to the appropriate folder name in the Catalog Folders section of the Organize panel. The dot turns green as soon as Expression Media uses the filter.

      Note

      You can also display a group of catalog sets or folders by holding down CONTROL and clicking on each folder or catalog set name and clicking Show Media Items on the menu.

    • Use the Configure List button Cc507703.7b1f9e28-57ed-43b7-87c9-1e3b2742133d(en-us,Expression.10).png and click to show or hide various media attributes and annotations that you can use for sorting functions in the Organize panel.

To sort files according to attributes

  1. On the toolbar, click the SortCc507703.7236e86b-1f06-4e86-be72-ea6e6d9d3802(en-us,Expression.10).png button.

  2. Choose your criteria to sort the media items.

  3. To return to the default sort order (the order in which the items were initially imported), click Default.

To show labeled or rated files

  • On the Find menu, either click Show Labeled to show only those items that have been marked with a color label in your catalog, or click Show Rated to show only those items that have been marked with a star rating in your catalog. The ShowLabeled option is also available in the Slide Show controller.

To sort by column in List View

  • Click the corresponding label in the header bar above the media viewing area. To invert the sort order, click the arrow on the far left of the header bar.

To show the most recently imported files

  • On the Find menu, click Show Last Import. This feature is useful if you are downloading multiple media cards and you want to view only items from the previous import.

To show similar files

  1. On the Find menu, click Show Similar.

  2. In the Show Similar Items dialog box, move the Matching slider to adjust the sensitivity of the search.

  3. Select an appropriate choice from the Options section.

  4. Click Show.

To restore your catalog to display all files

  • Do one of the following:

    • Click the Show All Items icon. Alternatively, you can use the state arrows to navigate back and forth among various states that your catalog has shown during the searching and sorting process in the Organize panel.

    • Click the State Arrows at the upper left of the toolbar to navigate back or forward to a previous display state.

See also

Concepts

Find and manage original files