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Knowledge Center

Search

Universal Search provides powerful search with multiple criteria to help you effortlessly locate needed items.

Widget

Universal Search comes with an intelligent search widget, Search Now. This widget displays most likely search results, and learn from previously conducted searches to provide more precise results.

  1. Go to DSM desktop and click Search Now (the magnifying glass icon) on the taskbar. Alternatively, press Ctrl+F (for Windows) or Command+F (for macOS) to open this widget.
  2. Enter keywords in the widget Search Now to search across file types.
  3. To search by file type, apply the hotkeys below and enter keywords:
    • Documents: Alt+D (Windows) or Option+D (macOS)
    • Photos: Alt+P (Windows) or Option+P (macOS)
    • Music: Alt+M (Windows) or Option+M (macOS)
    • Videos: Alt+V (Windows) or Option+V (macOS)
  4. Matched items and their previews will be displayed on the lower panel, with the most likely matches shown in the Best Match section.
  5. Open the needed item by either:
    • Double-click on the needed item
    • Select the item and press Enter
  6. To see more results via Universal Search, click Show all in Universal Search.

Multi-functional Search

To perform keyword search:

  1. Open Universal Search, and enter keywords into the top search bar.
  2. Press Enter or select from previous search history and search suggestions.
  3. On the left panel, orange dots will appear, highlighting categories where matched items are found.
  4. Click on a desired category to find needed items.
  5. You can switch between different viewing modes through the icons at the upper-right corner: List, Details, Thumbnails, and Snippets.
  6. You can do the following to a displayed item:
    • Click on it or click Preview Switch (the toggle icon) at the upper-right corner for more information.
    • Double-click to open the item in File Station.
    • Right-click on it to download it, or open it in File Station or a corresponding viewer.

Note:

  • Encrypted and empty-content files do not allow preview.
  • When there are more than 1,024 matched terms in your search results, not all matched ones will be highlighted in preview.

To perform advanced search:

To narrow down the pool of search results, you can perform advanced search by applying multiple criteria.

  1. Click on Advanced Search (the magnifying glass icon) at the upper-left corner.
  2. Specify the criterion content.
  3. To add more criteria, click +; to remove a criterion, click -.
  4. Click Search to display results that meet all the specified criteria.

To refine search results with operators:

To narrow down possible search results, you can apply the search operators below with keywords in the search bar.

[X] and [Y]: Variables that may represent numbers, alphabetical letters, word segments, words, or phrases.
Operator Example Description
* [X]*
  • List matches that contain [X], and [X] is followed by zero to more random characters (represented as "*")
    		•
    ? ?[X]
    [X]?
  • List matches that contain [X], and [X] is preceded or followed by one random character (represented as "?")
    		•
    "" "[X][Y]"
  • List matches that contain case-insensitive word stems [X][Y]
    		•
    && [X] && [Y]
  • List matches that contain both [X] and [Y]
    		•
    || [X] || [Y]
  • List matches that contain [X], [Y], or both
  • Matches that contain both [X] and [Y] will be listed at the top
    		•
    + +[X]
  • List matches that contain [X]
  • Applicable to folders indexed at Preferences > File Indexing
    		•
    - -[X]
  • List matches that do not contain [X]
  • Applicable to folders indexed at Preferences > File Indexing
    		•
    ! ![X]
  • List matches that do not contain [X]
  • Applicable to folders indexed at Preferences > File Indexing
    		•
    \ \[SpecialCharacter]
  • Special characters:   +   -   &&   ||    !    (    )    {    }    [    ]    ^    "    ~    *    ?    :   \
  • List matches that contain a targeted special character above
    		•

    To refine search results with time-related keywords:

    You can use time-related keywords to find files that match in created date, modified date, or last access time.

    See the allowed time-related keywords below:

    • Year: YYYY
    • Date: MM/DD, YYYY/MM/DD, or MM-DD-YYYY
    • Time range: Link the start time and the end time with a tilde "~". (Example: 2015/01/01~2016/10/10)
    • "today": Enter this lowercase English keyword to find files created, modified, or last accessed today.
    • "yesterday": Enter this lowercase English keyword to find files created, modified, or last accessed yesterday.

    Management

    To manage favorite searches:

    You can save your searches as favorites for quick access at a later time.

    1. Click the star icon next to the top search bar. The search will be starred and remembered as a favorite search.
    2. To use a favorite search, click Favorites (the starred folder icon) at the upper-right corner to find a desired one for use.
    3. To remove a favorite search, click the cross icon in Favorites or click the star icon next to the search bar.

    To manage search history:

    1. Click Preferences (the cogwheel icon) at the upper-right corner, and go to General.
    2. Select Enable search history to remember all searches.
    3. You can manage other options:
      • Specify the number of Maximum history records.
      • Click Browse to view or delete performed searches.
    4. Click OK.

    To limit snippets in preview:

    To allow quick preview, you can limit the number of snippets per item preview.

    1. Click Preferences (the cogwheel icon) at the upper-right corner, and go to General.
    2. Specify the number of Maximum snippets for preview.
    3. Click OK.
    Widget
    Multi-functional Search
    Management