Search

Widget Search

Universal Search comes equipped with a smart search widget called Search now. This widget learns from previously conducted searches to provide more precise results.

  1. Go to DSM desktop and click the magnifying glass icon Search now on the taskbar. Alternatively, use the shortcut Ctrl+F (Windows) or Command+F (macOS).
  2. Enter your keywords into the widget to search across various file types.
  3. Use the following hotkeys to search by file type:
    Windows macOS
    Documents Alt+D Option+D
    Photos Alt+P Option+P
    Music Alt+M Option+M
    Videos Alt+V Option+V
  4. The widget displays matched items and their previews in the lower panel, with the most relevant matches featured in the Best Match section.
  5. To access more results through Universal Search, click Show all in Universal Search.

Multi-functional Search

Keyword search

  1. Open Universal Search, and enter keywords into the top search bar.
  2. Categories where matched items are found will be highlighted with orange dots on the left panel.
  3. Toggle between different viewing modes using the icons in the upper-right corner: List, Details, Thumbnails, and Snippets.
  4. Interact with displayed items by clicking on them, using the Preview Switch icon for more information, double-clicking to open in File Station, or right-clicking to download or open in File Station or a corresponding viewer.

Note:

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

Advanced search

  1. Click on the Advanced Search icon (magnifying glass) in the upper-left corner.
  2. Specify your search criteria.
  3. Add or remove criteria using the + and - buttons.

Refine search results with operators

Narrow down possible search results by applying the following search operators 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
  • Only available for searching in file names, not file contents
  • Refine search results with time-related keywords

    Time-related keywords like created date, modified date, or last access time help narrow down search results.

    • 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 Options

    Save favorite searches

    • Save favorite searches by clicking the star icon next to the top search bar.
    • Access favorite searches by clicking on the Favorites icon (starred folder) in the upper-right corner.

    Manage search history

    1. Click Preferences (the cogwheel icon) in the upper-right corner, and go to General.
    2. Select Enable search history to remember all searches.
    3. You can also specify the maximum number of records or view/delete performed searches.

    Limit snippets in preview

    1. Click Preferences (the cogwheel icon) in the upper-right corner, and go to General.
    2. Specify the maximum number of snippets per item preview.
    Widget Search
    Multi-functional Search
    Management Options