User Guide

ACDSee 12 User Guide
Search in Select one of the following options:
Entire database: Performs a search on the entire ACDSee 12 database. Note that any fold-
ers on your computer that have not been cataloged are not included in the search results.
Specific folders and categories: Performs the search only within the categories and fold-
ers you specify. Selecting this option opens the Categories and Folders area, where you can
select the location and categories in which you want to search.
Sync to browser settings Imports the current Manage mode settings, including Selective Browsing settings, into the
Search pane. Note that this may also remove criteria from the Search pane.
Properties area
In the Properties area, you can identify file properties that you want to search for, and specify ranges of values to include or exclude
from your search.
To use the Properties area:
1. Below the Search file properties for field, click Add.
2. In the Add Search Criteria dialog box, select one or more properties on which to base your search.
3. Click OK.
4. In the Properties area, click the hyperlinks to define conditional statements for each property.
5. Click Start to perform the search.
Searching with file name patterns
You can type a text pattern into the Search pane's Search for files and folders named field to search for file names. You can search
for simple patterns such as portions of file names, or more advanced patterns that include wildcards.
File name pattern wildcards
Wildcard Result Example
? Matches any single character in the file name. ca?.jpg results in cat.jpg, cap.jpg, and car.jpg, but
not cats.jpg
* Matches zero or more characters in the file name. cat* results in cat.jpg, cats.jpg, and cathy.jpg
[…] Matches any of the enclosed characters. ca[tr] results in cat.jpg or car.jpg, but not cap.jpg
[!…] Matches any character not enclosed. cat[!0] results in cata.jpg and catb.jpg, but not
cat0.jpg
[…-…] Matches any character in the specified range. cat[a-f0-9] results in cata.jpg, catb.jpg, catf.jpg
and cat0.jpg, cat1.jpg, …, cat9.jpg
\ Blocks the use of other wildcard characters that are
also characters permitted in a file name, such as
square brackets: [ ]. The * and ? characters are not
permitted in file names so this function does not work
with them.
Because square brackets are wildcards, if you
wanted to search for a file name that contains a
bracket, you can precede the bracket with a
backslash:
ACD\[123\] results in ACD[123].gif
Patterns are not case-sensitive.
To use multiple patterns, separate the names with spaces or semicolons.
To match a pattern containing a space or semicolon, enclose the pattern in double quotation marks.
If you do not include the * wildcard in your pattern, the pattern is matched as a sub-string. For example, cat would match
cat, cathy and bobcat, and is equivalent to the pattern *cat*.
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