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Documentation

Search

Files.com offers a search engine for finding content, including files and folders by name. Search also returns matching Site Settings for Site Administrators.

On the Files.com web interface, search results appear as you type. Shortcuts let you navigate directly to a specific result: open a folder, preview a file, filter by Custom Metadata values, or jump to a Site Setting if you're a Site Administrator.

For folders stored within Files.com, name-based search is recursive and results include items found within any subfolders. Searches for Custom Metadata values are case sensitive and apply only to the current folder.

Remote Mount Limitations

We do not maintain an index of Remote Mount folders for searching. Doing so would require regularly spidering remote servers, and we've found that this creates problems for many of our customers.

Our in-app search supports searching the current folder and includes only the items found within that folder.

Indexed search of remote mounts is on our long-term roadmap. When we add it, it will be delivered on an opt-in basis for each remote mount.

Automated Use

Our in-app search engine is meant for human business users, not automations. The search index is specifically not updated in real time.

We work to reflect file uploads, moves, and deletes in search within a period of time that's reasonable for humans. The system is not designed to provide the instant gratification that automated business processes often require.

For automated search, we offer the ability to filter the items returned in the list of a single folder. Use the filter parameter to the folder list request in our API and SDKs. It accepts wildcards.

We do provide API and SDK access to the search functionality, with the expectation that it only be used to support human business users.

Searching the Current Folder

Within the File Manager, you can search for files and folders with names that match certain text using the Search this folder field. This search is not case sensitive. The Search this folder option is not available for the root folder of your site.

Searching Custom Metadata

Custom Metadata values can be searched within the current folder using the top search bar in the File Manager. When you enter a search term, a suggestion appears that limits the search to metadata values in the current folder.

Custom Metadata values can also be searched by individual metadata keys by adding those keys as columns in the files table. When a Custom Metadata key is added as a column, the column includes its own search, letting you filter files and folders by values for that specific metadata key.

Searching Custom Metadata values is case sensitive, whether the search runs from the top search bar or a metadata column. Custom Metadata searches apply only to the current folder and are not recursive.

In-file search is on our long-term roadmap. It is not planned for our near-term roadmap.