Search Metadata

Search Metadata
(Android)

If you have a large photo collection, you may struggle to find a particular image when you need it.

If you have taken the time to tag your photos with FastPhotoTagger or some other tool, or if camera-created metadata is the key to finding the image then you will benefit from FastPhotoTagger's search facility.

These are the steps for searching metadata:
o Choose metadata using App / Program Settings / All Settings / Metadata.

o Navigate to each folder you may want to search. (Or select the folders and use Metadata / Update Cache. See Performance Tips.)

o Press Metadata / Search Metadata.

FastPhotoTagger searches are constructed from building blocks called "search terms". Here is an empty search term.

The search term shows input fields for all the metadata tags you have chosen plus two fields created by FastPhotoTagger. You may enter search values into one or all of them. You may perform simple and fairly complex searches with a single search term.

Here are some examples:

1. Search for photos with the keyword "Jack." Press the Search button to perform the search.

2. Search for photos with either "Jack" or "Jane" keywords.

3. Search for photos with both "Jack" and "Jane" keywords. The + requires both keywords to be present in the same photo, just like logical AND.

4. Search for photos of Jack in Paris. Rows of the search term are connected by logical AND. Photos of Jack in London will not be found.

5. Search for photos of Jack or Jane in Paris or London.

Here are more examples:

Search for	Finds / Comment
dog	dog, dogs, HOTDOG Find dog as substring of any words
dog cat	dog, doge, cats Find dog or cat as substring of any words
"dog food"	dog foodstore Find dog food as substring in any sequence of words
{dog food}	dog food Find dog food as whole words in any sequence of words
+dog +cat	dog cat Require both dog and cat as substrings
+dog -cat	dog Require dog but forbid cat as substrings
-cat	animal, dog, ... Find all values except cat
+dog cat	Incorrect. Use "dog cat" or "+dog +cat"
>cat	dog elephant zebra Find alphabetical values after cat
>cat <mouse	Incorrect. Use + to search a range
+>=cat +<=mouse	cat dog mouse Find values in range of cat to mouse
[animal]	animal dog cat Find keyword file values at and below animal
[animal:dog]	animal dog Find keyword file values at and below dog but no others below animal.
+[animal] -[nature]	animal dog cat Require an animal keyword but forbid all nature keywords
<" "	Find all blank values. <"space"
>=" "	dog cat elephant Find all non-blank values. >="space"

Here is more information:

o The two fields created by FastPhotoTagger are:

FPTFILEPATH: This is the full file path to an image file. Searches of this field are always case-sensitive. Example: /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/Animals/dog.jpg.

FPTMODIFYDATE: This is the GMT modification date of an image file in the format YYYY:MM:DD HH:MM:SS. Example: 2012:07:22 22:45:21

o All searches are case-insensitive except for FPTFILEPATH.

o Relational comparisons are numeric if both the search word and the metadata value are numeric, otherwise a string comparison is performed.

o Words within one metadata field are connected by LOGICAL INCLUSIVE OR unless + or - are used.

o Metadata fields are connected by LOGICAL AND.

o Long press in a metadata field then select "Edit" to edit in a larger space or "Keywords" to use your keyword files.

o If App / Program Settings / All Settings / Show hidden files is unchecked, hidden files will be counted in the search results but will not be displayed.

Here is a more complex example:

Some searches cannot be expressed in a single search term. For these cases, you may create as many search terms as you like. Search terms are connected with logical AND or OR.

Press the 3-dot menu and select "+ OR." Now you have two search terms connected by logical OR.

The search terms are "stacked" like a deck of cards; you can only see one at a time. A button bar has appeared so you can switch between search terms.

6. Search for photos of Jack in Paris or Jane in London.

Search term 1, the first button is highlighted:

Search term 2, connected by OR, the second button is highlighted:

If you have more than two search terms, they are evaluated first to last. But AND has a higher priority so ANDs are always performed before ORs, like math where * is performed before +, e.g, 2+3*4 = 14.

More with search:
o Remove a search term with the "- AND/OR" menu item.

o Remove a search definition and start fresh using the "Clear" menu item.

o Save a search definition to a file or load a search from a file using the "Save" and "Open" menu items. Search files are compatible with PC FastPhotoTagger v4.1.

o Recently executed search files are listed at the bottom of the menu. Just click to load a search file.

o Press the "Recent Searches" button to show the history of (up to 100) searches performed. Load a recent search with a button click. The recent search list is compatible with PC FastPhotoTagger v4.1. The recent search list is stored in
/storage/emulated/0/Download/.FastPhotoTagger/search.txt or
/storage/emulated/0/.FastPhotoTagger/search.txt.

o When sharing search files and search history with PC FastPhotoTagger, use the same metadata fields in Settings. The Settings Export/Import operations make it easy to move settings between devices.

o Searches with hierarchical keywords are described here.

o Searches using brackets, [keyword], are described here.

o Choose the folders to be searched. Press "Select all" or individually check/uncheck folders. Only folders you have visited or processed with Update Cache will be listed.

o Consider using App / Program Settings / Sort by / Folder to show where the search results came from.