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rthrech's avatar
rthrech
Helpful | Level 6
5 years ago
Solved

Advanced search based on key phrases

I seriously need advanced searching.  Dropbox used to have these features (like search exact phrase) in 2015, but somehow removed them.  So how can I do advanced searching in dropbox? Like:  ...
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  • rhut's avatar
    rhut
    3 years ago
    Hi Dropbox community!  I'm a product manager at Dropbox working on the search experience on dropbox.com.
     
    We took your feedback to heart and are happy to announce that we're adding a few new operators to help you retrieve your files/folders more quickly:
    • title:(new lead) => See results with only the specific words in title of the file
    • title:"new lead" => See results with exact phrase match in title of the file.  Note that quotes only work with title searches and can't be used to match on content
    • type:image => Filter results by a certain types like image, video, document, spreadsheet, etc.
    • type:jpg => Filter results by a certain types like file extension like jpg, png, docx, etc.
    • before:2022-01-01 => Allows you to see all content before a certain date.  Uses YYYY-MM-DD format.
    • after:2022-01-01 => Allows you to see all content after a certain date.  Uses YYYY-MM-DD format.
    • lead AND new => AND operators will show results that contain both words.
    • lead OR new =>  OR operators will show results that contain either words.

    To use these operators, login to Dropbox.com, click on the searchbox at the top, and start typing your query.  You can learn more about our operators on our help center article here:  https://help.dropbox.com/view-edit/search

     

    Note that there are some limitations:

      - This feature is Web only (for now)

      - Searches may return inaccurate results for contents of a file, certain images, and Paper docs if you're using the old release of Dropbox Paper.

      - Quotes will only work on file titles, not matches on content (for now)

     

    Try it out and let us know what you think!

     

    Thanks for your patience as we ship new features to improve your overall Dropbox experience!

     

    Rhut

willsacks's avatar
willsacks
Helpful | Level 5
4 years ago

I have the exact same issue. I'm trying to find a document with "01.03.2019" in the title and the search returns every document with a 01, a 03 or a 2019 making it completely useless. 

 

This morning I need to find a file with "3-Audio" in the title. I search for "3-Audio" and receive a list of files with 3 in the file name and not the file I need. 

 

This is a MAJOR problem. I'm a paid user and use dropbox to run my music studio. We have thousands of music files and often I need to find the right one and currently I can't. 

LimpingPilgrim's avatar
LimpingPilgrim
New member | Level 2
4 years ago

Does anyone know a way to use WIndows search that does NOT require copying all files to the hard drive? 

 

I am another plus user mystified by poor searching online. Please allow advanced searching again! -- Lee

  • plabuz's avatar
    plabuz
    New member | Level 2
    4 years ago

    The current search engine is crap, and Dropbox knows it. The decision to remove the former advance search function was a business one. This probably cost them too much CPU credits. I cannot install Dropbox on my computer because it is not in line with my client's policy when I am working for them. Thus, I can only use it through the browser.

     

    To conclude, this is my last month of using the paid version. 

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