How can I do some simple partial filename search?

[Sven W.]

How do you do a simple partial filename search?

I enter the segmant I'm looking for and it lists every possible source for that segmant. 

ie: I want to find all of my archived .pst files, but when I search for .pst, it literally shows me every single occurance of text segment pst in my files. It searches, names, contents... everything. 

How do you just do a simple search like I have been doing for 30 years?

According to what I've read, its not possible. This can't be true. Who would remove simple search and call it an upgrade?

[Jane]

Hey there (@Sven W.), thanks for sharing your thoughts on our Community Wall, let me follow-up with you a bit more closely! 

As an initial point of reference, please bear in mind that all Dropbox users are able to search their files by name and extension. In order to do so, simply visit https://www.dropbox.com, click into the Search :magnifying_glass_tilted_left: bar in the top right corner and type your search term.

After pressing Enter, you’ll see a list of search results. At the bottom, you'll also see any deleted files matching your search query and you can choose to recover those files from there.

From there, it would be worth noting that full-text search is available to Dropbox Professional and Business users, as they can search for words or phrases within their file contents. (Note: The feature also works with Basic or Plus accounts that are paired with a Business account.)

If it’s not too much trouble for you, can you let me know what the ideal case would be for you & what's your current plan, in order to further advise accordingly? 

Thanks in advance for taking a bit of your time to clarify this for me & I’ll be awaiting your next reply on this discussion. Enjoy the rest of you day until we talk again! 

[Sven W.]

Jane,

thanks for the quick response but I don't think you understand the question.

I simply want to search by filenames only.

When I enter *.pst, i only want fileneames ending in pst to show up.

Unfortunately, the global search does not stop there but instead creates a massive list of things I don't even want where the "pst" segment appears either somewhere in the filename, in the file itself or in some cases it looks like its even searching meta data.

What am I missing here? How can I limit results to results?

[Jane]

Thanks for clarifying this for me Sven (@Sven W.)! 

Please bear in mind that you can currently limit your search results by utilizing our Filter option (which should be on the right-hand on your browsing window, as in the screenshot below): 

Spoiler

However, your honest feedback is indeed appreciated; positive or negative, everything you're sending us over helps us better understand your needs. As our team is always looking for ways to improve, I’ll make sure your feedback is passed along to them.

Please do let me know how you get on with my pointers above or in case you have any further inquiries & I’ll check back with you asap. Thanks again & have a wonderful rest of your day ahead!

[Sven W.]

The only filter option provided is to limit search to specific folders. This is useful but not useful for this issue. 

I need to be able to filter the search type. I assume you have it set default as global. Filters such as "filename", "date created", "file type", "last accessed" etc... would be useful.

I've done some more research and it would appear that the simple filename search type is not supported nor are wilcards or boolean searches. Can you please advise why this is the case? Every OS I've used has had this ability. 

Thanks,

[Jane]

Thanks for looping back to me here @Sven W.. While the instructions I’ve included in my previous message were specific to our website, please bear in mind that you can also utilize the desktop app search bar to look for file names, extensions, as well as the contents of your files. 

Other than that, I appreciate the time you took to detail us your interest in more searching options & I'll make sure to pass your request on to our team specialists. Your comments are extremely valuable & I can make sure to add your voice to the feedback gathered for further consideration. 

Other than that, I remain at your entire disposal should you need further assistance or in case you have more questions. Thanks for choosing Dropbox & I'm wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead Sven!

[Sven W.]

Unfortunetly, if the only way to search files reliably is from the desktop interface, this severely limits the functionality of the cloud service. Can you please advise your technical staff that basic search abilities from the web would be a priority for development from our point of view? Thank-you,

[BFEINZIMER]

I second this feature request.

[Sven W.]

Still waiting for this basic feature. Why can't users search for specific filenames on the web service?

[Jane]

Hey @Sven W.,  please accept my apologies for the slight delay in getting back in touch with you here. 

Kindly note that the filtering options have changed since our last interaction back in December, as currently on the search results page, on the right side of your browsing window there are filter options that allow you to filter your search results by file-type, for example: images, folders, Paper docs or spreadsheets :ballot_box_with_check:.

Spoiler

These filters are multi-selectable, meaning that you can select one, or a variety of the filters to perform more specific searches on your content & it would be worth mentioning that this feature is currently available on all upgraded Dropbox accounts.

Following Sven, let me quickly clarify that by default the Dropbox search results page sorts results by what we determine to be the most relevant (i.e. under the search results, there should be a gray drop-down menu :downwards_button: reading "Relevance"). However you can also sort on our search results page to see the most recently modified content instead.

To change how search results are sorted, you can click on the "Last modified" column heading on the search results page, and change the Sort By value there to "Last modified". You can then click on the column heading again to change the sort order from Descending (show most recently modified content first) to Ascending (show oldest modified content first), or choose to sort by "Relevance" again.

I hope that this is helpful regarding what you’d like to achieve Sven!