Creating Powerful Search Filters

Any image collection soon becomes unmanageable if you do not find a means to easily search for the images you need and find them. To help you organize your collection, digiKam offers you two search options:

Simple Search

A basic search. Select Tools+Search and enter a text string that might be associated with your image (image or tag name or comment) and hit OK. You can save this search for future use, and edit other existing searches listed under Searches on the left edge of your digiKam window.

Advanced Search

Complex search filter. Select Tools+Advanced Search, provides a wide spectrum of search criteriums, which are:

File, Album, Tags

Search for names of albums, tags or the filenames of pictures.

Picture Properties

Search for image properties like date, rating, file size, color depth and a lot more.

Caption, Comment, Title

Search for comments, author and IPTC information.

Photograph Information

Search for photograph information like focal length, sensitivity and so on..

With the Add Search Group button it is possible to combine several search criteria. Searches.

The following example illustrates how to create an Advanced Search using rating or tag information to search for images:

  1. Select Tools+Advanced Search from the main menu.

  2. Select Picture Properties criterion. Now select Rating from 2 to 5 stars.

  3. Select the Add Search Group button. Another search board appears. It is possible to combine search parameters with And or Or and the four options. Click on Meet any of the following conditions.

  4. Select the File, Album, Tags criterion and choose a tag from the tags list.

  5. Select the Picture Properties criterion. Choose JPEG as file format and press the Ok button. The results of your search are displayed in the digiKam window.

  6. To save the search for future use, click on Searches tab on the left side. Specify a name for this search and Save Current Search by clicking the save button. Leave the Advanced Search dialog with another click on the Searches tab.

Figure 17.4. Creating an Advanced Search Filter

Creating an Advanced Search Filter