Using Custom Searches in Studio

A Custom Search is one of the ways of searching for files in Studio. It makes it possible to store a set of search criteria for repeated use. This way, you can quickly run the search without having to enter the criteria each time.

It works by defining the search criteria once, saving them as a Custom Search and then using that custom search whenever you need it.

Basic steps

The following are the basic steps for creating a Custom Search. Examples for setting up criteria are given later in this article.

Step 1. Open the list in the Search box and choose Add Custom Search... .

The Add Custom Search window appears.

Step 2. Enter a descriptive name.

Step 3. Select one or more Brands.

As soon as a value is entered by selecting one or more Brands, the next filter appears.

Step 4. Set the filters as needed (see the examples later in this article).

Step 5. Click Save.

The search is performed and the results are displayed. Check that these are as expected.

To run the Custom Search at any time, click it in the list in the Search box.

Setting up criteria

In the following examples, criteria are set up for specific searches. It is assumed that the filter for the Brand has already been set up (as explained in the steps earlier in this article).

Example 1: searching for recently modified articles

In this example criteria are set up for finding articles that have been worked on over the last 7 days.

It needs to be defined that the search results should only show articles that have been modified during that time period.

Note: This example uses a custom list of search criteria. For more information, see Customizing the Add Criteria list of a Custom Search in Studio for InDesign and InCopy.

First define that only articles should be found.

Step 1. Set the filter as follows:

• Filter: Type
• Operator: Is
• Value: Article

Note: When setting a filter, a default operator for that filter is automatically set.

Next, define that files need to be found that have been modified in the last 7 days.

Step 2. Set the next filter as follows:

• Filter: Modified on
• Operator: Within Last
• Values: 7 days

Step 3. Click Save and verify that the expected results appear.

Example 2: searching for Digital articles with a specific component

In this example, criteria are set up for finding Digital articles that contain media components of type 'slideshow', 'image', 'social media', and 'video'.

Note: This example uses the field 'Digital article component type'. This field is not available by default but needs to be added.

Step 1. Set the filter as follows:

• Filter: Digital article component type
• Operator: Contains
• Values: The name of the component to search for.

Note: This should be the internal name of the component. For most components this will be the name as it appears in the Component selector. For other components it will be a different name, for example because the display name has been changed to match the language in which Studio is used. Press Enter after typing a name. The notation of the name is not case sensitive.

Step 2. Click Save and verify that the expected results appear.

The notation of the component name in the Custom Search is not case sensitive.

Conditions and criteria

To make sure that the right files are found, take note of the information below about conditions and criteria.

About AND conditions and OR conditions

• When properties of identical types are selected, an OR condition is created. For example: when adding 'Type is Article' as well as 'Type is Layout', this is interpreted as 'Type is Article OR Layout'.

• When properties of different types are selected, an AND condition is created. For example: when 'Type is Article' is followed by 'Line count is greater than 500' is interpreted as 'Type is article AND line count is greater than 500 lines'.

About criteria dealing with dates and time

Some of the criteria that can be chosen in a custom search deal with a time period such as 'Today', 'Before an entered date and time', and so on.

The following table shows the time periods that these criteria cover.

Note: The time and date are determined by the server on which Studio Server is installed, not the system on which Studio is running. This may produce unexpected results, especially when different time zones are involved.

Modifying or deleting a Custom Search

Step 1. Open the list in the Search box, hover the mouse pointer over the Custom Search and click the Edit button.

The Edit window appears.

Step 2. Do one of the following:

• Make any changes and click Save...
• Click Delete

Sharing a Custom Search

Working in a team means that many team members will regularly be searching for the same files using the same search criteria. To make this process more efficient, searches can be shared between users.

The quickest way of doing this is by copying the URL from the address bar in the browser and sharing that link with other users. Each time a search is performed namely, the search criteria are included in the link.

Note: Whether the users who use the link can see (all) files depends on the access rights that they have been given.

Copying the link for a Custom Search

The link for a Custom Search can also be copied from the list in the Search box by clicking the Share icon. A window will then appear in which the link can be copied.

Figure: Clicking the Share link in the Search box list to access a window to copy the link from.

Using a shared Custom Search link

When another user shares their Custom Search with you and you paste the link into your browser, you will see the Custom Search window appear. Click Save to add the Custom Search to your list in the Search box.

How Custom Searches are stored

Custom Searches are stored on Studio Server and are therefore always available.

Tip: To make sure that you do not lose your created Custom Searches for these versions, you can save the URL as a bookmark in your Web browser.