What's included in the Dash search?

When you type a search query in Dash, we search through all metadata associated with an asset. This includes:

Filename
Title
Folder
Contents of any other fields, e.g. auto-tags
Text detected in images

How should I type out my Dash search?

You don't need to use any special code when using Dash search, you can search as you would in most other tools. However, there are some special tips that can help if you'd like to better configure your search, so read on if you'd like to learn more about this.

Dash will search for common variations on words

Generally, for any word you enter, Dash will also search for variations on that word. Searching the word cat, then, will also search for cats (don't worry though, we'll only search for variations that make sense - we wouldn't also search for category). If you only want to search for the specific word, you can add quotes - "cat".

You can use AND, OR and NOT to refine your search

It's not compulsory, but if you want to, you can use these expressions to include or exclude certain terms to further refine your search.

The table below summarises the expressions you can use in search and how they work.

Expression	Example(s)	What it pulls in
quotes ""	"cat toy"	Any asset with a field containing "cat toy" as an exact phrase, e.g. a tag called "cat toy"
AND	cat AND toy	Any asset containing both a field with "cat" and a field containing "toy", e.g. two separate tags called "cat" and "toy"
OR	cat OR toy	Any asset containing either a field with "cat" or a field with "toy"
NOT	NOT "cat toy"	Any assets as long as they don't have a field containing "cat toy" Can also be used in the middle of search terms, e.g. cat NOT toy

Can I use any other logic in my search?

The expressions listed in the table above are all that we currently support, any others will not be officially supported, such as brackets. If you'd like to see support for any expressions added, consider submitting a feature request. ✨

Can I use combine expressions in my search?

You can use multiples of the same expression, such as cat OR dog OR kitten, or cat AND toy AND 2023
You can also add NOT to an expression with AND and OR in, such as cat AND toy NOT kitten
Mixing AND and OR together however, such as cat OR dog AND toy OR food won't work, as the Dash search won't know which order to carry these out in. In this case, consider an equivalent search such as "cat toy" OR "dog toy" OR "dog food" OR "cat food"

How can I search for a specific filetype?

Simply put, use the search format *.jpg.

See our article "How do I search by file extension" for full details on how to do this.

Troubleshooting

If you aren't seeing the search results you expected, here are some things to check.

Typing a word isn't showing an asset I expect

Typing your search properly

Dash searches for full words to allow users to be as as specific as possible when searching.

If your asset is called "PinkertonStreet", you can't just search for the word "Pinkerton". To locate this asset using a partial search, use a wildcard (e.g. "Pinkerton*")

An asset called "Pinkerton-Street" would be returned by a search for "Pinkerton", as delimiters such as "-" would mean Pinkerton is regarded as a separate word.

Remember that Dash searches for multiple attributes in your asset

As mentioned at the top of this article, Dash searches through all metadata associated with an article. Therefore, if you type a search that says "cat" AND "toy" with the intention of finding assets containing two tags containing this, be aware that you may also pull in, for example, any folder name containing "cat" or "toy", or a title with these words in. If you'd like to refine your search to only look for a certain field, such as a tag, we'd recommend using the Filters instead.