Collection Essentials

A collection is the result set of a search run against a domain (or bucket) and then saved. Collections are listed among the buckets at the domain level:

Open

Collections shape the view of data in three ways:

1. Scope: Set the scope of the search (either an entire domain or a bucket)

2. Filters: Add search criteria for filtering (by name, owner, size, type, date, and/or metadata)

3. Display: Add/remove columns to display (such as to add metadata or custom metadata fields to the view)

System-Created Collections

The Content view appears when opening a domain. It provides quick access to the buckets, files, and upload activity of the domain. Domains include five permanent system collections for common domain-wide inquiries by default:

• Images - domain-wide listing of all files of Type image, across all buckets 

• Uploads Last 24 Hours - all files uploaded in the last 24 hours, across all buckets

• Uploads Last 30 Days - all files uploaded in the last 30 days, across all buckets

• Uploads Last 7 Days - all files uploaded in the last 7 days, across all buckets

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The Images collection lists all uploaded graphic files of Type "image", both named and unnamed (UUID), across all named buckets as well as the Content IDs bucket:

Narrow the listing by entering a string in the box filtering by Name to find a target faster.  

Although these system-generated collections cannot be changed or deleted, build on this set with new collections (saved searches) of custom design. Save a permanent collection under a new name using the Save As button if modified.

New Search by Name

Enter a string (no wildcards) in the Filter box when narrowing down by name (as performed in file system searches) when a large number of objects exist. The case-insensitive search begins as typing begins: enter "b" and any object containing letter B (regardless of case) somewhere in the name appears in the list.

The Objects count shows what portion of the total listing matches the string (here, 3 of 7).

Use the full Search controls if this is a search to be repeated or make available for other users:

1. Delete the string in the Filter Objects box and click the Search button to open the search pane.

2. Click + Add Search Criteria, which adds a new (empty) criteria operation.

3. From the drop-down list, select Name.
   
   

    

4. Enter the string used in the Filter Objects box when prompted for the Value to match on Name.

5. The Refresh button flashes to prompt to run the search. Click Refresh to verify the search returns the same objects as before.

6. At the top, click Save As, and name the new collection.

Using the Search Panel

The Collections feature allows performing complex ad hoc searches and defining custom saved searches and views.

In the listing for every collection, the Search Results panel appears with a results counter:

The search commands have these effects:

Setting Search Criteria

Define search criteria against basic metadata, extended metadata, and custom metadata. Click the +Add button as many times as needed to combine search criteria to narrow the results to the desired data.

Search on Common Metadata

Several commonly searched attributes are predefined for ready access:

Searching Extended and Custom Metadata

Search against any system or custom metadata stored with each object. The following shows common metadata included on an object's detail view:

Example Metadata Search

Suppose a set of files are uploaded into the Content IDs bucket, so they are stored by UUID. The original filenames are stored as metadata. Take these steps if a view of the source filename for each image is desired:

1. From the domain list, open the Content IDs bucket.

2. In the Column Headers section, click +Add.

3. Type in the name of the metadata field storing the source filename: Content-Disposition.

4. Click Refresh to populate the new column: 
   
   

    

5. Create a Search Criteria on Content-Disposition, then Refresh to narrow the results to files containing "Tool" in the name originally:
   
   

6. Select Save As and provide a name for the collection for future reference to keep this collection; otherwise, click Revert.

Searching by Metadata Selected from Objects

There is tremendous utility in building search collections based on metadata, especially the extended metadata Swarm indexes and custom metadata. The easiest method for searching this kind of metadata is to start from an object containing the desired metadata.

1. Find and double-click the object to view the details.

2. Click Create Collection in the detail view:
   
   

    

3. Select the desired fields, then select Create Collection.
   
   

    

4. Edit the Search Criteria in the Search Results, and click Refresh to test the results.
   
   

5. Improve the listing display by changing the Column Headers as needed (move, add, delete) when the filtering returns the correct results.