---
title: Search & Filtering
slug: editorial/search-and-filtering
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-03-25T11:43:24.956Z
---

# Overview

Media provides powerful filtering options to help you quickly find the media files you need. You can filter by date, file type, author, categories, and language. 

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/ygR6KtT9QI_R0u3uKTJsm/TDvlUytXtdN43LxgaREW2-20251124-143559.png)

***

## Available Filters

### 📅 Date Filter

Filter media files by their upload date.

**How to use:**

1. Click the **Date** button in the filter bar
2. Choose from quick options or manually select a date range:
   - Click the calendar to pick specific dates
   - Use the From and To fields to enter dates directly
   - Format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2025-11-01)
3. Click Apple to filter results

**Tip:** The calendar highlights your selected date range, making it easy to see what period you're filtering.

***

### 🖼️ File Type Filter

Filter media by file type to quickly find images, videos, documents, and more.

**Available options:**

- **Images** - JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.
- **Videos** - MP4, MOV, etc.
- **Audio** - MP3, WAV, etc.
- **Documents** - DOC, TXT, etc.
- **PDF** - PDF files

**How to use:**

1. Click the **File Type** button
2. Click on one or more file types
3. The counter shows how many types you've selected (e.g., "1 ausgewählt")
4. Click **Apply**

**Tip:** You can select multiple file types at once to see all images and videos together, for example.

***

### 👤 Author Filter

Find media files uploaded by specific users.

**How to use:**

1. Click the **Author** button
2. Use the search box to find authors by name
3. Click on author names to select them
4. Click **Apply**

**Tip:** The search is helpful when you have many users in your system.

***

### 🏷️ Categories Filter (Kategorien)

Organize and find media by assigned categories.

**How to use:**

1. Click the **Category** button
2. Use the search box to find categories
3. Select one or more categories
4. Click **Apply**

**Tip:** Categories help organize media by projects, campaigns, or content types.

***

### 🌍 Language Filter

Filter media by language, useful for multilingual content.

**How to use:**

1. Click the **Language** button
2. Use the search box to find languages
3. Select one or more languages
4. Click **Apply**

****

### Print Version Filter

When Print Version handling is active, a **Print Version** filter chip appears with two options:

- **With Print Version** — only assets that have a print file attached
- **Without Print Version** — only assets without one

:::BlockQuote
**ℹ️ Note:** If Print Images is disabled in **Settings → Media → General**, this filter is hidden automatically.
:::



### Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) as filter

If any [Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) for Purple DAM](docId\:qbamzg9Qa9qCcr807VYk8) are configured, those can also be used as filters for Media. See also [Configure ACFs as filter](docId:73k7oumO4SDk4nBWc3TUc)

***

## Working with Active Filters

### Viewing Active Filters

When you apply filters, they appear as chips below the filter buttons:

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/ygR6KtT9QI_R0u3uKTJsm/6Ae1pGHvoxvWAhW5WX6vB-20251124-144037.png)

Each chip shows:

- The filter type
- The selected value(s)
- An **X** button to remove that specific filter

### Combining Multiple Filters

You can use multiple filters together to narrow down your search:

**Example:**

1. Apply Date filter: "This month" → Shows 79 items
2. Add Author filter: "Author 1" → Shows 8 items
3. Add File Type filter: "Images" → Shows 7 items

Each filter progressively narrows your results.

### Removing Filters

**To remove a single filter:**

- Click the **X** button on that filter's chip

**To remove all filters:**

- Click the **Clear All** button

***

## Tips & Best Practices

### 🎯 Quick Searches

1. **Recent uploads:** Use "This week" or "This month" in Date filter
2. **Your own files:** Filter by your name in Author filter
3. **Campaign materials:** Use Categories to group related media

### 🔍 Narrow Down Results

Start broad and progressively narrow:

1. Start with Date or Categories
2. Add File Type if needed
3. Refine with Author or Language

### ⚡ Keyboard Shortcuts

- Type in the search box within dropdowns to quickly find options
- Use Tab to navigate between filter buttons
- Press Enter after selecting to apply (in some dropdowns)

### 📊 Result Count

The item count at the bottom shows how many files match your filters:

- Example: "79 items" tells you exactly how many files are displayed

***

## Common Use Cases

### Finding Recent Images

1. Click **Date** → Select **This Week**
2. Click **File Type** → Select **Images**
3. Click **Apply** on both

### Reviewing Content by Author

1. Click **Author** → Select author name
2. Review all their uploaded media
3. Add Date filter to see recent uploads

### Locating Campaign Assets

1. Click **Categories** → Select campaign category
2. Click **File Type** → Select needed file types
3. All campaign assets appear together

### Multilingual Content Management

1. Click **Language** → Select language
2. View all media in that language
3. Combine with Categories for organized multilingual content

***

## Troubleshooting

### No Results Showing

- **Check your filters:** Make sure they're not too restrictive
- **Clear all filters:** Click "Reset all" and start over
- **Verify date range:** Ensure the date range includes uploaded files

### Filter Not Working

- **Click "Apply":** Remember to apply the filter after selection
- **Check selections:** Make sure you've selected options before applying
- **Refresh page:** If issues persist, refresh the browser

### Too Many Results

- **Add more filters:** Combine multiple filters to narrow results
- **Use specific dates:** Instead of "This Month", select exact date ranges
- **Use search:** The search box can further filter results

***

## Full-Text Search

The search bar at the top of the Media Library searches across:

- Title
- Alt Text
- Caption
- Description
- ACF field values (when enabled — see below)

Results are returned instantly and support multi-word queries.

## Enabling ACF Field Search

For ACF field values to appear in search results, an administrator must:

1. Go to **Settings → Media Library → Search Fields & Weighting**.
2. Enable the relevant ACF fields.
3. Run a full ElasticPress reindex.

Once indexed, ACF field content is searchable alongside the standard fields.

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