Search & smart collections

The desktop app has a dedicated Search destination for finding anything fast across your whole library — and saving the searches you run often as smart collections.

Open it from the sidebar rail or press ⌘6 (the top search box is ⌘F).

Searching Desktop app

Type in the Search albums, photos, people… box and results update as you go. Search spans:

• Albums — by name,
• Photos — by filename and metadata,
• People — recognised names.

Narrowing with filters

A Filters bar sits under the search box to narrow the photo results:

• Rating — an exact star rating, or Min ≥ N stars.
• Phase — raw, reviewed, proofing, or final.
• Keyword and Sport — free-text matches.
• Date range — from / to.
• Clear resets every facet back to a plain text search.

Smart collections

Whenever you have a query running, the ★ Save as smart collection button appears. Click it, give the collection a name, and optionally turn on auto-refresh so it re-runs itself and stays current.

Saved collections show as chips in a strip under the search bar:

• Click a chip to re-run that search instantly.
• An auto-refresh collection carries a 🔄 badge and a "Synced N ago" tooltip so you know how fresh it is.
• × on a chip deletes it.