Implementing Boolean Operators in Searches.

[Petercard]

Is there any way to use Boolean operators when using the search function in DropBox ?

When I used the search I usually get too many hits, so a simple way of narrowing down the results would be very beneficial.

[Jay]

This idea has been closed as it has reached the end of the Share an Idea process.

Thank you for your suggestion, and if you have another idea to share, please do! 

You can find out more about this feature here and get support or provide feedback in Ask the Community.

[rhut]

Hi all!  I'm a Product Manager working on search experiences on Dropbox.com.  We heard your feedback and have started work on introducing new operators to help find your content faster.  Take a look here!  Note that it's probably not everything you're looking for, but we'll add more features over time!

Help center article here!

https://help.dropbox.com/view-edit/search

[Robert C.93]

@rhut excited to learn about NEW OPERATORS to HELP find file content. Unfortunately, the link in your note above leads to a message NOT found. 

[rhut]

@Robert C.93 Thanks for flagging! I updated the link:  https://help.dropbox.com/view-edit/search

[Robert C.93]

@rhut Thank you for notifying the improvement in search functionality

[Petercard]

Hi @rhut  ,

thanks for letting us know about this new development. 

I started this thread back in 2019 so it’s good to see this.  

I had a quick look, it seems like a good improvement thank you. 

one suggestion is to add file name to the search type so that the search is limited to the file name only. 

peter

[rhut]

@Petercard Are you suggesting adding as a search filter on the search results page?  Yes, good suggestion.

With these new operators you should be able to search in the query, so title:"q1 offsite planning" will return only exact matching results for the title or if you don't care about the exact order of the words, title:(q1 offsite planning) would work as well!

[Petercard]

H @rhut ,

yes. 

Windows explorer has file name searching. 

e.g.   you can use the following syntax:-

System.FileName:~="pro"

This finds files whose names contain the word "pro" or the characters pro as part of another word (such as "process" or "procedure").
The ~= means "contains."

[Petercard]

@rhut 

Another one:-

System.FileName:~<"notes"

Files whose names begin with "notes." The ~< means "begins with."

[Petercard]

@rhut 

Link to document on the subject. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l1ndwb8l5672x5v/160413%20Advanced%20tips%20for%20searching%20in%20Windows....

I will stop now. 

peter

[Walter]

This idea has been delivered! 

You can find out more about using boolean operators in your searches here.

Thank you for your support!