Chapter 4: Search
Photocatalyst offers multiple search methods, from file name matching to AI semantic search. The search box is located at the top center of the application.
4.1 Search Types
The dropdown selector on the left side of the search box provides 6 search modes:
| Search Type | Function | Input Method |
|---|---|---|
| File Info | Comprehensive search by file name, type, description, keywords, location, camera, OCR text, etc. | Enter text |
| Image Content | AI semantic search — find photos by describing them in words | Enter descriptive terms (comma-separated subjects) |
| Blurry/Out-of-Focus | Quickly filter blurry/low-quality photos | Execute directly, no input needed |
| Photos with People | Filter photos containing faces | Execute directly, no input needed |
| Photos without People | Filter photos without faces | Execute directly, no input needed |
| 1 Star ~ 5 Star | Filter by rating | Select star rating |
There are three extension buttons on the right side of the search box:
| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| Image Search | Search by image (full-image similarity / local similarity) |
| Face Search | Upload a photo containing faces to search |
| Folder Search | Limit search to a specified folder |
4.2 File Info Search
Find photos by file name or path.
- Select the search type "File Info"
- Enter a file name or partial text
- Press Enter to execute
Wildcard Support:
| Wildcard | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
* | Matches any number of characters | IMG_*.jpg matches all jpg files starting with "IMG_" |
? | Matches a single character | IMG_????.jpg matches "IMG_" followed by 4 characters |
4.3 Image Content Search (AI Semantic Search)
This is an AI-powered text-to-image search feature that understands textual descriptions to find matching images.
- Select the search type "Image Content"
- Enter subject descriptions, separating multiple subjects with commas, e.g.:
cat, sofa, indoor - Press Enter to execute
- The system maps text and images into the same vector space for semantic matching
- Results are ranked by semantic relevance from high to low
Tip: Use concise and clear subject terms, such as "mountain," "beach," "food," "building," etc.
4.4 Quick Filters
The following search modes execute immediately upon selection without requiring text input.
Blurry/Out-of-Focus: Filters blurry photos with low quality scores.
Photos with People / Photos without People: Filters photos based on whether faces are detected.
Star Rating (1 Star ~ 5 Star): Filters photos by user-assigned star ratings.
These filters can be combined with the folder browsing view to narrow results to the current folder scope.
4.5 Image Search (Search by Image)
Click the image search icon on the right side of the search box to open a dialog with two tabs.
Full-Image Similarity
Find visually similar images using the entire image as a reference:
- Switch to the "Full-Image Similarity" tab
- Select a local image
- The system automatically analyzes image features
- Navigate to the feature search results page, ranked by similarity
- Use the threshold slider to adjust matching strictness (default 0.6)
Local Similarity
Upload up to 5 images and crop regions of interest to find similar local content:
- Switch to the "Local Similarity" tab
- Add images one by one (up to 5)
- Drag to draw a crop box on each image to select the region of interest
- After confirmation, the system merges features from all regions for search
- Navigate to the search results page
Threshold Adjustment
Both feature search and image search pages have a threshold slider (0 ~ 1):
- Higher threshold (0.8~1.0): Only matches highly similar images
- Moderate threshold (0.6~0.8): Balances precision and recall
- Lower threshold (0~0.6): Includes more images with lower similarity
4.6 Face Search
Search by Uploading a Photo
- Click the face search icon on the right side of the search box
- Select a photo containing faces
- The system automatically detects faces in the photo and lists thumbnails
- Click to select the face you want to search for
- Navigate to the face search results page (default threshold 0.7, adjustable)
- Results are ranked by face similarity
Search from Preview
In preview mode, right-click a face box:
- Find Their Photos: Navigate to all photos of that person
- Find Photos with Similar Faces: Search for similar faces based on that face's features
Tip: Frontal, well-lit face photos yield the best results; avoid masks, sunglasses, or profile shots.
Advanced Search
Click the advanced search icon on the left side of the search box to open the advanced search dialog, which supports precise combined filtering:
| Filter Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Path | Filter by file path |
| Keywords | Filter by keywords/tags |
| Tags | Filter by tag name |
| Description | Filter by image description |
| OCR Text | Filter by recognized text content |
| Camera | Filter by camera model |
| Location | Filter by GPS location name |
| File Type | Filter by MIME type (JPEG/PNG/RAW, etc.) |
| Rating | Filter by rating, supports operators such as equal/greater/less |
| Face Count | Filter by the number of faces in the photo, supports equal/greater/less |
| Recursive | Whether to include subfolders |
| Time Range | Specify start and end time |
| Search | General full-text search |
Multiple conditions can be combined, and results are displayed in the All Photos view or the current folder view.
4.8 Search Results Page
Searches triggered from different entry points navigate to their corresponding search results pages. All search pages support:
- Result Count Display: The page header shows the total number of search results
- Name Filter: Further filter results by file name
- Folder Scope: Displays the current folder scope; click to clear
- Threshold Adjustment (face/image search pages): Drag the slider to adjust matching tolerance in real time
- Go Back: Return to the previous search for easy backtracking
Next: Read Chapter 5 to explore AI-powered smart features.