Introduction
This guide covers the library application’s search functions in Thumb View, List view & Properties. It will present how to search and find Assets and Events, create Saved Smart searches, and find existing saved searches. It will also document the following:
- Simple search - Oldfashioned Google-style search
- Advanced search - Opens a frame for nested searches.
- Calendar search - Graphics view, preconfigured searches ("hardcoded")
- Collections - Graphics view, preconfigured searches ("hardcoded")
- Quickfilters - Advanced searches can be arranged as buttons (user configurable)
Note!
Remember that the search module searches for the content stored in the asset’s metadata, such as title, subtitle, etc. It also seeks within the logged events. Event search is a separate search function in EventView but also visible in ThumbView and ListView. Please read our guide on workspace 4 and 5 to learn more about event search.
Be aware that the Event search and Workspaces from Event view and above are available for customers only in the Professional & Enterprise price plan. Customers using a basic price plan do not have access to Events or Tags.
Combined search
When entering the Library, the opening page list all assets and events available in the list/thumb-view upper right corner. Users can search for both assets and events using one search string.
Note!
Observe that the Library app. starts by default in Thumb view and Asset mode, listing Assets only.
Searching for assets and events from Thumb or List view
The advanced search window support assets only. To search for events, the user must use the textual search window. It is possible to combine an advanced search with a textual search.
The library remembers the ten last textual searches and lists them in a pop-up window when the user begins to type a search string.
Note!
Assets - If the advanced search is active, then the textual search will only search for this filter's output. The rule is ALL.
Events - The textual search will search all events regardless of the active advanced search since it applies to assets only.
Conditional search
Observe that advanced search is conditional when using the "match = all" switch. In the above image, the result from the first search (1) in a specific category is used by the next search (2) to find a specific clip type from the specified category. Need to find clip types from a specific category for a specified customer? Add the third (3) search and specify the customer.
Notice that the search order is irrelevant. The above search could start with the customer or clip type. The outcome would be identical.
If the user with its three search parameters discover that the first search parameter (category) should be something else, the third and second searches must be deleted to enable the category's change. Next, the user must define the second and third search parameters again.
Elastic implementation
Mediabank uses the Elastic search engine when indexing and searching for Events and Assets. The Elastic implementation is configured to reflect the user behavior and the metadata available.
Default_operator is changed to AND (standard is OR)
Writing Manchester Leicester in the search frame will return assets/events containing both words. If the user is searching for all assets/events that contain Manchester or Leicester, the search phrase should be Manchester OR Leicester. The OR flag will supersede the standard AND.
Observe that the following search flags are disabled: = & | ! ( ) { } [ ] ~ < > : /
The reason is that these characters are often found in asset metadata like titles, subtitles, etc. We have experienced that users tend to copy parts of a phrase (like a title) and paste them in the search window. With the standard search flags in use, the pasted text would be interpreted as flags, resulting in an unpredictable search result.
writing penalty yellow in the search frame will return the same result as penalty +yellow
It is even possible to write; penalty AND yellow.
- Valid flags are AND, OR, NOT.
- Searching for a phrase should look like this: "riding bikes into the sunset."
- Valid wildcards are * and ?.
A few examples:
- Writing just will search for any asset/event containing the word just and return these. All assets/events not containing the word just are excluded. If the word just exists in any part of the asset's metadata or properties, it will also be displayed.
- A combination: just* is the same as above but will also include a word like justify and any other word that starts with just.
- To perform a more specific search, you can search for a string using "your text inside." Searching for "just 10 feet above"will not return anything unless the string filter criteria are met.
- You can also include or exclude words in your search. A search phrase like
League +Sunday NOT Monday will search for any assets that contain League and Sunday but exclude any asset that contains Monday. You may omit the + sign in front of Sunday, but you must use the minus "NOT" flag to exclude a search parameter. - Searching for assets/events containing arsenal from 2010 to 2019 will look like this arsenal 201? The wildcard flag instructs the search engine to return results for arsenal AND 201, including any valid single character replacing the "?" flag.
Note:
The following search flags may cause unpredictable search results: - (minus)
Try to avoid copy-paste of text like "..... score (2-1)" in searches since the character - (minus) is often used. Depending on the characters' spaces, the minus in the score result may be perceived as a switch and exclude the number 1 in the search result. The user can still use NOT to exclude text in a search phrase.
Searching assets using filter keys (under construction)
The number of search keys in Mediabank is comprehensive, and scrolling down these futile keys is by no means efficient. To address that, the most obscure keys are hidden by default, leaving a small number of the most used keys visible. A "show all" button is available for the advanced user at the end of the key window frame.
A local admin may adjust these filter keys further to optimize the availability of the most used keys. Or, contact NEP support and have them adjust the filter key settings. The changes are done under "Company settings," modifying the key "SearchFilterKeys."
Note!
The available keys are vital for services running in mediabank. Adjusting these settings will hide them until the user clicks "Show all."
Difference between assets and events from the thumb/list view.
Using the shortcut in the thumbs upper right corner will activate the media player. Depending on the type of media, the Library W3 or Event W5 workspace will load the player's content into the player.
The difference between assets and events?
Starting the Library application, the default view is workspace 1. From this view, the Library lists the most recent incoming assets as thumbs. The user can click on the shortcut "arrow" located in the upper right corner and go directly to W3 from the thumb. The asset loads automatically into the media player, ready to play.
Events, however, are not (yet) assets or media clips but log records from a sporting event or similar. Often tagged by users/operators watching a Live Ingest. Clicking on the event thumb shortcut will open the media player in the workspace 5 Event. The media player will look at the log record, identify the event, and load the "entire" asset. It will then search for the actual time code and align the event in the media player, ready to play.
When users decide to use the content for publishing or editing, they must add it to an M-box. The M-box will then use the time code to extract the particular sequence into a media clip and transcode it to the designated media format. The length, pre/post-roll values are retrieved from the default values in the Event application.
Smart searches
When starting in your default thumb or list view, your search module will have a similar look to the below image. From here, you can search and select your active Saved searches. You may perform an additional manual search to refine your active search. However, to create your own Saved searches, you must open the advanced search editor by clicking on the button (1).
Press the advanced search button (1), illustrated in the image below. You have entered the Advanced search editor with a Saved search active (Smart U19-2018).
You may modify any visible Saved searches if you save them with a new name. If you like the active search, you may use it as your default search when logging in by clicking the default search button below your active search.
Match (7): Selecting “all” in the following rules means that all the states must comply with listing the searched media files. The alternative “any” does not work as strictly as “all” since each and one of the search-rules that match will return a positive.
Search rule (8): With these filters, you have the tools to create very advanced search functions. The most common is equal is selected.
Once Sub Category is selected, you have created your search. You can continue to create additional filters or continue to refine your search.
Note!
You can use the "manual" search combined with an active Saved search to refine your search results temporarily.
The difference between Saved searches and Project:
Project:
You add the files manually you need to your project, and they will remain static. If you need to add or remove an asset, you must do it manually.
Saved Searches:
In contrast to Project, when you add the assets manually and save the asset-list for later use, you now add the search criteria in Smart search and save the search for later use. When you select the smart search next time, it will initiate a new search and list the assets matching your search criteria. Saved Searches will always provide an up-to-date result.
Quickfilter
New in ver. 3.8.5 a Quickfilter function was introduced. It is a further development of the stored (saved) advanced filter, and its focus is to provide more visibility and accessibility of the most used filters. A local admin or user can define quick filters and make them easily available and visible above the Library application's thumbs. It is even possible to share Quickfilters with colleagues.
With thousands of assets available in the Mediabank Library, it becomes crucial to have an efficient search tool. The Mediabank advanced search filters (saved searches) provide the best search engine and filters available in the market and enable users to search and locate any Library asset. However, most of us don't need more than 3 to 6 defined filters in our daily work, and we are not particularly interested in creating these filters. We need our most used search parameters available at hand when we need them.
The new Quickfilters make advanced search filters even more efficient for Mediabank users.
- The most used searches are placed above the Library Thumb/List view, visible to selected users/groups. A simple click will activate them.
- It can be different Quickfilters (searches) for different users/groups.
- The local admin or a user can define Quickfilters and share them with other colleagues. Some users are better at defining optimal searches/filters, and why not let them create and share?
- Existing "saved searches can become a Quickfilter. There is no need to create new.
The below image shows the creation of a filter named "MediaNetw." The user creates the filters as an advanced filter but can now decide to "Show as Quickfilter" (Highlighted in yellow). The Quickfilter can be defined as Private, Group, or Public. If the creator of a Quickfilter decides to share it with other colleagues, the user can choose "Visible for Group" and select the groups that should use it.
Note!
Use with caution! If the user chooses "Public," all the users in that account will get the filter displayed in their workspace. Quickfilters support asset filtering only. (Events are not supported)
Quickfilters can easily be removed from the user's workspace (not deleted) or expanded to adjust filter topics.
When expanding a Quickfilter, the user can reduce the search granularity by activating/deactivating each search parameter. In the below image, the date and the customer filters are disabled. Click on each of the search boxes to activate/deactivate.
Note!
The "one-click" activation/deactivation of individual filters is only possible using Quickfilters. The Advanced search editor cannot be activated while the Quickfilters are active.
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