How to create Smart Collection from different folders of specific file types of a certain year?

[unknownsailor]

Hi,

I have my asset folders organised according to date, so:

• 2021_12_01-seascape
• 2021_12_02-mountainhike

... and so on. These all sit in a root folder and cover a number of years.

I want to create a Smart Collection of all .dng and .orf files from the year 2021. Short of adding these indidually, is there a way of creating this Smart Collection and filtering the root folder by both date range and two different file types?

Is there a way of finding files by a date range? I have tried to find files using Date Created but cannot work out the boolean for a date range. Selecting 'is greater than or equal to' on the date 01/01/2021 doesn't work. I tried 'is greater than 01/01/2021' and it's still pulling in results from 2020, 2019 ete. The screenshot below shows the criteria 'is .dng and is from 1st Jan 2021 onwards', but underneath is indexing a folder from 2018:

Furthermore, even if I work out a date range I cannot use a combination of 'if any criteria is met' and 'if all criteria is met'. That is, I cannot work out how to find files that are either .dng or .orf, all of which have a creation date of 2021.

The only solution I can think of currently is to run a search across the entire root folder and then filter that search by date . However my root contains many years and would be churning away for literally hours. Alternatively, I go through each 2021 folder and add them separately, but that's also labour intensive. There must be a simpler way but I cannot work it out!

Any pointers gratefully received, thank you.

[L e n a]

I'm not sure I understand the entirety of your question, so please feel free to reformulate if I was missing the point.

There are two points I would make:

• First, you are looking for DNG in the file name, for my part, I would search more by document type.
• Secondly, in terms of the date and the format you use is d/m/yyyy, it would be better to go for dd/mm/yyyy.

If you need a date range, you can use two filters: one upper and one lower.

Concerning the volume of folders you need to include in your search field, I use much the same organization and, except for the first few searches, I haven't noticed any noticeable slowdown.

As far as I know, it is not possible to search in stacks, nor to create a pre-collection of folders to search in. But, to tell the truth, I never had to dig into this type of needs.

[unknownsailor]

You understood my question correctly. I think I am looking to stack search results, which is why I'm having a problem. By the way, I inputted the dates as you suggested (01 instead of 1) but after leaving the field it automatically removed the zero. Anyway, you have explained how to search by date properly so that's great, and file type makes sense.

Your solution gets me halfway there. What I need to do now is to create a similar search for .orf file types and then combine the two into the same collection... but are you suggesting this isn't possible?

[Lumigraphics]

A Smart Collection is simply a saved search. However, you have to use either "any" or "all" and your query has multiple conditions. Your best bet might be search by date then use the filter panel to restrict the file types.

[unknownsailor]

Hi. Yes, I discovered the filter panel after my OP. I'm not at my computer right now but can you do as you suggest and then save as a new smart collection? That is, the date search result with the filter automatically applied? Or will I have to apply the filter every time I open the collection?

[Lumigraphics]

No, filtering is separate from collections.