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1Archive’s search works across every indexed source in your organization, connected and disconnected drives alike. Open search by clicking Search in the sidebar. Three search modes let you find files the way that makes sense for your content. In AI Image Search and Transcript, the Filters panel narrows a search to certain Sources, a single Collection, or a window of dates, depending on the mode.

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Choosing a search mode

Click the mode selector at the left of the search bar to choose how you want to search. The button shows the mode you’re in.

AI Image Search

Describe what you’re looking for in plain language and 1Archive finds matching photos and video frames. No keywords or tags required.

Transcript

Search the spoken content of video files. If a source was scanned with transcript indexing enabled, you can find footage by searching for words or phrases that appear in the audio.

File Name

Search by a full or partial file name. Type at least three characters. Fastest mode for locating a specific file when you know its name.
AI Image Search can also start from a photo instead of words. Click the image button in the search bar (Search with an image), drag a photo onto the search bar, or right-click a photo and choose Search for similar image. 1Archive finds photos and frames that look like it.
AI Image Search and Transcript search require that the source was scanned with the corresponding option enabled. If a source was scanned without AI image indexing or transcription, those modes will not return results for its files. You can enable these options by rescanning the source.
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Open search

Click Search in the sidebar. The search page opens with the search bar at the top.
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Select a mode

Click the mode selector and choose AI Image Search, File Name, or Transcript.
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Enter your query

Type your search term and press Enter. The search runs when you press Enter, not while you type. For AI Image Search, describe what you’re looking for in plain language (for example, “sunset over mountains” or “person holding a camera”).
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Review results

Results appear as a grid of thumbnails below the search bar. In AI Image Search and Transcript mode, each result carries a High, Medium, or Low relevance label. Select a video result and the player jumps to the moment that matched: the matching frame for AI Image Search, or the spoken phrase for Transcript.

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Narrow a search with filters

Click Filters at the right of the search bar. The panel that opens has two sections. Search in decides where 1Archive looks:
  • All: every Source you can open. This is where every search starts, and choosing it clears any Sources or Collection you picked.
  • Sources: check one or more Sources to search only those. Type in Find a source… to shorten a long list. Each row shows the Source’s type, such as Hard Drive or Network Drive.
  • Collection: pick one Collection to search inside it. See Search inside a Collection.
A search looks in Sources or in a Collection, never both. Picking a Collection removes any Sources you checked, and checking a Source removes the Collection. Switching to Sources or Collection on its own changes nothing until you pick something. Date limits results to files created in a window of time. Turn on the switch and it starts at Last 30 days. You can also choose Today, Last 7 days, This year, or Custom range. A custom range has From and To fields; leave either one empty to search everything before or after a date. Filters take effect as soon as you change them, and a search you’ve already run updates on the spot. Done closes the panel. Reset removes every filter.
The Date filter matches the file’s creation date, as 1Archive read it from the drive during the scan. It isn’t the day you added the file to 1Archive or to a Collection.

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Filter chips

Every filter you set shows up as a chip under the search bar: one chip per Source, then the Collection, then the date. Click the × on a chip to remove that filter. Once two or more chips are showing, Clear all appears after them. With no filters set, the row reads Searching all sources. The number on the Filters button counts the chips.

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Which filters each mode uses

Not every mode can use every filter: File Name mode hides the Filters button. When you switch to a mode that can’t use a filter you’ve set, the filter stays set but out of sight, and applies again when you switch back to AI Image Search.

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Search inside a Collection

AI Image Search can look inside a single Collection instead of your Sources. The search covers the whole Collection, including every folder inside it. Files from Sources you can’t open yourself still show up, and so do files that belong to another organization, as long as they’re in the Collection. There are two ways to start:
  • From the Collection. Right-click a Collection in the sidebar or on the Collections page and choose Search images in collection. A new tab opens in AI Image Search with that Collection already picked. Type your description and press Enter.
  • From the Filters panel. In AI Image Search, click Filters, open the Collection tab, and pick a Collection. Type in Find a collection… to shorten the list.
What to expect from the results:
  • Results are the Collection’s own copies. Each one shows the name, rating, flag, and color tags it has inside the Collection. A photo placed in two folders of the Collection shows up twice, once for each place.
  • Photos and video frames only. The Collection filter works with AI Image Search on a typed description. Transcript, File Name, and searches that start from a photo can’t be limited to a Collection.
  • Whole Collections only. You can’t limit a search to one folder inside a Collection.
  • Anyone who can open the Collection can search it. That includes Viewers, and you don’t need access to the Sources the files came from. See Collection permissions.
  • Search runs in the desktop app. People viewing a Collection through a share link can’t search it.
Results stay put until you search again, so nothing shifts while you work with them. Files you add to a Collection can take a little while to become searchable while 1Archive catches up in the background; press Enter again later to pick them up. Files you remove from a Collection drop out the next time you search.
Click the × in the search bar, or press Escape, to clear your query or the photo you searched with. Your mode and filters stay put, so the next search uses them too. To remove filters, click the × on their chips, click Clear all, or click Reset in the Filters panel.

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Tips for better AI image search results

  • Be descriptive, not keyword-heavy. “Close-up of hands on a keyboard in a dark room” works better than “keyboard hands dark”.
  • Include mood and context. Phrases like “warm golden-hour light” or “documentary-style interview” guide the search toward the right visual qualities.
  • Try different phrasings. If your first search returns irrelevant results, rephrase the description rather than making it more specific.
  • Use broad queries first. Start with a general concept (“aerial city footage”) and narrow down with filters rather than starting with a very specific phrase.
AI Image Search results are ranked by visual similarity to your description, not by keyword frequency. A file doesn’t need to have your search terms in its name or metadata to appear in results.