How to search, filter, and sort the library

Prerequisites

• Access to a Uwazi collection with records in its library

Anyone can search, filter, and sort published records. Signing in as an editor, collaborator, or admin adds filters for publishing status and permissions.

Steps

Search for records by keyword

1. Go to the Library page.

2. Select the search box at the top of the page.

3. Type your search term. Results update as you type. The search looks across each record's title, document text, and metadata fields.

4. To narrow your search, combine your term with these operators:

   Operator	What it does	Example
   "..."	Match an exact phrase	"fair trial"
   *	Match any number of characters	juris* matches "jurisdiction" and "jurists"
   ?	Match a single character	198? matches 1980 through 1989
   AND	Both terms must appear	torture AND detention
   OR	Either term can appear	asylum OR refugee
   NOT	Exclude a term	prison NOT juvenile
   "term1 term2"~N	The two terms appear within N words	"arrested detained"~3

   Select Search tips next to the search box to see this list inside Uwazi.

   note

   If an operator is incomplete or mistyped, Uwazi still returns results using a simpler keyword match instead of showing an error.

5. Press Enter or select the search icon to search at once.

6. To clear the search, select X inside the search box. Any active filters stay in place.

Filter by template

1. In the sidebar, select one or more entity types. The results update to show only records of those types.
2. If a Featured / All toggle appears, select All to see every available entity type.
3. Selecting a group label selects or clears all types in that group at once.

Filter by metadata field

1. Below the entity type list, find the metadata filters for the types you've selected. If you've selected more than one type, only filters common to all selected types appear.

2. Use the filter for each field type as follows:

   • Fields with a list of options (e.g., country, category): select one or more values. Each value shows how many records match.
   • Date range fields: enter a From date, a To date, or both.
   • Number range fields: enter a minimum value, a maximum value, or both.
   • Text fields: type a value to match that specific field.
   • Linked entity fields: select one or more linked records. If there are many options, type in the search box inside the filter panel.

3. By default, selecting multiple values returns records that match any of them. Select AND on the toggle next to the filter label when all selected values must match. This toggle appears on fields where you can pick more than one value.

4. Select No value to show records where that field is empty. Select Any value to show records that have a value in that field.

5. Select a filter label to collapse or expand that panel.

Filter by publishing status or permission level

If you're an editor, collaborator, or admin, you'll see extra filters at the top of the sidebar.

1. Select Published or Restricted to show only published records or only unpublished ones.
2. Under Can edit / Can view, select a permission level to show records by your access to them.
3. Under Assigned to, select a person or group to show records shared with them.

Sort results

note

When a keyword search is active and you haven't chosen a sort, Uwazi sorts by relevance. Selecting a sort field overrides this.

1. Select the sort drop-down in the library header. The list shows these options:

   • Date added (default)
   • Title (A to Z)
   • Date modified
   • Relevance (only when a keyword search is active)
   • Any metadata fields your administrator has marked for sorting

2. Select the arrow button next to the sort drop-down to switch between ascending and descending order.

Clear all filters

1. Select Clear filters at the bottom of the sidebar. Uwazi resets all active filters, entity types, and the search term, and restores the default sort order.

Result

The library shows only the records that match your search term, filters, and sort order.

tip

Copy the library URL to share your exact view with others. The URL captures your current search and filters.

See also

• How the Library and search work — why results appear and rank the way they do
• Property types reference — which property types support filtering and sorting