Features & Usage

Using Filters & Metadata

Last updated: June 2026  ·  3 min read

Narrow Down Results with Precision

Ubiquity doesn't just search by file name — it reads the metadata embedded in your files to help you find exactly what you need. With filters, you can refine your search by file type, size, date, and other properties, all without leaving the search bar.

Ubiquity Filter Interface
Filters let you slice through thousands of results in seconds

How Filters Work

When you type a search query in Ubiquity, it returns every matching file across your index. Filters let you reduce that set to only the files that meet specific criteria. You can apply multiple filters at once to get extremely precise results.

Filters are activated by typing a filter keyword followed by a colon and the value you want to match. Ubiquity recognizes these filter types:

  1. Type filter.
    Use type:pdf, type:docx, type:jpg, or any file extension to limit results to a specific file type.
  2. Size filter.
    Use size:>10mb or size:<1mb to find files above or below a certain size.
  3. Date filter.
    Use date:this week, date:2025, or date:>01/01/2025 to find files modified within a time range.
  4. Folder filter.
    Use folder:Documents to restrict results to a specific folder or location in your index.

Example: Typing report type:pdf date:this month will find all PDF files with "report" in the name that were modified this month.

Metadata Ubiquity Reads

Beyond file names, Ubiquity indexes a rich set of metadata from your files. This is what makes filters so powerful — the index is already aware of these properties before you even search.

Indexed Metadata

  • File name & extension — the basics, always available.
  • File size — in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes.
  • Last modified date — when the file was last saved or changed.
  • Created date — when the file was originally created.
  • File path & folder — the full location within your file system.
  • Document title — for PDFs and Office documents, the internal title property.
  • Author / Creator — the person who created the file, when available in metadata.
  • Tags & keywords — custom tags embedded in files like PDFs and images.

Combining Multiple Filters

Filters become truly powerful when combined. You can stack multiple filters in a single query to narrow results as tightly as you need.

Tip: You don't need to remember exact filter syntax. Ubiquity provides autocomplete suggestions as you type filter keywords, so you can discover available filters on the fly.

Why Metadata Matters

File names alone are often not enough to find what you need — especially when you have hundreds of similarly named files. Metadata gives Ubiquity a deeper understanding of each file, letting you search by context rather than just naming.

Next Steps

Now that you understand filters and metadata, explore more of what Ubiquity can do:

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