Browsing, Searching & Filtering Assets

This guide explains how to find the assets you need using the asset grid, search, filters, sorting, and saved searches.

1. The Asset Grid

Assets are displayed as thumbnail cards in a responsive grid layout.

Each card shows:

• A thumbnail preview of the asset (or a file-type icon for non-image files such as PDFs, videos, and Office documents)

• The display name

• The file extension and file size

• An "EMBARGOED" overlay if the asset is embargoed

• Date chips showing embargo or archive dates where applicable

Click any card to open the asset detail view with the full preview, metadata, and download options.

Tip: Scroll to the bottom of the grid and click Load More to see additional results. Assets load 50 at a time.

2. Searching Assets

Use the global search bar at the top of the page to find assets by keyword.

• Type keywords to search across asset names, descriptions, original filenames, and metadata values.

• Results update as you type.

• The search supports partial matching -- typing "beach" will find "beach-sunset.jpg".

• When a search is active, you can sort results by Relevance to see the best matches first.

3. Using Filters

The filter navigation bar sits just below the search bar. It contains a dropdown button for each metadata category configured by your administrator.

To apply a filter:

1. Click a filter button (e.g. "Brand", "Product Category") to open its dropdown panel.

2. Each option in the panel shows a count of matching assets in brackets.

3. Click an option to apply it. The asset grid updates immediately.

Some filters open multi-column panels when they contain sub-categories.

Managing active filters:

• Active filters appear as chips below the filter bar. Click the X on any chip to remove that filter.

• Click Reset filters to clear all active filters at once.

4. Advanced Filters

Click the Advanced button in the filter bar to open the advanced filter panel. This gives you access to system-level filters:

• File Type -- filter by Image, Video, Audio, or Document

• File Size -- filter by size range

• Date Added -- filter by when assets were uploaded

Your administrator may have configured additional advanced filters that also appear here.

Tag search:

• Type in the tag search box within the advanced panel to find assets by specific tags.

• Live filtering narrows the tag list as you type, and an API search retrieves the full list of matching tags.

5. Sorting Assets

Use the sort dropdown in the toolbar to change the order of results.

6. Status Tabs

If you have the appropriate permissions, you will see status tabs above the asset grid:

• Active -- the default view showing all standard published assets.

• Embargoed -- assets that are hidden until their embargo date passes. Only visible to moderators and administrators.

• Archived -- assets that have been archived. They are still accessible but removed from the main Active view.

• Bin -- assets that have been deleted and are awaiting permanent removal or restoration.

Click a tab to switch between these views.

7. Smart Filters (Saved Searches)

Smart filters let you save a combination of search terms, filters, and sort order so you can reuse it later.

To save a smart filter:

1. Set up your search, filters, and sort order the way you want them.

2. Click the smart filter dropdown in the toolbar.

3. Click Save Filters and give your filter a name.

4. You can choose to make the filter available for all users with access to the current client, or keep it as a personal filter.

To use a saved smart filter:

1. Click the smart filter dropdown in the toolbar.

2. Click the name of a saved filter to load it instantly.

You can delete saved filters you no longer need from the same dropdown.

Tip: Smart filters are great for recurring searches such as "All print ads from this year" or "Latest video content".

8. Shareable URLs

The URL in your browser updates automatically as you apply filters and search terms. You can copy the URL from the address bar and share it with colleagues -- they will see the same filtered view, subject to their own permissions.

This is a quick way to point someone to a specific set of results without explaining which filters to apply.