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How to Search in Aperture 2

October 15, 2008 by debbie T | Aperture 2 • Art and Graphics • Digital Photography • Mac Software

My friend Allison from the Nosillacast podcast emailed me, asking about searching for a specific file name in Aperture 2. I thought it was simple enough because I do it all the time, but when I received her reply asking WHERE is the search, I realized, AH HA! you have to be in a specific view mode to see the search box.

Change to Browser Only View

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Change to Browser Only view mode by clicking the View menu on the top right of the workspace or by choosing View>Browser Only. You can also scroll through each of the three view modes by clicking the keyboard shortcut "V"

Search Box

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The Search Box defaults to "Unrated or Better" – type in your search term and click enter.

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Additional Search Options in Aperture 2

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Click the little spy glass icon next to the search box, and choose from various photo ratings. I usually keep it as "unrated or better" that way all the photos I have rated as "rejected" are not visible. I also like displaying photos with 3 or more rating stars so I can see my top rated photos.

Filtering Search Results

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(1) Click the other spy glass icon and a more specific search panel will appear. (2) Click the + button to add more filters. This is great for filtering results for specific keywords, lens used, location. The options are endless.

Searching for photos in Aperture 2 is so powerful. It can be a lot of work to consistantly add meta data like keywords and captions, etc. But it’s really worth it in the end when you have such a wonderful way to search. I love Aperture 2!

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