Main Window
[WORK IN PROGRESS]
Introduction
The Main Window is the primary interface where you will spend most of your time.
It contains two sections: Analysis Mode and Search Mode.
-
Analysis Mode allows you to select the folders that LumiFind will scan and analyze. You can use
F2on the keyboard as shortcut to switch to this mode. -
Search Mode becomes available once you have completed at least one analysis. It enables you to search through your data quickly and intelligently.
F3key is the shortcut to switch to this mode.
Analysis Mode
You can also activate this view by using View -> Analysis Mode or pressing F2. Analysis Mode will have the following layout:
Depending on the models you have chosen in the Welcome Wizard or in the Settings window, and their enabled statuses, LumiFind will load them. This may take some time, but it happens only once at each startup. The "Start Analysis" button will be enabled when everything is ready, and a "LumiFind is ready!" message will appear in the Logs (8).
If this is your first time starting, you will need to select some folders via (3) or (4) and include them into (6) to start analysis. Alternatively, use "Add individual file(s)" button to select one or more files to analyze and track the changes. On Windows and Linux, you can use Ctrl + Left-click to select multiple files at once. On macOS, use Cmd + Left-click.
If you want to exclude a folder, browse via (3) or (4) and press "Exclude '<Folder Name Here>' from Analysis" button.
During analysis, Tracked Files will have precedence, then the Excluded Folders and finally the Included Folders. This means, if you have an individually tracked file and it is inside an excluded folder, this file will be analyzed. Similarly, if you included a folder, but excluded its one of sub-folders, those sub-folders will not be crawled hence the files inside will not be analyzed.
LumiFind can only access folders and files that you allow it to see.
You can change the current folder by selecting one in the tree view below (6) or by pressing the "Browse..." button. Once you are happy with a folder, press "Include '<Folder Name Here>' in Analysis" (5). To remove a folder, select it from a list and press "Remove Selected" above the list (5).
You can also include remote folders. On Windows, they start with \\. In that case, the include button will indicate that it is a remote folder. On macOS and Linux, remote folders are only possible if they are mounted and accessible via Finder or a file browser (e.g., Nautilus, Dolphin).
Similarly, if you want to include Cloud storage folders such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive, simply browse to them and include them in the analysis.
Once you have included all the folders or files you need, press the "Start Analysis" button and grab some coffee (or water, or anything you like).
You can also press "Stop Analysis" to stop the process. If an analyzer did not complete its task, you will need to restart it. Each analyzer works independently. For example, if the Document Analyzer has completed and you stop the analysis during Image Analyzer, the progress of the Document Analyzer will be saved.
If you would like to temporarily pause the analysis to resume later, you can press "Pause" button. Once you decide to continue analysis, you can use the "Resume" button.
If you completed at least one analysis, then, on future launches, LumiFind will automatically switch to Search Mode to save an extra click.
Hint: To get familiar with the tool, it is recommended to start with a small set of folders and file types. This makes it easier to switch between models until you find the one that works best for you.
Search Mode
This mode requires that you have at least one model enabled (via Welcome Wizard, or Settings) and performed at least one analysis. You can also activate this view by pressing F3. If you want to activate this view and directly focus on search input, press Ctrl + E (Windows, Linux) or Cmd + E (macOS). You can also use Ctrl/Cmd + 1..5 to switch to this mode and set the search type, then focus on the search file in one key combination.
Upon the next launches, this mode will open by default, making your searches one click faster.
Type the query you want to search for and select the type of search. Depending on your edition and the active models, only the available options will be shown. You can choose from the following options:
- Document Search
- Image Search
- Voice Search
- Video Audio Search
- Video Frame Search
You can also press "Filters..." button, to limit the search only to specific folders, or the file types:
Before pressing "Search", simply uncheck the folders or file formats from the Filters panel, or use the buttons above them to change the search criteria for this session.
Each search is saved in the Recent Searches area on the right. The time of the search and the type of search will also be displayed. You can double-click a search query to run it again.
If there are matches for your query, the results will be shown. For Document, Voice, or Video results, the Content area will display the relevant text. If it is not visible or small, you can adjust the column sizes by holding them and enlarge.
For the image results, no content is displayed in the Content area. Instead, selecting an image result once will show a thumbnail in the bottom right of the window if thumbnail generation is enabled in the Settings -> Analysis Settings -> Enable Thumbnail Generation during analysis and the Visual Settings -> Display Thumbnails in Search Results is set to Yes. Depending on the settings and availability, either "Thumbnail" or "Original" message will be shown above the image to indicate its source.
For all files, you can use "Open Containing Folder" button to locate the file in the file system using the default file browser.
Double-clicking a result will open the file with the default application associated with that file type on your system.