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Searching Files Across Projects
Learn how to search files across multiple projects in a hub, apply filters, and use name matching operators for precise results.
Foreman's cross-project file search lets you locate documents across all projects in a hub without manually browsing each folder. This is especially useful on large programmes where documents are spread across dozens of projects.
Running a Search
- Navigate to Search from the sidebar (or switch to the Search tab on the Files page).
- Select a hub and one or more projects.
- Enter a search term and configure your filters.
- Click Search (or press Enter).
Foreman queries all selected projects in parallel and returns matching files in a sortable, paginated results table.
Name Matching Operators
Choose how the search term is matched against file names:
| Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Contains | File name includes the term anywhere. | drawing matches Structural-Drawing-L01.rvt |
| Starts with | File name begins with the term. | ARCH matches ARCH-Floor-Plan.dwg |
| Ends with | File name ends with the term. | .pdf matches Report-Final.pdf |
| Exact match | File name equals the term exactly. | README.txt |
| Does not match | File name does not equal the term. | Excludes a specific file name |
| Wildcard | Use * (any characters) and ? (single character). |
*.rvt matches all Revit files; ARCH-??.dwg matches two-character suffixes |
| Regex | Full regular expression matching. | ^PLAN-\d+ matches files starting with PLAN- followed by digits |
When using regex, Foreman validates the pattern in real time and shows an error if it is invalid. A hover tooltip lists common patterns to help you get started.
Multi-Term Search (AND / OR)
The Single | AND | OR toggle next to the search bar controls how multiple terms are matched:
- Single (default) — the search term is treated as one phrase.
- AND — separate terms with commas; a file must match all terms. E.g.
PLAN, ARCHonly returns files whose name contains both "PLAN" and "ARCH". - OR — separate terms with commas; a file must match any term. E.g.
PLAN, ARCHreturns files containing either "PLAN" or "ARCH".
The selected name operator (contains, wildcard, regex, etc.) applies to each term individually.
Filters
Narrow your results with the following filters. Filters can be combined freely.
Basic Filters (always visible)
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| File Types | Comma-separated extensions, e.g. rvt,dwg,pdf. Only files of these types are returned. |
| Modified After / Before | Show only files modified within a given date window. |
Advanced Filters (toggle "Show Advanced Filters")
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Created After / Before | Filter by file creation date. |
| Created By / Modified By | Select a project member from the dropdown. |
| File Size (MB) | Set a minimum and/or maximum file size. Quick presets: "Over 100 MB", "Over 500 MB", "Under 1 KB". |
| Folder Path | Substring match (e.g. Structural) or wildcard (e.g. */Drawings/*). Only files in matching folders are returned. |
| Exclude Types | Comma-separated extensions to exclude, e.g. pdf,dwf. |
| Exclude Names | Comma-separated terms — files whose names contain any of these terms are removed from results, e.g. DRAFT,OLD,BACKUP. |
Custom Attribute Filters
Toggle Include Custom Attributes to enrich results with attribute values defined in your Autodesk Forma projects (e.g. Status, Discipline, Phase). Once enabled:
- Attribute columns appear in the results table.
- Click + Add Filter to filter by attribute values (equals, not equals, contains, empty, not empty).
- Attribute filters use AND logic — a file must match all of them.
Search results reflect the permissions of your Autodesk account. Files in projects you do not have access to will not appear.
Search Results Table
Results are displayed in a sortable, paginated table with the following columns:
- File name — the document name (click to open it in the File Browser).
- Project — which project the file belongs to.
- Folder path — the full folder path within the project.
- Type — the file extension.
- Version — the current version number.
- Size — file size.
- Last modified — when the file was last updated.
- Created — when the file was first uploaded.
- Created by — the user who uploaded the file.
- Custom attributes — any attribute columns enabled via the toggle (e.g. Status, Discipline).
You can sort by any column, choose a page size (10, 25, 50, or 100 rows), and navigate between pages.
Storage Analytics
Switch to the Storage Analytics tab to see aggregate statistics for the selected projects:
- Total file count and combined size.
- File type distribution (horizontal bar chart).
- Per-project breakdown with file counts and sizes.
When search filters are active, analytics are scoped to the filtered results — giving you insights into just the files that match your criteria.
Stale File Detection
Switch to the Stale Files tab to find files that have not been modified within a configurable number of days. Stale files are shown in a dedicated table sorted by age.
When search filters are active, stale file detection is scoped to matching files only. For example, you can find stale .rvt files over 100 MB in the Structural folder.
Use stale file detection to:
- Audit document currency before project milestones.
- Identify drawings that have not been revised since design changes.
- Clean up folders by archiving files no longer in active use.
Scheduling Recurring Searches
Click Schedule Search to save the current search (with all active filters) as a recurring job:
- Give the schedule a name.
- Choose a frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, or a custom cron expression).
- Set a timezone and relative date ranges (e.g. "modified within last 7 days").
- Click Create Schedule.
Each execution searches the configured projects, applies all filters (including size, path, exclusions, and custom attributes), generates a CSV export, and stores it. View and manage your schedules from the Scheduled Searches panel.
Export your search results to CSV for offline analysis, or bulk-download matching files as a zip archive. See the CSV export guide linked below.