How do I use the main Search?

There are many ways to use the main Search function on deviantART, and this entry will attempt to explain each option.

Below is a listing of the various Search parameters that are available, that will make Searching through deviantART quick, and easy. Parameters can be combined to narrow down Search results, to find very specific results.


Simple Search:

fish
Returns Deviations that have the word "fish" in the their title, description or keywords


Searching for Multiple Terms:

fish cat
Returns Deviations that have BOTH "fish" AND "cat" in their title, description or keywords


Searching by size:

For information on searching by size, please click here for more details.


Matching Multiple Terms:

fish or cat
Returns Deviations that have EITHER "fish" OR "cat" in their title, description or keywords - but with an emphasis towards Deviations that contain both


Using Parentheses:

dog (fish or cat)
Returns Deviations that have "dog", plus EITHER "cat" OR "fish", in their title, description or keywords


Category Searching:

in:photography
Returns Deviations from the Photography category and its subcategories

fish in:photography
Returns Deviations from the Photography category and its subcategories, that have "fish" in their title, description or keywords

in:photography/architecture
Returns Deviations from the Architecture subcategory in Photography

fish in:photography/architecture
Returns Deviations from the Architecture subcategory in Photography that have "fish" in their title, description or keywords


Searching Multiple Categories:

fish (in:photography or in:digitalart)
Returns Deviations from either the Photography or the DigitalArt categories, or their subcategories, that have "fish" in their title, description or keywords


Excluding Search Terms:

cat -fish
Returns Deviations that have "cat" but not "fish" in their title, description or keywords

cat -fish -dog
(Returns Deviations that have "cat" but do not have "fish" and do not have "dog" either, in their title, description or keywords)


Excluding Categories in Searching:

fish -in:photography
Returns Deviations that have "fish" in their title, description or keywords, but aren't in the photography category or any of its subcategories


Searching by Deviant:

by:hexentanz
Returns Deviations that have been submitted by $hexentanz

fish by:hexentanz
Returns Deviations that have been submitted by $hexentanz and have "fish" in their title, description or keywords


Searching a Deviants Favourites:

favby:hexentanz
Returns all deviations that have been favourited by $hexentanz's

Please be advised this is a stand alone search term and cannot be combined.


More Examples:

by:hexentanz in:digitalart -fish -in:digitalart/3d
Returns Deviations by $hexentanz that are in digitalart or any of its subcategories, but not in the 3D subcategory, and do not have "fish" in their title, description or keywords

(by:hexentanz or by:mccann) -in:photography/nature/wild -in:scraps -in:photography/nature/domestic -in:photography/nature/insects -frog -mud
Returns Deviations submitted either by $hexentanz or $mccann that aren't scraps, aren't in the category "Wild Animals", aren't in the category "Domestic Animals", aren't in the category "Spiders and Insects" and do not contain either of the words "frog" or "mud" in their title, description or keywords



Sorting

For better results, the "boost:popular" clause is automatically added for you by deviantART.

It is possible to completely ignore relevancy by including a sort clause. When a sort clause is added, deviations are sorted in an absolute way according to the way specified. The sorting method currently available is "time":

fish sort:time

Searches for "fish" and sorts results by submission time, showing most recent submissions first and ignoring relevancy. It is possible to inverse a sort clause by including an order clause. An order clause can specify whether the sorting is done ascending or descending.

fish sort:time order:asc

This searches for "fish" and sort results by submission time, this time showing oldest submissions first.