These are two separate search features that do different things. Here’s the quick version:
- Folder search finds folders by name in the sidebar.
- Media search finds files by their metadata in the main content area.
Folder Search
The folder sidebar has its own search input. Type a folder name and the tree filters down to show only folders matching your query. This is useful when you’ve got dozens (or hundreds) of folders and need to jump to a specific one fast.
Folder search only looks at folder names. It doesn’t search the files inside those folders.
Media Search
The main search bar in the Media Library searches the actual media files. It looks across 6 fields: title, filename, alt text, description, caption, and folder name. It returns individual files that match your query.
Media search respects your currently selected folder. If you click a folder first and then search, results are scoped to that folder. If you want to search the entire library, select “All Files” first.
Using Both Together
The two searches complement each other. A typical workflow looks like this:
- Use folder search to quickly find and select the right folder.
- Use media search to find a specific file within that folder.
You can also skip folder search entirely and just use media search with a folder name as your query. Since “folder name” is one of the searchable fields, typing a folder name into media search will pull up every file in that folder, even if you have “All Files” selected.