Search Syntax

Lertaro's search bar supports fuzzy jump matching, boolean logic, word boundary operators, drive and path scoping, secondary filtering query tokens, and multilingual aliases. All syntaxes can be freely mixed within the same query.

1. Basic Matching & Case

Fuzzy matching (default)

Lertaro enables Fuzzy Matching by default. Simply enter any characters in order, and it will match even if the characters are scattered across the file or folder name:

Input Example	Matching Result	Description
ltro	Lertaro.exe	Characters match sequentially: l → t → r → o (Lertaro.exe)
vsc	Visual Studio Code.lnk	Matches initial letters of each word (Visual Studio Code)
rt-fin	Q3-report-final.docx	Matches contiguous substring (Q3-report-final.docx)

Turn this off under Settings → General → System → Enable fuzzy matching and plain search terms (without operators) will require a contiguous substring — abc will only match names containing contiguous abc, no longer matching a-b-c. This toggle only affects bare terms; all operators described below maintain their exact behaviors either way.

How results are ranked

Results are ordered first by how your text sits in the name, and only then by where it starts:

1. Whole word: atlas finds atlas, code-atlas, atlas.png and CodeAtlas. A word starts at the beginning of the name, after a space, -, _, . or a path separator, at a lowercase-to-capital step, and where letters meet digits.
2. Start of a word: atlasing.
3. Inside a word: metatlas.txt.
4. Scattered letters: fuzzy matches such as AutofillStates (AutofillStates) always come last.

Within each group:

• Something created or changed recently comes first, in bands: today, the past week, the past month, then older. The later of the created and modified dates counts, so a file you have just copied or downloaded counts as new.
• Then the shallower path: D:\dev\code-atlas comes before the same word ten folders down inside a game or package folder.
• Then a match starting further left, then a tighter, fuller match.

When everything else is equal, a file is listed before a folder (the Inline window's current-folder listing keeps folders first, like Explorer). With several terms, the weakest term decides the group.

Across all search windows, explicit pins and monotonic match grades keep ordering predictable:

1. Explicit pins first: rules marked High + Always on Top and clean matches in Favorites stay pinned at the top, while system/cache Low rules stay demoted below normal results.
2. Direct matches before aliases & history recall: exact and clean direct title/filename matches always rank ahead of approximate fuzzy matches, clean secondary aliases (such as shortcut targets or product metadata, shown with an Alias: / Target: subtitle), and confirmed Query Associations (which refine within equal match grades or supplement after direct matches).

Case Insensitivity

Matching always ignores case, in both directions — the case you type never changes what matches, and the case of the file name never does either. myfile, MyFile and MYFILE all match each other.

There is no case-sensitive mode: typing a capital no longer narrows a term to exact-case matches.

Pinyin Aliases & Ranking

Chinese names are searchable by pinyin, in two forms: the initials (one letter per character — ex for 恶性) and the full reading (every syllable spelled out — zhengshu for 证书).

Ranking: a pinyin match counts as a start of a word match (see "How results are ranked" above), so it sits below an English whole-word match and above an English match from the middle of a word. Within the same group the order is recency > path depth > match position > coverage > English > initials > full pinyin, so English/initials/full pinyin only separate results that already agree on everything else. A partial last syllable still matches, so zhengsh keeps finding 证书 while you are still typing.

With fuzzy matching off, pinyin matches must line up with word starts. ex finds 恶性 (initials of two characters) but not 学习 (which would have to splice the end of xue onto the start of xi). With fuzzy matching on, that loose reading is what you asked for and remains available.

In the inline window’s Current Folder section, direct children come before deeper descendants. Direct children are sorted by the leftmost match position, then folders before files at equal positions, then match type and Explorer-style name order. Name length does not determine their order.

2. Multiple Terms & Boolean Logic

Space: AND

Separate multiple search terms with spaces to require all conditions to be met. The order in which terms appear in the filename does not matter:

report final 2024

The above query matches both 2024-Q3-report-final.docx and final_report_2024.pdf.

Pipe |: OR

Use a pipe symbol | to separate terms where matching any single alternative is sufficient:

png | jpg | gif

You can freely combine AND and OR logic:

report | summary

This finds files matching either report or summary. In OR queries, all matched terms across hit branches are highlighted simultaneously in the result name.

Operator Precedence: AND binds tighter than OR

When spaces (AND) and the pipe | (OR) are mixed in a single query, the space binds tighter than the pipe by default: each space-separated run of terms is ANDed into its own group first, and those groups are then ORed together. Parentheses are not supported, and this is the standard boolean reading — but the old binding order is one toggle away (see below).

report | summary 2024 | draft

is equivalent to report OR (summary AND 2024) OR draft.

This is the reading a user who types a few alternatives and then narrows one of them expects: summary 2024 stays a single conjunction instead of dissolving into two independent alternatives.

Switching back to OR-first

Under Settings → General → System → OR binds tighter than AND (legacy) you can restore Lertaro's historical binding order, in which the pipe binds tighter than the space:

report | summary 2024 | draft

then means (report OR summary) AND (2024 OR draft).

The toggle only changes the precedence between the two operators — no new operator is introduced, and it has no effect on a query that uses only one of them (read me and readme | rdm mean the same thing under either setting).

Note: | must be a standalone token with spaces on both sides — a|b or a |b is not parsed as OR. Do not put an ! exclusion term inside a | OR group either (e.g. b | !c), which is parsed as "b matches or c does not"; to exclude a term globally, give it its own space-separated AND condition instead (e.g. b !c).

Quoting and precedence

A quoted phrase '...' never spans a pipe — the pipe always ends the phrase's reach, so 'data | 'backup is two OR alternatives (one per quoted word), not one phrase containing a pipe. This holds under both precedence settings.

Escaping Spaces & Quoted Phrases

To search for a phrase containing spaces within a single term, escape the space with a backslash \ , or enclose the phrase in single quotes '...':

final\ report
'final report'

Both examples treat final report as a single phrase with space, rather than splitting it into two independent AND terms.

Pasting Multiple Lines Folded into OR

When copying multi-line text (such as filenames from a spreadsheet, text file, or log) and pasting it directly into the search bar, Lertaro automatically folds the lines into a single OR query separated by | (blank lines are automatically skipped):

123
456
678

Pastes automatically as:

123 | 456 | 678

3. Search Operators Cheat Sheet

Operators Table

Operator / Syntax	Type	Description	Input Example	Matching Result Example
(none)	Default Fuzzy	Characters appear in order anywhere in name (when fuzzy is on)	report	Q3-report-final.docx
!	Exclude	Excludes all results whose name contains this exact substring	!temp	Filters out files containing temp
'	Flip Exactness	Exact substring when fuzzy is on; fuzzy when fuzzy is off	'report	Must contain contiguous substring report
'...'	Word Boundary	Exact substring matched on word boundaries (not inside larger word)	'app'	Matches app.exe, my-app.log; does not match whatsapp.exe
^	Prefix Match	Name must start with this text	^IMG	IMG_20240101.jpg (does not match MY_IMG.jpg)
$	Suffix Match	Name must end with this text	.pdf$	document.pdf (does not match document.pdf.bak)
^...$	Exact Match	Name must equal this text exactly	^readme.md$	Matches only readme.md
|	OR Logic	Matches either side of the pipe	doc | pdf	Matches names containing doc or pdf

Detailed Operator Behaviors & Combinations

1. Exclusion !: !term directly excludes results containing term as an exact substring. Excluded terms do not undergo pinyin/alias expansion to avoid over-exclusion.
2. Exactness Flip ': When global fuzzy matching is enabled, prefixing ' forces a specific term to match as an exact substring.
   • For example, lertaro 'v1.2 performs a fuzzy search for lertaro while requiring v1.2 as an exact contiguous substring.
   • Exact terms still match filenames that carry pinyin aliases: 'exe$ also finds 古恩希尔, whose pinyin maps to gexe.
3. Word Boundary Exact Match '...': Enclosing a single word in quotes (e.g. 'app') checks for word boundaries (spaces, punctuation, hyphens, underscores, or string boundaries), preventing false positives inside larger words.
4. Exact Match ^...$: Only applies when ^ and $ wrap the same word. When used on separate words (e.g. ^src md$), they remain separate prefix and suffix filters.

Operator Combination Examples:

• ^IMG !.png$ 2024: Finds files starting with IMG, containing 2024, and not ending in .png.
• 'data | 'backup ^2024 .zip$: Finds archives starting with 2024, ending in .zip, and containing the exact substring data or backup.
• ^report '公告 | 'gw .pdf$ !draft: Finds names starting with report, ending in .pdf, without draft, and exactly containing 公告, gw, 公文, or other text combinations matching the gw pinyin ('公告 | 'gw forms one OR group; the remaining space-separated conditions are ANDed with it).

4. Path Mode & Drive Scoping

Targeting a Drive

Start your query with a drive letter followed by a colon to restrict results strictly to that drive:

d: report

The space is optional: d:report and d: report are identical.

Full Path Mode

When your search query contains path separators (\ or /), Lertaro automatically switches to full path matching mode:

D:\Projects\Lertaro

Ending with a path separator (e.g. D:\Projects\) searches the direct contents inside that folder.

Folder Matching Fallback

When searching by filename alone does not fill the result capacity, Lertaro automatically uses query terms not matched in the filename to match ancestor folder names without requiring special syntax:

d01j dcj

Even if dcj never appears in the file's own name, Lertaro finds d01j.txt located in a folder named (or aliased to) dcj.

NOTE

This requires at least one term to match the filename itself, and only triggers when name-only matches have not filled the results. Fallback results are always ranked after direct filename matches.

5. Query Tokens & Secondary Filtering

Lertaro supports appending Query Tokens guided by a colon prefix : (customizable in Settings → General → System → Query Token Global Prefix Character) to perform chained secondary filtering and sorting on primary results.

Multiple tokens can be combined in a single : suffix separated by commas ,, such as report :@doc,M-.

Category Filters (:@<category>)

Quickly apply preset file extension category rules, supporting | combinations:

• :@doc: Documents (*.txt; *.md; *.log; *.doc; *.docx; *.rtf; *.odt; *.pdf; *.xls; *.xlsx; *.csv; *.ods; *.ppt; *.pptx; *.odp; *.epub; *.mobi; *.one; *.vsdx; *.vsd; *.wps; *.et; *.dps; *.odf; *.odt; *.ods; *.odg; *.odb; *.eqp; *.mmx; *.tex; *.ini; *.conf)
• :@img: Images (*.jpg; *.jpeg; *.png; *.jfif; *.gif; *.bmp; *.webp; *.svg; *.ico; *.tif; *.tiff; *.heic; *.heif; *.avif; *.raw; *.psd; *.ai; *.jxl)
• :@video: Videos (*.mp4; *.mkv; *.avi; *.mov; *.wmv; *.flv; *.webm; *.m4v; *.mpg; *.mpeg; *.ts; *.m2ts; *.mts; *.3gp; *.rmvb; *.rm; *.vob; *.ogv)
• :@audio: Audio (*.mp3; *.wav; *.flac; *.aac; *.ogg; *.oga; *.m4a; *.wma; *.ape; *.opus; *.aiff; *.aif; *.mid; *.midi; *.dsf; *.dff)
• :@zip: Archives (*.zip; *.rar; *.7z; *.tar; *.gz; *.bz2; *.xz; *.iso; *.wim; *.esd)
• :@app: Programs (*.exe; *.url; *.appref-ms; *.msi; *.msix; *.appx; *.bat; *.cmd; *.com)

NOTE

These six default rules, the type filters in the full search window's sidebar, and the type filter bar under the quick window's search box all read one table: the same file is never three different kinds. The rules are editable in Settings → Plugins → CoreExtensions → Configure → Custom Filters, and an edit shows up in all three places at once.

A shortcut is filed by what it points at, not by being a shortcut: a shortcut to a document counts as a document, and only a shortcut whose target cannot be read falls back to Programs.

Examples:

• financial :@doc: Search for "financial" among documents.
• wallpaper :@img: Search for "wallpaper" among images.
• clip :@video|audio: Search for "clip" among videos or audio files.

You can customize rules or add new categories under Settings → Plugins → CoreExtensions.

The full search window's sidebar filters and the quick window's type filter bar are the same rows, configured in the same plugin's Search Filters group -- there is no separate setting for either. Sidebar filter names are display-only; @keyword references are parsed only inside a sidebar filter rule and refer to keywords from the Custom Filters list, including disabled custom filters.

Specific Extension Filters (:.ext or :.ext1.ext2)

Use a dot prefix to specify one or more file extensions (automatically excludes folders):

• report :.pdf: Retains only .pdf files.
• data :.csv.xlsx: Retains only .csv or .xlsx spreadsheet files.

Result Sorting & File/Folder Filters (:[SCMAF])

Use single letters to specify sorting attributes: S (Size), C (Created time), M (Modified time), A (Accessed time), F (Folder/File filter).

The bare letter indicates ascending order (smallest / oldest first); adding a minus - (as a prefix or suffix, e.g. M- or :-M) indicates descending order (largest / newest first) or inverted filtering:

Token Syntax	Effect	Typical Use Case
:S	Sort by file size ascending (smallest first)	Locate empty or tiny files
:S- or :-S	Sort by file size descending (largest first)	log :S- (troubleshoot massive log files)
:M	Sort by modified time ascending (oldest first)	Find stale, unmaintained files
:M- or :-M	Sort by modified time descending (newest first)	report :M- (find recently edited documents)
:C / :C-	Sort by creation time ascending / descending	build :C- (find latest build outputs)
:A / :A-	Sort by access time ascending / descending	project :A- (find recently opened projects)
:F	Folders only (filters out regular files)	config :F (find only directories named config)
:-F or :F-	Files only (filters out folders/directories)	config :-F (find only files named config)

Wildcard Secondary Filters (:?<expression>)

Use standard Windows wildcards (? for single character, * for zero or more characters) for precise matching, supporting | or ; for multiple OR conditions:

• mp4 :?(2026???????????): Matches video files containing 2026 followed by an 11-digit timestamp.
• photo :?IMG_????.jpg|DSC_????.jpg: Matches specific photo numbers across two camera formats.

Path Segment Filters (::<path-expression>)

Requires ancestor directory names or the filename itself to match the specified fuzzy keyword:

• report ::2024: Requires the parent folder hierarchy to contain 2024.
• main ::"src\core": Requires files to be located under src\core and its subdirectories.

Chained Query Token Examples

Tokens can be combined together after a single : prefix:

• report :@doc,M-: Searches "report", filters to documents, sorted by modified time descending (newest first).
• backup :.zip,S-,F-: Searches "backup", filters to .zip archives, sorted by size descending, files only.
• icon ::assets,?*128*: Searches "icon", located under assets paths, with 128 size tags in the name.

6. Special Search Features

Bypassing Exclusion Rules for One Search

Prefix a query with * to temporarily bypass user-configured path exclusions, globs, and regular expressions in Exclusion Rules for this single search, without modifying settings:

*node_modules

The leading * is stripped before matching. This only recalls already indexed files (excluded paths on network/WSL drives that were never indexed will not appear); system/hidden file filters remain active.

Result Type Trigger

Under Settings → General → Quick Search Window → Result Type Priority, you can configure a single-character trigger for specific result types (Applications, Settings, File Categories, Plugins, Files, etc.).

Typing the trigger as the very first character in the quick search window displays only that result type, hiding all others:

;vs

If ; is assigned to "Applications", the above query searches Visual Studio exclusively among applications. In the Quick Search Window, typing a trigger temporarily suppresses history candidates, while Favorites stay pinned at the top regardless of triggers.

7. Multilingual Aliases

Chinese filenames: pinyin aliasing

Bundled with the PinyinAlias plugin, Chinese filenames are searchable via pinyin out of the box with zero configuration:

• Full Pinyin: Typing chongqing matches 重庆.docx.
• Pinyin Initials: Typing cq also matches 重庆.docx; typing wzry matches 王者荣耀.exe.
• Polyphonic Characters: Common pronunciations are automatically indexed (e.g. 重庆 matches both chongqing and zhongqing).

You can verify that PinyinAlias is active under Settings → Plugins.

Spanish filenames: accent aliasing

Bundled with the SpanishAlias plugin, filenames containing Spanish accented characters (á, é, í, ó, ú, ü, ñ) can be searched using unaccented ASCII letters:

• Typing cancion matches Canción.mp3.
• Typing nino matches Niño.txt.
• Typing ciguena matches Cigüeña.png.

Matched characters (including accented vowels in the original name) are accurately highlighted. Manage the plugin under Settings → Plugins.

8. FAQ & Favorites

Favorites, not custom aliases

Lertaro does not provide a generic "custom search alias/macro" mechanism. The closest native solutions:

• Favorites: pin any file, folder, or URL under a custom display name, making it searchable by that custom title (marked with a ★ icon in results).
• File Filters (see Instant Answers): bind a trigger keyword to chosen folders, then typing keyword term in the quick search window restricts a normal index search to those folders.

If you want to trigger custom scripts or launch programs using custom keywords, see Custom Commands.