Use Advanced Search Options to Find Media October 2006
You can use advanced search in Windows Media Player to find all items in your library or in compatible online stores that match a specific set of criteria. For example, you can specify phrases, exclude items, specify date ranges, and search for songs with specific ratings.
Search for a Specific Song, Album, or ArtistYou can search for a specific song, album or artist by simply typing one or more words in the search box.
To search for an exact phraseIn the Navigation pane, click Library, as shown in the following screen shot. In the Search box, enclose the phrase in quotes ("). For example, to search for items that contain the phrase "Easy Listening", type the words in the text box as shown in the following screen shot. Windows Media Player displays any matching artists, albums, and songs in your library and in your active online store (if your store supports this feature). To view the items, click either Artists, or Albums, or Songs.
Note that search is not case sensitive. Quotation marks are only needed for multi-word search phrases.
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Search for Music That Was Released During a Specific Time PeriodIf you are in the mood for some music from the late 90's, it is easy to search for music that was published during that time period.
To find music within a date rangeIn the Navigation pane, click Library. In the Search box, type the first and last year of the date range you want to search, separated by two periods (with no spaces). For example, to find music released between 1995 and 1999, type the date range as shown in the following screen shot. Windows Media Player displays the number of artists, albums, and songs in your library that are on albums released between 1995 and 1999. To view the items, click either Artists, or Albums, or Songs.  Note The year that is associated with an album is typically provided by an online database. It is usually the year the specific album was released or re-released. Some older albums will have more recent dates associated with them, because they have been re-released.
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Exclude Items from Your SearchYou can narrow the number of results produced by your search by excluding items such as a particular album or a particular genre that you know you aren't looking for.
To exclude an itemIn the Navigation pane, click Library. In the Search box, use the word NOT, or a minus sign (-). For example, to view all albums, artists, and songs by ABBA except those titled Thank You for the Music, type Abba - "thank you for the music" or Abba NOT "thank you for the music" as shown in the following screen shots. Windows Media Player displays the number of corresponding artists, albums, and songs in your library and in your active online store if the store supports this feature. To view the items, click either Artists, or Albums, or Songs.
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Search for Music with a Specific RatingWindows Media Player uses ratings to help you find and organize your favorite songs. Most items in your library are automatically given a rating, but you can override this with your own rating. It might be interesting to see which songs in your library have the highest or lowest ratings.
To find music with a specific ratingIn the Navigation pane, click Library. In the Search box, to find songs rated either 4 or 5 stars, type rating: 4 OR rating: 5, as shown in the following screen shot. Windows Media Player displays the number of artists, albums, and songs in your library that are rated 4 or 5 stars. To view, the items, click either Artists, or Albums, or Songs. Note To combine a search, use the word OR. For example, to search for all songs by Neil Diamond or Barbra Streisand, type "Neil Diamond" OR "Barbra Streisand". The operator OR must be typed in uppercase.
To search on two attributes, separate the two items with the word AND, or a space. For more information about using multiple search attributes or rating music in your library, see Windows Media Player Help.
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View Matching Search Results from Your Online StoreIf you are in the Library in Windows Media Player when you perform a search, music that is available from your online store might not show up in your search results. However, you can find online store search results by using the arrow next to the search box.
To find music in your library or your online store- Depending on what you are looking for, click any one of the following items in the Navigation pane.
For example, click Artist, as shown in the following screen shot. Type the name of the artist in the Search box. Windows Media will display the any artists that are in your library under that name. To access matching artists, albums, or songs that are available from your online store, click the arrow next to the Search box and point to the online store (this feature is not available for all stores).
For more information about other advanced search options, see Windows Media Player Help.
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