I have many thousands of files which have keywords inside []. I also use {} and () for other purposes, so I can't just change.
I used to be able to search using [keyword], but it doesn't work any more and I can't find anything in the settings to allow or exclude certain chars. I'm also not using Regular Expressions, so there's no reason [] should be excluded.
Using '[' alone returns no results.
Using ']' alone returns the entire database.
This is a recent change.
1.9.8 64bit (Dec 4 2025) - LibFormat 7.230 (MacOS)
"[" & "]" no longer work as chars in search on filename
Re: "[" & "]" no longer work as chars in search on filename
There are multiple ways to search on the filename, and you do not specify what exactly you are doing.
I can confirm searches for [ and ] do not work as expected when using the "Filename" field at the top of the search dialog.
However, if you add Filename as a condition (or Filename with extension, or File path) then then searches for those characters do work properly.
Use that method until Pierre can attend to this.
In the future, where you're doing things that have multiple approaches, it's best to either be very specific or provide a screenshot to document specifics.
Also, FYI, searching against filename as a condition is more flexible, as you can use booleans and multiple conditions, and you can also save repetitive searches of this type as Smart Albums.
I can confirm searches for [ and ] do not work as expected when using the "Filename" field at the top of the search dialog.
However, if you add Filename as a condition (or Filename with extension, or File path) then then searches for those characters do work properly.
Use that method until Pierre can attend to this.
In the future, where you're doing things that have multiple approaches, it's best to either be very specific or provide a screenshot to document specifics.
Also, FYI, searching against filename as a condition is more flexible, as you can use booleans and multiple conditions, and you can also save repetitive searches of this type as Smart Albums.