Filtering, sorting, and searching data in Encord Index is crucial for various reasons. It enables insights and actionable results on the following key aspects and more:

• Identification of patterns, trends, or anomalies within a subset of the data.

• Recognition of duplicates, outliers, and inconsistencies.

• Removal of irrelevant, noisy, and erroneous data.

• After filtering, sorting, and searching your data, use Collections with Annotate Projects to streamline your annotation process.

Encord Index provides the following methods:

• Filter: Refine your searches using quality metrics, custom metadata, Collections, folder, data title, and data types.

• Sort: Sort your data, in ascending or descending order, using quality metrics.

• (Coming soon) Natural language search: Enter descriptive queries in everyday language to make it easier to find relevant images without the need for specific keywords or complex search parameters.

• Embedding plot: A two-dimensional visualization technique used by Encord to represent high-dimensional data in a more interpretable form. Use the plot to select points within a specific rectangular area, thereby focusing on a particular subset of data points for in-depth analysis.

Filters

In the Index Explorer for a Project you can refine searches by data quality metrics, Collections, custom metadata, folders, data titles, and data types.

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Tips

Filters provide the ability to include or exclude images based on your filtering criteria.

Data Quality Metrics

For more detailed information on Data Quality Metrics go here.

Title	Metric Type	Ontology Type
Area - Ranks images by their area (width/height).	image
Aspect Ratio- Ranks images by their aspect ratio (width/height).	image
Blue Value - Ranks images by how blue the average value of the image is.	image
Brightness - Ranks images by their brightness.	image
Contrast- Ranks images by their contrast.	image
Diversity - Forms clusters based on the ontology and ranks images from easy samples to annotate to hard samples to annotate.	image
Frame Number - Selects images based on a specified range.	image
Green Value- Ranks images by how green the average value of the image is.	image
Height - Ranks images by the height of the image.	image
Object Count - Counts number of objects in the image.	image	bounding box, checklist, point, polygon, polyline, radio, rotatable bounding box, skeleton, text
Object Density - Computes the percentage of image area that is occupied by objects.	image	bounding box, polygon, rotatable bounding box
Randomize Images - Assigns a random value between 0 and 1 to images.	image
Red Value - Ranks images by how red the average value of the image is.	image
Sharpness - Ranks images by their sharpness.	image
Uniqueness - Finds duplicate and near-duplicate images.	image
Width - Ranks images by the width of the image.	image

Collections: Collections are a new way to save interesting groups of data units and labels, to support and guide your downstream workflow.

Custom Metadata: Custom metadata added to data units. The custom metadata added to data units in Folders persists to Annotate Projects and Active.

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Tips

For information on importing custom metadata to an Annotate project, refer to Adding Metadata in the documentation.

Data Types: Data, labels, and Predictions can be filtered by: images, image sequences, image groups, and videos

To filter Index data:

1. Log in to the Encord platform.
   The landing page for the Encord platform appears.

2. Go to Index > Files.
   The All folders page appears with a list of all folders in Encord.

3. Click in to a folder.
   The landing page for the folder appears and the View in Explorer button is enabled.

4. Click the View in Explorer button.
   The Index Explorer page appears.

5. Click Filters.
   The Filters tab appears.

6. Click Add Filter.
   A menu appears.

7. Add and configure the filters you need.
   Images/video filter in the Explorer workspace.

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Tips

• Sort and use the natural language searches (natural language searches coming soon) to further help get the results you want.

• After filtering, sorting, and searching, create an Index Collection.

Preset Filters

Preset filters provide a way to save your filtering criteria for use and reuse on other Folders. Preset filters are made up of global and local filter criteria.

Global filter criteria are filters, and their settings, that can apply to any Folder. For example, Data Quality Metrics like Area, Blue Value, and Sharpness.

Local filter criteria are filters that can only be applied to a specific Folder. For example, the following filters and their settings are likely only applicable to a specific Index Collection.

Create a Preset Filter

Create Presets (Preset Filters and their settings) from the Filter tab.

To create a Preset (Preset Filter and their settings):

1. Log in to the Encord platform.
   The landing page for the Encord platform appears.

2. Go to Index > Files.
   The All folders page appears with a list of all folders in Encord.

3. Click in to a folder.
   The landing page for the folder appears and the View in Explorer button is enabled.

4. Click the View in Explorer button.
   The Index Explorer page appears.

5. Click Filters.
   The Filters tab appears.

6. Click Add Filter.
   A menu appears.

7. Add and configure the filters you need.
   Images/video filter in the Explorer workspace.

8. Click Presets > Create Presets once you have added all the filters you need and specified each filter's settings.
   After creating the Preset you can use the Preset in this or any other Folder.

Use a Preset Filter in Index

Once you have created one or more Preset Filters, you can apply them to any of your Folders from the Filter tab.

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Note

Global filters apply to any Folder, but Local filters only apply on the Folder where the Preset was created.

To create a Preset (Preset Filter and their settings):

1. Log in to the Encord platform.
   The landing page for the Encord platform appears.

2. Go to Index > Files.
   The All folders page appears with a list of all folders in Encord.

3. Click in to a folder.
   The landing page for the folder appears and the View in Explorer button is enabled.

4. Click the View in Explorer button.
   The Index Explorer page appears.

5. Click Filters.
   The Filters tab appears.

6. Click Presets.
   A menu appears.

7. Click Load Presets.
   Presets appears on the Filter tab with a dropdown menu.

8. Select the Preset you want to use from the dropdown.
   Images/video frames filter in the Explorer workspace based on the Preset Filters and their settings.

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Note

Global filters apply to any Folder, but Local filters only apply on the Folder where the Preset was created.

Sorting

Sort your data, in ascending or descending order, using data quality metrics.

To sort Index data:

1. Log in to the Encord platform.
   The landing page for the Encord platform appears.

2. Go to Index > Files.
   The All folders page appears with a list of all folders in Encord.

3. Click in to a folder.
   The landing page for the folder appears and the View in Explorer button is enabled.

4. Click the View in Explorer button.
   The Index Explorer page appears.

5. Select the metric to sort the data.

6. Specify ascending or descending order.

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Tips

• Filter and use the natural language searches (natural language searches coming soon) to further help get the results you want.

• After filtering, sorting, and searching, create an Index Collection.