When you apply filters on the Search page, the browser's address bar updates automatically with a clean URL that reflects your current search criteria. You can copy, share, or bookmark this URL, and anyone who opens it sees the same filtered results.

Search URL Example

/search?category=RAW&label.organism=mouse&created-at>=2025-01-01&sort=fileName&order=asc

This URL directs to the following Search page results:

• Show RAW files only
• Where the organism label is mouse
• Created on or after January 1, 2025
• Sorted by file name in ascending order

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NOTE

All existing search links and bookmarks from Tetra Data Platform (TDP) versions prior to v4.5.0 continue to work. When you open a URL in TDP v4.5.x and later that uses the legacy formatting, the platform automatically converts it to the new format.

Share or Bookmark a Search

To share a filtered search with a colleague or save it as a bookmark, do the following:

1. Open the Search page.
2. Apply the filters you want by using the search bar and filter options.
3. Copy the URL from your browser's address bar (for example: /search?category=RAW&label.organism=mouse&source=Empower&page=1)
4. Share the URL with a colleague, or save it as a browser bookmark.

When someone opens the URL, the Search page loads with the same filters you applied. The URL in the address bar always stays in sync with your current filters. As you add, change, or remove filters, the URL updates automatically.

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NOTE

For more advanced recurring searches, consider using Saved Searches, which are stored in the TDP and can be shared with your organization.

Link from an External Tool (LIMS, ELN, or Notebook)

You can construct search URLs manually and use them as hyperlinks in your LIMS, ELN, or lab notebook to link directly to filtered data in the TDP.

For example, to link to all RAW PDF files in a specific project folder:

https://{your-tdp-domain}/search?category=RAW&file-type=pdf&file-path^=/projects/study-42/

Replace {your-tdp-domain} with your organization's TDP URL.

Find Files Created in a Date Range with Specific Labels

To find all files created in the first half of 2025 that are labeled with organism "mouse" and study "STUDY-001":

/search?created-at=2025-01-01..2024-06-30&label.organism=mouse&label.study=STUDY-001

Exclude Archived Files from Results

To find RAW files while excluding anything tagged as "Archived":

/search?category=RAW&!tag.Archived

You can combine additional filters as needed. For more information about available operators, see Comparison Operators.

Search URL Formatting

A search URL follows this structure:

/search?filter1=value1&filter2=value2&filter3=value3

Each filter is a key-value pair separated by &. When you specify multiple values for the same filter, separate them with commas:

/search?category=RAW,PROCESSED&source=Empower

By default, all filters are combined with AND logic. This means results must match every filter in the URL. To use OR logic, see Combine Filters with OR Logic.

Available Filters

Standard Filters

The following filter parameters are available in search URLs.

Label, Metadata, and Tag Filters

You can filter by labels, metadata, and tags by using the following formats.

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NOTE

Tag filters don't require a value. Include tag.Validated in the URL to filter for files that have the "Validated" tag. Use !tag.Archived to exclude files with the "Archived" tag.

Comparison Operators

Text Operators

Use comparison operators to control how filter values are matched. By default, filters use exact matching (=).

Date and Number Operators

Use the following operators for date and numeric comparisons.

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IMPORTANT

Not all operators work with all filters. Text operators like contains (~=) and begins with (^=) work with file-path, label, and meta filters. Numeric and date operators like > and <= work with file-size and created-at filters. Using an unsupported operator with a filter has no effect. For more information, see the Operator Compatibility Reference.

Operator Compatibility Reference

Combine Filters with OR Logic

By default, all filters in a URL are combined with AND logic, which means results must match every filter. To use OR logic, wrap filters in an or=(...) group and separate them with pipes (|).

Syntax

or=(filter1=value1|filter2=value2|filter3=value3)

Examples

Show files where the department label is "engineering" OR "sales":

/search?or=(label.dept=engineering|label.dept=sales)

Combine multiple OR groups (each group is ANDed together):

/search?or=(label.dept=eng|label.dept=sales)&or=(meta.site=US|meta.site=EU)&category=RAW

This URL returns files where the department is "eng" or "sales", the site is "US" or "EU", and the category is RAW.

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IMPORTANT

• Use the pipe character (|) to separate filters inside an OR group. Do not use commas.
• OR groups support label, metadata, and tag filters. They do not support nested OR groups.
• When you use multiple or= groups in the same URL, the groups are combined with AND logic.

Pagination and Sorting

You can control which page of results to display and how results are ordered by using the following parameters.

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NOTE

Default values are automatically omitted from URLs to keep them clean. For example, if you are on page 1 with the default page size and sort order, the URL won't include page, pageSize, sort, or order parameters.

Special Characters in Search URLs

The TDP handles URL encoding automatically when you use the Search page filters. If you are constructing URLs manually, keep the following in mind:

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NOTE

If you type a URL directly in your browser's address bar, the browser handles most encoding for you automatically. You typically only need to worry about encoding when constructing URLs programmatically or in external tools.

Label and Metadata Keys with Dots

The dot (.) character is used to separate the prefix (label, meta, or tag) from the key name. If your label or metadata key itself contains dots, the TDP interprets only the first dot as the separator. For example:

label.Sample.Type=mouse

This is interpreted as: label key = Sample.Type, value = mouse.

Troubleshooting

My Shared Link Shows Different Results Than Expected

• Filter parameter names are case-sensitive. Make sure you use lowercase parameter names (for example, category, not Category).
• Filter values are preserved exactly as entered. Check for extra spaces or typos.

An OR Group Is Not Working

• Use the pipe character (|) to separate filters inside the or=(...) group, not commas.
• Make sure the OR group is properly wrapped in parentheses: or=(filter1|filter2).

Some Filters Seem to Be Ignored

• Check the spelling of the parameter name. Unknown parameters are silently ignored.
• Verify that the operator you are using is compatible with the filter type. For example, ~= (contains) works with file-path and labels, but not with category. See the Operator Compatibility Reference for details.

The Search URL Is Very Long

• Complex searches with many filters can produce long URLs. Most browsers support URLs up to several thousand characters, but for very complex recurring searches, consider using Saved Searches instead.

Documentation Feedback

Do you have questions about our documentation or suggestions for how we can improve it? Start a discussion in TetraConnect Hub. For access, see Access the TetraConnect Hub.

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NOTE

Feedback isn't part of the official TetraScience product documentation. TetraScience doesn't warrant or make any guarantees about the feedback provided, including its accuracy, relevance, or reliability. All feedback is subject to the terms set forth in the TetraConnect Hub Community Guidelines.