Finding Games: Search, Filters, Views, and Badges

As your LaunchBox library grows, finding a game is much faster when you narrow the library before scrolling through it. LaunchBox Desktop provides several complementary tools: the sidebar sets the broad scope, Search narrows that scope by text or fields, Filter adds criteria, Arrange By changes the order, Views change the presentation, and Badges expose useful facts at a glance.

A simple mental model

• Sidebar: choose which part of the library you are browsing.

• Search: find games by title or Advanced Search fields.

• Filter: temporarily keep only games matching selected criteria.

• Arrange By: sort the current results.

• View: switch between cover-focused and row-based presentations.

• Badges: display selected game attributes visually.

These tools work together. For example, you can select a PlayStation platform, search for racing games, filter to Favorites, and arrange the results by Release Date.

Start with the sidebar

The drop-down at the top of the left sidebar controls its root grouping. Common choices include:

• Platform Categories, for a hierarchy such as Consoles, Handhelds, and Computers.

• Platform, for individual systems.

• Playlist, for manually maintained or automatically populated collections.

• Metadata groupings such as Genre, Series, Developer, Publisher, Source, Status, Region, Play Mode, Rating, and Progress.

• Library-oriented groupings such as Date Added, Date Modified, Installed, Favorite, Portable, and Missing Media.

• Any custom fields present in your library.

The available root choices can be customized, so two installations may not show the same list. Selecting a sidebar item limits the game list to that item. Selecting All under the current root shows the All Games result set for that grouping.

Use normal Search first

The Search box is usually the fastest way to find a game. When Use Advanced Search Syntax is enabled, normal words search Title and Alternate Title.

• mario finds games with Mario in the title or an alternate title.

• final fantasy searches those title fields for the entered words or phrase.

• Clear the Search box to restore the unsearched results for the current sidebar selection and filters.

Search does not correct metadata. If a game's title, developer, genre, series, region, or other field is missing or incorrect, a search based on that field may not return the game until its metadata is corrected.

Use Advanced Search when you need a field

Advanced Search switches target specific fields. Type a switch, a colon, and a value:

• platform:Sega Genesis

• genre:Role-Playing

• favorite:yes

• installed:yes

• store:Steam

• progress:Done / Completed

Combine switches to narrow the results, such as platform:PlayStation genre:Racing favorite:yes. Switch names are not case-sensitive. Put a minus sign before a switch to exclude matches, such as -progress:Dropped. Use all: for a broader search across supported fields, such as all:adventure.

See Advanced Search for the complete current switch list and additional examples. To use the previous search behavior instead, go to Tools > Options > Data > Search and clear Use Advanced Search Syntax.

Apply visual filters

Select the Filter button beside the Search box to build conditions without remembering search syntax. The choices are generated from the fields and values available in the current library. They can include platform, genre, play mode, region, source, status, rating, Favorite, Installed, Progress, controller support, achievements, and other available game attributes.

The filter indicator changes when criteria are active. Open it again to review the selected conditions. Choose Clear Filter(s) to remove them. Clearing filters changes only the current view; it does not erase or change the underlying game metadata.

Save useful filters as a playlist

When a filtered selection would be useful again, open Filter and choose Save Filter(s) to New Playlist.... In most cases, LaunchBox creates an auto-populating playlist whose membership is recalculated from the saved criteria. A game can therefore enter or leave the playlist later when its metadata changes.

Some combinations cannot be represented safely as a new auto-populating rule, for example, certain scopes or overlapping criteria. In those cases, LaunchBox warns that it will create a static playlist containing the games currently shown. A static playlist does not automatically gain or lose games when their metadata changes.

Useful examples include Favorites that are still unplayed, installed local-multiplayer games, or games currently marked Active / In Progress.

Arrange and sort the results

View > Arrange By sorts the current result set. Available choices include Title, Release Date, Date Added, Date Modified, Last Played, Play Count, Play Time, Platform, Genre, Series, Rating, Progress, and many other built-in fields. Custom fields also appear when they exist in the library. Selecting the active field again changes its ascending or descending direction.

Arrange By does not filter games out; it changes only their order. Games with an empty value may be grouped together or appear at one end of the list.

Sort Title overrides the displayed Title for ordering. A game can therefore appear in an unexpected location even though its visible title is correct. For example, a Sort Title can omit “The” or add a number to keep a series in a preferred order. Edit the game's Sort Title when the placement is wrong.

Choose Images View or List View

LaunchBox Desktop provides two main library presentations under View:

• Images View emphasizes artwork and is best suited to visual browsing.

• List View displays games in rows and is useful for scanning and comparing metadata columns.

Changing views does not alter games, metadata, or media files. You can also use View > Show/Hide > Game Details to show or hide the details pane for the selected game. Image type and other presentation settings are separate from the library data.

Use badges as visual signals

Open View > Badges to turn badge display on and choose the attributes you want to see. Badges are a LaunchBox Premium feature. Built-in badge groups currently include:

• Game Attributes: Favorite, Broken, Hidden, Portable, Progress, saved games, save states, Installed or Not Installed, documents, multiple discs, multiple versions, MAME high scores, and achievements.

• Storefronts: Amazon Games, Epic Games, GOG, EA, Steam, Ubisoft/Uplay, and Xbox.

• Controller Support: gamepad, joystick, keyboard, light gun, motion, mouse, paddle, rhythm, trackball, VR, and wheel or yoke support.

• Plugin Badges: additional badges registered by installed plugins.

A badge reports saved game data, detected integration data, or a plugin result; it does not change that data. If a badge appears incorrect, correct or refresh the underlying game information. Both Images View and List View can present badges, although the exact placement differs. Start with a few useful badges so artwork and rows remain easy to scan.

Favorites, Status, and Progress are different fields

• Favorite is a simple yes/no flag for games you want to identify quickly.

• Status is free-form metadata often used for a personal workflow or an import-related label.

• Progress records playing state. Default values include Not Started / Unplayed, Active / In Progress, Active / Paused, Done / Beaten, Done / Completed, Done / Mastered, and Done / Dropped. Progress values can also be customized.

Using each field consistently produces more predictable sidebar groups, searches, filters, badges, and auto-populating playlists.

Why a game may appear missing

1. Clear the Search box.

2. Open Filter and choose Clear Filter(s).

3. Choose the expected sidebar root and select All, or select the game's expected platform. The game-list heading will read All Games when All is selected.

4. Make sure you are not browsing a playlist or category that excludes the game.

5. Go to View > Hide Games. If Marked Hidden is checked, clear it temporarily so hidden games are shown. Also review the other Hide Games options if you are hiding games that lack particular media.

6. Once the game is visible, right-click it and choose Edit Metadata/Media.... Verify its Title, Sort Title, Platform, Hidden flag, and other relevant metadata.

These steps reveal or reorganize existing library entries; they do not delete or re-import a game.

A beginner-friendly setup

1. Keep the sidebar on Platform Categories or Platform until the library structure feels familiar.

2. Select All before searching the entire library.

3. Use normal title Search for everyday finding and Advanced Search only when you need a specific field.

4. Enable only a few badges that answer questions you ask often.

5. Use Images View for browsing and List View when comparing or correcting metadata.

6. Save a filtered result as a playlist only when you expect to return to it regularly.