Saved Searches in Pics.io are more than a shortcut to repeat a search — they are Smart Collections: dynamic, criteria-based views that automatically reflect the current state of your library at any moment.
Unlike regular folders where you manually move files, Smart Collections continuously surface the right assets based on the search criteria and filters you set. As soon as metadata, tags, or statuses change on an asset, it automatically appears in — or disappears from — the relevant collection. No manual reorganization needed.
Think of it this way: instead of moving files into folders, you define what belongs in a collection — and Pics.io keeps it up to date for you automatically.
Creating a Smart Collection
To create a Smart Collection, apply any combination of search filters and keywords in the search panel — by file type, metadata field, tag, approval status, date, assigned user, or any other parameter available. Once you have the results you want, click Save this Search at the bottom of the search dropdown.
A modal will appear where you:
Enter a name for the collection.
Choose a location — save it to your Personal root, Team root, or directly inside an existing group or subgroup (see Organizing into groups below).
Toggle Share with my team to make the collection visible to all teammates. When enabled, the default save location automatically switches to the Team root.
Location is optional — if no group is selected, the collection is saved to the appropriate root (Personal or Team) by default.
Pro tip: Select multiple collections, enter a search query, then save and share the result with your team. When a teammate opens the Smart Collection, they will see live, up-to-date results with the relevant collections highlighted.
Accessing your Smart Collections
All Smart Collections are accessible via the magnifying glass icon (Searches) in the left panel of the main screen. Clicking it opens the full tree of your personal and team collections, organized exactly as you've structured them.
To quickly surface the collections you use most, click the star icon next to any collection to mark it as a Favorite — it will appear pinned at the top of the tree. You can also sort your collections by name or creation date.
Organizing Smart Collections into Groups & Subgroups
As your library grows, you can structure Smart Collections into a nested hierarchy of groups and subgroups — think of it as a dynamic DAM organization layer that keeps itself current without any manual file sorting.
For example, a marketing team might build:
Office documents (group) and split it into
doc files
docx
xls
pptx
Each item inside the group is an independent Smart Collection with its own search criteria — not a folder you have to maintain manually. As soon as a designer updates an asset's status or metadata, it appears in the right place automatically.
Creating groups and subgroups
Use the Create Personal group or Create Team group icon at the root of the Smart Collections panel to add a top-level group.
To add a subgroup inside an existing group, hover over the group name and click the Create Subgroup icon that appears. Subgroups can be created inside both empty and non-empty groups.
Nesting depth: You can build up to 5 levels of nested groups. The Create Subgroup icon is disabled at the maximum depth — hover over it to see the limit reminder.
Moving collections between groups
Use the Move action in a collection's context menu to relocate it to a different group or subgroup at any time. This lets you restructure your library as projects and workflows evolve — without losing any search configuration.
Renaming groups
Click on any group or subgroup name to rename it inline directly in the panel. Note that duplicate names within the same parent group are not allowed — a validation message will appear if there is a conflict.
Deleting groups
Empty groups can be deleted right away. If a group contains Smart Collections or subgroups, you'll see a confirmation modal — confirming will permanently remove the group and all of its nested content.
Permissions
Team groups follow the same permissions as Team Saved Searches. Only users with permission to manage team saved searches can create, rename, or delete Team groups. Personal groups are always manageable by their owner.
NB: Groups are a visual organizational layer only — they are not executable searches and do not return results when clicked. Each Smart Collection inside a group remains fully independent: collections do not inherit filters from their parent group, and each one runs its own separate search.
Built-in Saved Searches
Pics.io includes a set of ready-to-use Saved Searches that cover the most common asset management needs — no setup required. Just select one from the list to instantly filter your library.
Available built-in saved searches include:
Duplicates;
Restricted assets (with a pre-set options tree);
Assets by file type;
Assets by date;
Assets assigned to you.
About Duplicates: Pics.io identifies duplicates using MD5 hash values calculated from file content — not by name, size, or date. Only files with identical content are flagged. This means two visually similar files with different metadata will not be treated as duplicates.
Team-based Saved Searches
Pics.io includes built-in team-oriented collections that make it easy to track activity across your team. Use them to filter assets by a specific teammate — approved by, commented on by, assigned to, or uploaded by — simply select the relevant option and choose a teammate from the dropdown.
This is particularly useful for review workflows: use Approved by to instantly separate approved from pending assets, Assigned to to track work in progress for a specific person, or Commented on by to follow the latest feedback from a teammate you collaborate with closely.
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