Search Result Shaping

Result shaping is the part of PDMShell search that runs after SOLIDWORKS PDM returns matching files and folders.

Use result shaping when you need to sort search results, find duplicate groups, keep only one item from each group, or exclude one item from each group.

PDM search
  -> raw matching results
  -> SortBy
  -> GroupBy or DuplicatedBy
  -> Strategy
  -> final results passed to the command

Important

SortBy, GroupBy, DuplicatedBy, and Strategy require PDMShell to collect all matching PDM search results before sorting, grouping, and applying the strategy. Be mindful when using these options with broad recursive searches that may return hundreds or thousands of results. Narrow the search first with Name, variables, folder scope, state, dates, or other filters.

Tokens

Token	Description
DuplicatedBy	Groups results by a field or variable. Only groups with more than one item are processed.
GroupBy	Alias for `DuplicatedBy`
SortBy	Sorts all results before applying the strategy. If `GroupBy` is specified, each group is sorted separately.
SortOrder	Optional sort direction: `Asc`, `Ascending`, `Desc`, or `Descending`
SortDirection	Alias for `SortOrder`
Strategy	Selects which sorted results are processed
DuplicatesStrategy	Alias for `Strategy`

Without GroupBy, SortBy and Strategy are applied once to all matching results.

With GroupBy or DuplicatedBy, PDMShell processes only duplicate groups. SortBy and Strategy are applied separately inside each group.

Supported Fields

Supported DuplicatedBy, GroupBy, and SortBy values include:

Name
FileDate
Hash
State
Version
CurrentVersion
Revision
FileSize
ID
Path
FolderID
PDM variables such as @Revision or @PartNumber

To use Hash, files must be locally cached.

Default Sort Order

When SortOrder is not specified:

Date, version, revision, and size fields sort descending by default.
Name, path, state, and ID fields sort ascending by default.

Strategies

Strategy	Description
KeepFirst	Keeps only the first item after sorting.
ExcludeFirst	Keeps every item except the first after sorting.
KeepLast	Keeps only the last item after sorting.
ExcludeLast	Keeps every item except the last after sorting.
KeepNewest	Keeps the newest item.
ExcludeNewest	Keeps every item except the newest.
KeepOldest	Keeps the oldest item.
ExcludeOldest	Keeps every item except the oldest.
KeepHighestVersion	Keeps the item with the highest PDM version.
ExcludeHighestVersion	Keeps every item except the one with the highest PDM version.
KeepLowestVersion	Keeps the item with the lowest PDM version.
ExcludeLowestVersion	Keeps every item except the one with the lowest PDM version.
KeepLatestRevision	Keeps the item with the latest revision value.
ExcludeLatestRevision	Keeps every item except the one with the latest revision value.
KeepLargest	Keeps the largest file.
ExcludeLargest	Keeps every item except the largest file.
KeepSmallest	Keeps the smallest file.
ExcludeSmallest	Keeps every item except the smallest file.

Examples

List duplicate SOLIDWORKS files by name:

search -search "Name=%.sld%;Recursive=true;DuplicatedBy=Name" -columns "FileDate,Hash,Revision"

List duplicate SOLIDWORKS files by revision:

search -search "Name=%.sld%;Recursive=true;DuplicatedBy=@Revision" -columns "FileDate,Hash,Revision"

List all PDFs except the oldest one after sorting the full result set by file date:

search -search "Name=%.pdf;SortBy=FileDate;Recursive=true;Strategy=ExcludeFirst" -columns FileDate

List the newest PDF in each duplicate-name group:

search -search "Name=%.pdf;Recursive=true;GroupBy=Name;SortBy=FileDate;SortOrder=Desc;Strategy=KeepFirst"

Delete every PDF except the newest file in each duplicate-name group:

delete -search "Name=%.pdf;Recursive=true;GroupBy=Name;SortBy=FileDate;SortOrder=Desc;Strategy=ExcludeFirst"

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