Bug 479133

Summary: Add a new option to search for empty/zero length metadata property fields.
Product: [Applications] digikam Reporter: Dario Panico <dariopnc>
Component: Searches-AdvancedAssignee: Digikam Developers <digikam-bugs-null>
Status: RESOLVED FIXED    
Severity: wishlist CC: caulier.gilles, dariopnc, metzpinguin, srirupa.sps
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: 8.2.0   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Microsoft Windows   
OS: Microsoft Windows   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In: 9.0.0
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Dario Panico 2023-12-28 21:22:07 UTC 
SUMMARY
***
Advanced search does not provide an option for searching for empty date fields in metadata.
***


STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Launch Digikam, click on "Search" left side tab
2. Click on "New Advanced Search..." button
3. Open "Image properties" section on "Advanced Search" dialog window.

OBSERVED RESULT
- For the date fields no option exists for "empty" metadata values.

EXPECTED RESULT
- Option to search/filter out "empty" values for each field - example: a value listed as "<empty>" in the drop-down list which when selected displays empty values or zero length values.

This report is very similar to #467715 only on date fields instead of location fields.
I'd like to use this feature to set a date on pictures received through WhatsApp that strips every picture of its metadata. Combining the ability to look for those pictures with the possibility to set the date from the filename (this part works as intended) could enable me to finally fix the mess
Comment 1 Maik Qualmann 2023-12-28 21:39:04 UTC 
We only have part of the image metadata in the database. In your case you are looking for images without a creation date/modification date. But we always have a creation date/modification date in the database. If there is none in the metadata, we use the file dates. So you can't search for images "without/empty" date.

Maik
Comment 2 Maik Qualmann 2023-12-28 21:44:55 UTC 
So the photo information would have to be determined using non-existent metadata, such as camera marke, model, lens, etc.

Maik
Comment 3 caulier.gilles 2026-01-31 19:49:50 UTC 
MR : https://invent.kde.org/graphics/digikam/-/merge_requests/380

Git commit 1c6af0ae2bc649e107601e490cdfba7d3c79fd5f by Gilles Caulier, on behalf of Srirupa Datta.
Committed on 31/01/2026 at 15:45.
Pushed by cgilles into branch 'master'.

479133: Add a new option to search for empty/zero length metadata property fields

M  +153  -0    core/libs/database/item/query/itemquerybuilder.cpp
M  +48   -0    core/utilities/searchwindow/searchfields_createfield.cpp
M  +2    -0    core/utilities/searchwindow/searchgroup.cpp

https://invent.kde.org/graphics/digikam/-/commit/1c6af0ae2bc649e107601e490cdfba7d3c79fd5f