Person Search Feature Guide

How to open

Open Person Search from the VSA sidebar.

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The Person Search feature lets you quickly find photos containing specific VRChat users or taken in a specific world. Search by username or world name, use romaji (romanized Japanese), and find photos with multiple people using AND logic.

Overview

With Person Search, you can:

• Tag-Based Search: Add usernames as tags
• Multiple User Search: Find photos with up to 5 people (AND search)
• Romaji Support: Type Japanese names in romanized form
• World Search: Find photos by world name
• Favorites: Save frequently searched users and worlds
• User Directory: Browse all users in your photo collection

Prerequisites

Person Search requires VRChat metadata in your photos.

Required Metadata

What You Need:

• Photos must have VRChat metadata attached
• Metadata comes from VRChat log files
• Requires a correct watch-folder and log-folder setup in Game Settings

How Metadata is Added:

1. VRChat screenshot captured
2. VSA “Game Settings” watches the screenshot folder and reads VRChat logs
3. User names extracted from logs
4. Metadata embedded in screenshot

When Metadata is NOT Added:

• Photos from before Game Settings setup
• VRChat not running during screenshot
• VRChat logging is unavailable
• Game Settings watch or log folder is not configured correctly

Setup Required: See Game Settings Guide to enable metadata extraction.

Search Methods

Tag-Based Search

Add usernames as searchable tags.

Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Open Person Search:

1. Click “Person Search” in the sidebar
2. Person Search panel opens

Step 2: Enter Username:

1. Click in the search input field
2. Type username (full or partial)
3. Dropdown suggestions appear

Step 3: Select from Suggestions:

1. Dropdown shows matching users
2. Click desired username
3. Or use arrow keys and Enter
4. Username added as tag

Step 4: View Results:

1. Photos containing that person display below
2. Grid format shows all matching photos
3. Click photo for detail view

Romaji Search Support

Search for Japanese names using romanized spelling.

Examples:

• Japanese: 田中
• Romanization: tanaka or TANAKA
• Both versions work in search

How Romaji Works:

• Japanese names converted to romaji automatically
• Can search with full spelling: “yamada”
• Can search with partial: “yam” or “ma”
• Case-insensitive matching

Input Tips:

• Use English character input (not Japanese input mode)
• Disable Japanese IME while typing
• Type in English keyboard layout
• Partial matches work

Testing Romaji:

1. Set input to English (A key shows keyboard English indicator)
2. Type romanized name (example: “tanaka”)
3. Suggestions show matching users
4. Click to select

Multiple User AND Search

Find photos with multiple specific people.

What is AND Search:

• Only photos with ALL selected people display
• Example: Select “Alice” AND “Bob”
• Results show only photos with both Alice and Bob

How to Do AND Search:

Step 1: Add First User:

1. Enter first username
2. Select from dropdown
3. Tag appears in search bar

Step 2: Add Second User:

1. Click search field again
2. Enter second username
3. Select from dropdown
4. Second tag added

Step 3: Continue Adding:

1. Repeat for up to 5 people total
2. Each addition shows AND results
3. Results filter automatically after each tag

Maximum Users:

• Maximum: 5 users per search
• Limitation for performance
• 6th user cannot be added

Removing Tags:

1. Click × button on tag
2. Tag removes immediately
3. Results update automatically

World Search

Use the World Search tab at the top of Person Search to find photos by world name.

Steps:

1. Open the World Search tab
2. Type part or all of a world name
3. Click the desired world in the filtered list
4. View photos taken in that world

Notes:

• Click the heart beside a world name to add it to favorites
• One world can be selected at a time
• The selected world and photo count are shown above the results
• Click the × button to clear the selected world
• Photos normally load in batches of about 50 as you scroll

User Directory

Browse all users in your photo collection.

Complete User List

Display Format:

• Alphabetical Order: あ行 → か行 → … (Japanese 50-on order)
• User Names: Shows Japanese and romanized versions
• Photo Count: Number of photos each user appears in
• Favorite Star: Indicates if marked as favorite

Scrolling and Searching

Browse Method:

1. Scroll through user list
2. Find desired username
3. Click username
4. Photos with that person display

Search Method:

1. Type in search field
2. List filters to matching users
3. Select from filtered results
4. Photos display

Favorite Users Management

Mark frequently searched users as favorites.

Adding to Favorites:

1. In user directory, find username
2. Click star (☆) icon next to name
3. Star fills (★) indicating favorite
4. User added to favorites list

Removing from Favorites:

1. Click filled star (★) again
2. Star empties (☆)
3. User removed from favorites

Favorites Tab

Person Search has Friend Search, World Search, and Favorites tabs. In Favorites, use Favorite type to switch between friends and worlds.

Favorite Users

• Select Friends in Favorite type
• Only marked users are shown
• Click a user name to search that user’s photos
• Click the star to remove the user from favorites

Favorite Worlds

• Select Worlds in Favorite type
• Only marked worlds are shown
• Click a world name to search its photos
• Click the heart to remove the world from favorites

Search Results Display

Grid Layout

Results display in photo grid format.

Characteristics:

• Responsive columns (adjusts to window size)
• Click thumbnail for detail view
• Hover for metadata preview
• Smooth scrolling

Display Information:

• Thumbnail image
• Metadata on hover (world, date)
• File information available
• Camera settings accessible

Infinite Scroll

Automatically load more photos as you scroll.

How It Works:

1. Scroll to bottom of results
2. Automatic load of next batch (typically 50 photos)
3. “Loading…” indicator appears
4. Repeat process for all results

Performance:

• 50-photo batches optimize performance
• Smooth scrolling even with thousands of photos
• No manual pagination needed
• Automatic memory management

Detail Sidebar Integration

Click photos to view detailed information.

Information Displayed:

• Large preview image
• World name
• Capture timestamp
• Full user list from that instance
• Camera parameters (if available)

Navigation in Results:

1. Click photo to open detail
2. Use arrow buttons (◀/▶) to browse
3. Navigate through search results
4. Back/Forward stays within search

Adding Users from Detail View:

1. Detail sidebar shows all users from photo
2. Click username in the list
3. Tag automatically added to search
4. Results update (AND search with new person)

Usage Examples

Example 1: Finding Friend’s Photos

Goal: View all photos with friend “Alice”

Steps:

1. Open Person Search
2. Type “Alice” in search field
3. Suggestions show matching users
4. Click “Alice”
5. All photos with Alice display

Example 2: Event Photos with Multiple Friends

Goal: Find photos from event with “Alice”, “Bob”, and “Charlie”

Steps:

1. Open Person Search
2. Add “Alice” tag (search updates)
3. Add “Bob” tag (filtered to show both)
4. Add “Charlie” tag (now shows all three)
5. Results: Only photos with all three people

Example 3: Romanized Name Search

Goal: Find friend with Japanese name “山田” (Yamada)

Steps:

1. Set input to English mode
2. Type “yamada” (romanized)
3. Suggestions show matching users
4. Click to select
5. Results show all photos with Yamada

Example 4: Quick Access via Favorites

Goal: Frequently find photos with favorite friends

Steps:

1. First time: Mark friends as favorites
   • Search for each friend
   • Click star to mark favorite
2. Later: Quick access
   • Click “Favorites” tab
   • All marked friends visible
   • Click name for instant results

Troubleshooting

Users Not Searchable (No Metadata)

Symptom: “No matching users” or empty directory

Causes:

• VRChat metadata not extracted
• Game Settings not properly set up
• Old photos without metadata
• VRChat logging disabled

Solutions:

Check Game Settings:

1. Open Game Settings from the sidebar
2. In Display Settings, confirm the watch folder and log folder
3. Test by taking a new screenshot in VRChat

New Screenshots:

1. After fixing Game Settings
2. Launch VRChat
3. Capture new screenshot
4. Return to VSA (wait a moment)
5. New users should appear

If it still does not work:

1. Check the watch and log folders in Game Settings > Display Settings
2. Capture a new photo and wait for import to finish
3. Contact support with the log and reproduction steps

See Game Settings Guide for details.

No Search Results for Existing User

Symptom: User appears in directory but “no photos found”

Possible Causes:

• Metadata partially extracted
• User appears in logs but not in actual photos
• Data corruption

Solutions:

Verify Metadata:

1. Find photo with that user in gallery
2. Open photo detail
3. Check user list in sidebar
4. Verify username spelling matches

If the result is still empty:

1. Check the photo metadata in the detail sidebar
2. Verify that the watch and log folders are correct
3. Contact support with the log and reproduction steps

Romaji Search Not Working

Symptom: Typed “tanaka” but no suggestions appear

Causes:

• Japanese input mode still active
• Incorrect romanization
• User doesn’t exist with that name

Solutions:

Check Input Mode:

1. Verify keyboard shows English mode
2. Look for input method indicator (should show “A”)
3. Disable Japanese IME if active
4. Try typing again

Verify Spelling:

1. Check user directory for correct spelling
2. Click that user to test
3. Try that exact romanization
4. Example: “haruka” vs “haruuka” (with long vowel)

Full Spelling:

• If a short query does not locate the expected name, try a longer part or its full spelling.
• For example, extend “yam” to “yamada”.

Tips

• Alphabetical Order: Directory organized by Japanese 50-on, makes similar names easy to find
• Multiple Devices: Each PC maintains separate metadata - use to track different VRChat sessions
• Performance: Romaji search faster than scrolling through large user lists
• Favorites: Use liberally for frequently searched friends
• Metadata Update: New metadata added with each new screenshot; old photos don’t gain new users

Related Documentation

• Game Settings Guide - Metadata extraction setup
• Gallery Operation Guide - Photo browsing and sidebar details
• VRChat Integration Guide - How metadata works
• Troubleshooting Guide - Detailed problem solutions