Search and Browse Your Host Library from a Phone

A phone or tablet uses the library and search capabilities on the host computer. You do not need to build a second library on the phone. Keep the host app running and open its search workspace before connecting.

1. Get the connection link from the host

On the host, open the Connection menu and Connection Settings. Choose the local-network or external-network entry, then scan the code or open its link on the phone.

Use the local-network entry on the same Wi-Fi or LAN. External access works across networks when the host version and account have that capability enabled.

2. Sign in with a client member account

Enter the member username and password assigned by the host. These are not your WeChat credentials or the host owner's account.

A member account normally supports one connected client at a time. Signing in on another device may require the earlier device to sign in again.

3. Check the connection and library summary

Check the connection status at the top of the home page. If disconnected, use Connect Now or check that the host is still running. The library summary shows file and image totals plus available image, face and semantic parsing data. Wait for statistics to load; missing or failed values are not zero, and file, image, and feature counts need not match.

4. Search from the phone

The home page provides image, face, semantic and color search.

• For image or color search, take a photo or select one from the phone. Use Global or Keypoints for image search. The 3.13.31 mobile page still lists the old Background Removal strategy, but the current search endpoint rejects it. For background removal, process the reference in the host’s image-search dialog or use Global · Subject on the host. Color search looks for similar palettes.
• For semantic search, describe the subject, scene and colors: for example, “red gift box”, “indoor group photo” or “poster with a blue background”.
• For face search, select a photo containing a face. If several faces are detected, choose the target face before setting the similarity threshold and result limit.

The mobile search page searches the whole host database and has no desktop-style folder or collection scope selector. Browsing a folder does not restrict the next search to it. Use a separate project database on the host if searches must stay within that project.

5. Review results and details

Open a result to view the large image, filename, folder, dimensions, file size, import information and notes. The detail page provides collection, image-search and face-search actions. A promising result can become the reference for another search.

Collections organize candidates in the host library without moving the original files.

6. Browse the library

The Library tab supports all files, folders, timeline and collections. In All Files, search by filename, path, notes or OCR text, then narrow the list with filters. Use folders for project directories, the timeline for capture dates and collections for saved selections.

Use the desktop host for adding folders, refreshing or repairing the database and batch export.

7. Adjust display and default limits

The My page provides database statistics, waterfall-grid columns, the default search-result limit and an option to clear the image cache. Fewer columns make thumbnails larger on a small screen. A higher result limit returns more candidates but can take longer to load.

Troubleshooting

• Link will not open: check the host workspace, network and whether external access is enabled.
• Sign-in required: use a client member account created on the host.
• Sign-in requested again: check whether the member is disabled, seats and authorization are valid, or the account was used on another device. Resetting the password alone does not immediately revoke an existing session.
• Empty library summary: the connection may have failed or the host library may be empty.
• No results for one search method: check that the host has parsed the corresponding data.
• Slow search: performance depends on the host, network and result limit.

External traffic

From host version 3.13.30, Connection Settings → External shows current-cycle traffic and details. Prefer the local-network entry when on the same Wi-Fi or LAN; that use is outside this external-traffic total. Traffic and client seats are separate. See “External Connection Traffic: Read Usage and Reduce Consumption”.

Before selecting an entry, confirm that the host has seats and at least one member account. The entry modes, link and QR code are hidden until a member is added. Use your own host address and account; the screenshot shows an example with no client signed in.