Search Vector Data Search Vector DataThe Search Vector Data tool searches for features in all loaded vector data by attribute value, name, feature index within the layer, and description /type. When selected, the Search Vector Data (below) dialog is displayed.
The search vector data tool can be accessed from the Search Menu Search by Attribute, Name and Description. It can also be accessed from the Search Vector Data button on the Tools Toolbar, or the Search button on the Attribute Editor.
The Search Vector Data button also displays an Attribute Editor Search Results list of all of the vector features (areas, lines, points and/or lidar) which match the specified Search Criteria. The Search Criteria can be applied to any attribute value of the loaded features, the display label field, or the description/ type field.
The default search query will display all features in all layers. To change the default see General Configuration
Select Layer(s) to Search
In the Select Layer(s) to Search field, the search can be limited to specific layers, or the extent of data visible on the screen*.
Enabled layers are visible layers that also have the option 'Allow Feature Selection/ Search from selected Layer(s)' checked in the Control Center right-click context menu. Layers that have been disabled from search and selection will appear with a red layer name in the Control Center.
Search Specific Layers can be used to constrain the search to particular layers. This is enabled by default when accessing the Search Vector Data from a Layer attribute list.
* There is a limitation on the number of features that can be listed.
For Global Mapper 32-bit the feature limit is 1 million, for Global Mapper
64-bit the feature limit is 5 million. To search Lidar data with
more than the maximum number of features, you will have to use the
'Search Onscreen Features Only' option, and zoom in the viewer to reduce
the number of features.
Search Criteria
The search criteria is used to build a search query base on a attribute or special attribute of the loaded vector features.
Comparisons to the Compare Value can be done either textually or numerically. For text searches the Compare Value field can contain the ? and * wildcard characters.
Examples:
To find all features with a Name that starts with B, use the search criteria:
<Feature Name> = b* as Text
To find all features with a name that starts with B that are 6 letters long:
<Feature Name> = b????? as Text
To find all features where the first word starts with B and is 6 letters (and there may be additional words):
<Feature Name> = b????? * as Text
To find all features with an address above 700, use the search:
ADDRESS > 700 as Number
The comparison operations are the following:
Comparison as Text -This will perform the comparison based on an
Comparison as Number - Numeric searches should be used with greater than or less than operations. With a text search, the value '9 Union St' would be considered greater than the value '700 Middle Street'. With a numeric search, greater than and less than are based on the quantity, rather than the alphabetical order.
Search Options (buttons)
New Search - Once the search criteria is set, press the New Search button to perform the search and display the matching results in the Attribute Editor search results.
Search in Existing Results - perform compound search by using the Search in Existing Results button.
Search in Selected Features- Selected this search option and the search criteria will be filtered to only the currently selected features. Enable the 
Sync button to combine attribute searches with spatial queries using the Digitizer Advanced Selection Options first.
To create a compound search, enter the first criteria, and press the New Search button. Then enter the second criteria and press the Search in Existing Results button.
To combine a spatial query and an attribute query, first open the attribute editor and enable the sync. Then use the digitizer selection or advanced selection options to perform a selection by location, or spatial relationships. Finally setup the search criteria for the attribute search, and press the Search in Existing Results button.
Examples: Attribute Search
In the first example, the point layer of school libraries in the state of Maine contains 1,216 libraries. First a search is performed to find all features where COUNTY = Kennebec as Text.
The New Search button was used to perform this search, and the bottom bar of the Attribute Editor displays the count of 100 features that match the search criteria.
Note that the Town boundary layer appears red in the control center. It has been disabled from search by right click on the layer in the Control Center and un-checking Allow Feature Selection/ Search from selected Layer(s) . The 'Make Text Comparisons Case Sensitive' option was not checked, so the search found all features where the COUNTY attribute matches Kennebec or kennebec, etc.
Next a second attribute search query is set to find all features where the GRADE >= 9 as a Number . Then the Search in Existing Results button was pressed. The Attribute Editor displays the 13 results where COUNTY = Kennebec and GRADE >= 9.
Examples: Attribute and Spatial Search
This example will find all school libraries on islands, using a combined attribute and spatial search.
First the search criteria is set to find all features where attribute ISLAND = Y as Text. Next the Sync was enabled. With the sync enabled, all the search results are selected in the table and on the map with the digitizer tool using the 
Select All button on the Attribute Editor Toolbar.
Then on the map, the option Select All Points within the Selected Areas was chosen from the Digitizer Advanced Selection Options in the right click menu to reveal school libraries on islands. In the Search Vector Data button, the Show All Features button may be pressed to all features, including the 60 selected school libraries in the Attribute Editor.
The results of the search will display in the Attribute Editor labeled (Search Results) anytime the search is performed on multiple layers.
The attribute list for a particular layer can also be accessed from the Control Center right-click menu Edit Attributes... option. When the search is on multiple layers, the attributes will be sorted alphabetically.
For more information on interacting with the Attribute Editor, see the Attribute Editor
ADVANCED
USERS: You can change the default search string from '*' to whatever you
want by creating a new registry string value with the desired default
search string at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Global Mapper\DefaultVectorSearchStr".