Context
You can look up a vehicle by its license plate to see everywhere it has been seen on the property, or look up a resident to see every vehicle authorized to them. This article covers searching in both the ButterflyMX OS and Front Desk Station.
Search by license plate in the ButterflyMX OS
- From the main menu, go to Activity > Activity Log > Door Releases.
- Enter the license plate in the search field. Partial plates work. If you only caught part of a plate, search those characters and the log returns every event containing them.
- Review the results. Each match shows the access point, timestamp, and access decision. Click the photo in the Photo column to see the captured image and video.
This answers questions like where a vehicle entered, how many times it has been on the property, and whether it has left.
Narrow the results further using the available filters:
- Start and end date limits the window.
- Release status separates granted entries from denied ones.
- Entry method set to License plate shows vehicle events only, filtering out all other access activity.
- Device or access point limits results to a specific gate or entrance. If your property has cameras at both entrance and exit lanes, filtering to the exit lane tells you whether a vehicle has left.
Search by resident in the ButterflyMX OS
Door Releases search also accepts a name, so you can search a resident to see all of their license plate activity.
To see which vehicles are authorized to a resident rather than their activity, go to People Management > People > Tenants, open their profile, and view Access Tools. Each vehicle is listed there with its plate, state, and any optional details.
Search in Front Desk Station
Front Desk Station staff can search by full or partial plate number in the visitor log and guest list. This is the fastest way to check whether a vehicle at the gate belongs to an expected guest.
To confirm who a vehicle parked on the property belongs to, open the resident's profile in Front Desk Station and view their vehicle details.
Good to know
- Searches on large properties can take a moment. Properties with high traffic volume have more records to scan. Adding a date range or access point filter speeds up the search.
- Search covers what the camera read, not what is printed on the plate. If a plate was misread, searching the correct plate will not return that event. See What to do when a license plate isn't read or is read incorrectly.
- Unauthorized vehicles are searchable too. Their plates are logged and searchable even though no access was granted.