I know that the category view gives the "real" count for the files in that category. Is it possible to apply a filter that would to me which categories have say, 5 or 12 files, without my having to look through each category in the tree?
There is no filter that allows you to filter for categories with a specific number of files (or a range). I don't think there would be wide-spread need for such a thing.
The Data Map app in the App Panel has a useful preset which shows you the 50 largest categories.
If you only need this occasionally (and don't mind the somewhat slow performance) you could create a data-driven category based on the category variable.
For example:
{File.Categories|count:true}
or
{File.Categories.Direct|count:true}
should do the trick. This should give you a data-driven category with a child category for each unique number of categories a file is in or is assigned to.
If you see a child category with the name "6" for example, it contains all files with 6 categories assigned (+1 for the data-driven category).
Producing this category can some time even on a fast PC. You should set it to manual update and only refresh it when needed.
Where there is IMatch, there is a way.
I don't need to have each and every category tree in my database be considered. If I have a data driven category or even a normal category, isn't there a way that I can somehow filter that category such that it enumerates only the branches for which there is a specific # of images or numeric range?
No. There is no filter which looks at the number of images assigned to a category.
But you can use filters for the data-driven category, limit it to numeric ranges etc.
How could I use the filters that limit the category to within a numeric range of say, 3-6, to show me which nodes have 5 images assigned?
If you want the data-driven category to show only categories with counts between 4 and 6,
1. Set the Data type of the category to Integer
2. Enter the numeric range 4,6
3. Disable Other.