PDF Explorer is a stand alone program, so all the metadata edit and search operations, and all the other functionalities the program provides, are only accessible from the program itself. If you need Windows search functionality, and edit of metadata properties from the Windows Explorer itself, you need the
PDF-ShellTools.
Take also note that when you edit the metadata properties the changes are saved to the PDF Explorer database but also in the PDF file itself, even for custom properties. If you move/copy your PDFs into a different folder or disk the metadata goes with them, and is accessible to any program that can read metadata properties from PDF files.
can I set up each folder as separate ICON?
What do you mean by this?
Will I be able to move the finished data from the "trial" version to the purchased file without redoing it all over again?
Yes. Trial versions are fully functional and if the licensed version is installed on top of the trial, even if expired, retains all the previous settings, so you will not notice any functional change.