Are you having problems finding files in Windows 10 or Windows 11? Are your searches not finding the data you are looking for? If so, you may want to look at the Indexing Options inside Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Have you ever typed in a query in the search box in Windows 10 or Windows 11 and not found the file or folder you were looking for? You know it is on your computer somewhere, but Windows just does not seem to find it.

Windows 10 and Windows 11 have a built-in index that contains the properties of specific files and folders. The special folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos) are mainly indexed by default, but you can modify where and what Windows indexes.

And some files can have their contents indexed too. For example, if you have Microsoft Office installed, you can have the contents of Word documents, OneNote notebooks, and Outlook data included in the index.

In fact, many of the apps built into Windows use the index in one way or another. File Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Cortana, to name a few. And the cool thing is it all just runs smoothly in the background, most of the time.

But there may be a time when you just do not feel you are finding all of your files or, in the case of Outlook, your e-mails. One of the most common issues I deal with as a computer technician is when users search inside Outlook for an item and the index does not find any matches. Yes, Outlook, by default, uses the index when searching for items inside of Outlook.

So let's look at the indexing options in Windows 10 and Windows 11. There is no difference between the indexing options in either Windows 10 or Windows 11, just the way you get to it.

How to get to the indexing options in Windows 10

1. Bring up a Search Dialog box by either:
• Left-clicking in the Type here to search box on the right-hand side of the Start button
• Press the Windows Logo key + S at the same time.
2. In the Search Dialog box, type Indexing Options.
3. In the search results, left-click on Indexing Options.

or

1. Left-click on the Start button to bring up the Start menu.
2. Scroll down the list of apps and left-click on Windows System to expand the folder.
3. Left-click on Control Panel.
4. On the upper right-hand side of the Control Panel, change View by: from Category to Large Icons.
5. Double left-click on Indexing Options.

How to get to the indexing options in Windows 11

1. Left-click on the Start button to bring up the Start menu.
2. On the top of the Start menu there is a search field. Type Indexing Options.
3. In the search results, left-click on Indexing Options - Control Panel.

or

1. Left-click on the Start button to bring up the Start menu.
2. In the upper right-hand corner of the Start menu, left-click on All apps.
3. Scroll down the list of programs and left-click on Windows Tools.
4. Double left-click on Control Panel.
5. On the upper right-hand side of the Control Panel, change View by: from Category to Large Icons.
6. Double left-click on Indexing Options.

Configuring Indexing Options inside of Windows 10 and Windows 11

Note: Changing the properties of certain features inside of Indexing Options will cause an immediate rebuild of the index. Rebuilding the index can take several hours to even days; it depends on how much data the indexing service has to process. Any searches performed while the index is rebuilding may be incomplete.

The Indexing Options main window displays the locations that are currently indexed. At the bottom, there are three (3) buttons: Modify, Advanced, and Pause. Clicking on the Modify button will bring up the Indexed Locations window.

Here you can add or remove locations on your computer you want the indexing service to monitor. Tip: If you click on a location in the Summary of selected locations in the lower half of the window, it will open that location in the Change selected locations in the upper half of the window.

Clicking on the Advanced button on the Indexing Options main window brings up the Advanced Options windows. It has two (2) tabs: Index Settings and Files Types.

File Settings

• Index encrypted files - This option is only available if you use disk encryption, like Bitlocker.
• Treat similar words with diacritics as different words - by default Windows recognizes diacritics according to the language version you are using. If you change this setting, all diacritics will be recognized.

Troubleshooting

• Delete and rebuild index - There will be times when rebuilding the index is required. As noted before, if you decide to rebuild the index, please allow plenty of time for your computer to complete the task.

Index location

• Displays the current location of the index. You can change where the index is stored by clicking on the Select new button.

The File Types tab lists all of the file extensions currently registered in the index. You can add or remove a file extension or modify the properties of an existing extension.

Being in computer repair, I have to keep track of a lot of client files and folders. The Search charm in Windows 8 works great, but sometimes the files or folders I'm looking for are not in any of the default (libraries, off-line files, and e-mail) index locations (program and system files are excluded, as most people rarely need to search them). Adding files and folders to the Indexing Options is easy. Here's how to modify the Indexing Options inside of Windows 8.

How to access the Indexing Options in Windows 8

Main screen for Indexing Options inside of Windows 8

1. Swipe in from the right side of the screen or press the Windows logo key + C to bring up the Charm bar. Left-click on Search button in Charm Bar, then Left-click on Settings in the Search charm.
   or
   Press the Windows logo key + W to bring up Settings in the Search charm.
2. Type Indexing Options in the Search field on the Search pane.
3. In the results on the left-hand side, left-click on Indexing Options.

How to add a file type to the index in Windows 8

If you use an unusual file type that's not currently recognized by the index, you can add it to the index so you can search in Windows 8 by that file type.

Advanced Indexing Options File Types tab inside of Windows 8

1. Open Indexing Options (see above).
2. Let-click on Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. In the Advanced Options dialog box, left-click the File Types tab.
4. In the Add new extension to list box, type the file name extension (for example, "txt"), and then left-click Add.
5. Left-click Index Properties Only or Index Properties and File Contents, and then left-click OK.

How to add a folder to the index in Windows 8

Indexed Locations screen for Indexing Options inside of Windows 8

1. Open Indexing Options (see above).
2. Left-click on Modify.

• To add or remove a location, select or clear its check box in the Change selected locations list, and then left-click on OK.
• If you don't see all locations on your PC in the list, choose Show all locations. Administrator permission required You might be asked for an admin password or to confirm your choice. (If all locations are already listed, Show all locations won't be available.)
• If you want to include a folder but not all of its subfolders, select the folder, expand the folder, and then clear the check box next to any subfolder you don't want to be included in the index. These folders will appear in the Exclude column of the Summary of selected locations list.
• Indexing all of the files/folders on your system is not recommended. It is recommended that you index only your frequently used files and folders for best performance.

How to rebuild the Index inside of Windows 8

The index requires almost no maintenance. However, if the index can't find a file that you know exists in an indexed location, you might need to rebuild the index. Rebuilding the index can take several hours, and searches might be incomplete until the index is fully rebuilt.

1. Open Indexing Options (see above).
2. Left-click on Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. In the Advanced Options dialog box, left-click the Index Settings tab, and then left-click on Rebuild. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

How to index encrypted files in Windows 8

Before you add encrypted files to the index, we recommend that you have Windows BitLocker (Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise only) or a non-Microsoft encryption program enabled on your system drive (the drive that Windows is installed on). The index will automatically rebuild each time this setting is changed. This can take a long time and might cause searches to be incomplete until the process is complete.

1. Open Indexing Options (see above).
2. Left-click on Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. In the Advanced Options dialog box, left-click the Index Settings tab,
4. Left-click the Index encrypted files check box to select it and then left-click OK. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Notes:
• Although you can use a non-Microsoft program to encrypt your system drive, non-Microsoft file encryption programs are not supported. Windows only supports files encrypted using the Encrypting File System (EFS).
• Suppose you add encrypted files to the index, and you're not using full-volume encryption for the location of the index, encrypted data from your files, for example. In that case, text from an encrypted Microsoft Word document will be added to the index. The index is obscured so that it's not easily readable if someone tries to open the index files, but it doesn't have strong data encryption. If someone were to gain access to your computer, they could extract your data from the index. Therefore, the location of the index should also be encrypted to help protect your indexed data.

How to index words with and without diacritics as different words in Windows 8

Suppose you commonly use diacritics (small signs added to letters to change the pronunciation of words) in your file and folder names. In that case, you can configure the index to recognize words with diacritics differently. By default, Windows recognizes diacritics according to the language version you are using. If you change this setting, all diacritics will be recognized. The index will automatically be rebuilt each time this setting is changed. This can take a long time and might cause searches to be incomplete until the process is complete.

1. Open Indexing Options (see above).
2. Left-click on Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. In the Advanced Options dialog box, left-click the Index Settings tab.
4. Left-click the Treat similar words with diacritics as different words check box to select it, then left-click OK.

How to change the location where the index is stored in Windows 8

If you need to free up space on a hard disk, you can change the index's location. If you change this location, the Windows Search service will automatically be restarted, and the change will not go into effect until the restart is complete.

1. Open Indexing Options (see above).
2. Left-click on Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. In the Advanced Options dialog box, left-click the Index Settings tab.
4. Under Index location, left-click on Select new, browse to and left-click the new location, then left-click on OK.

Note:
• When you change the index location, you should choose a location on a non-removable hard disk formatted using the NTFS file system.

Windows 7 uses the index to perform quick searches on your computer. Here are some advanced indexing settings you can change.

To add a file type to the index

If you use an unusual file type that's not currently recognized by the index, you can add it to the index so you can search in Windows 7 by that file type.

1. Click the Start menu.
2. In the Search box, type Indexing Options and select it when it appears.
3. Click Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click the File Types tab.
5. In the Add new extension to list box, type the file name extension (for example, "txt"), and then click Add.
6. Click Index Properties Only or Index Properties and File Contents, and then click OK.

To rebuild the index

The index requires almost no maintenance. However, if the index can't find a file that you know exists in an indexed location, you might need to rebuild the index. Rebuilding the index can take several hours, and searches might be incomplete until the index is fully rebuilt.

1. Click the Start menu.
2. In the Search box, type Indexing Options and select it when it appears.
3. Click Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click the Index Settings tab, and then click Rebuild. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

To index encrypted files

Before you add encrypted files to the index, we recommend that you have Windows BitLocker (or a non-Microsoft encryption program) enabled on your system drive (the drive that Windows is installed on).

Note:
Windows BitLocker is only included in Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate.

Note that the index will automatically rebuild each time this setting is changed. This can take a long time and might cause searches to be incomplete until the process is complete.

1. Click the Start menu.
2. In the Search box, type Indexing Options and select it when it appears.
3. Click Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click the Index Settings tab, select the Index encrypted files checkbox, and then click OK. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Notes

• Although you can use a non-Microsoft program to encrypt your system drive, non-Microsoft file encryption programs are not supported. Windows only supports files encrypted using the Encrypting File System (EFS).
• EFS is only included in Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, and Windows 7 Ultimate.
• Suppose you add encrypted files to the index, and you're not using full-volume encryption for the location of the index, encrypted data from your files, for example. In that case, text from an encrypted Microsoft Word document will be added to the index. The index is obscured so that it's not easily readable if someone tries to open the index files, but it doesn't have strong data encryption. If someone were to gain access to your computer, they could extract your data from the index. Therefore, the location of the index should also be encrypted to help protect your indexed data.

To index words with and without diacritics as different words

Suppose you commonly use diacritics (small signs added to letters to change the pronunciation of words) in your file and folder names. In that case, you can configure the index to recognize words with diacritics differently. By default, Windows recognizes diacritics according to the language version you are using. If you change this setting, all diacritics will be recognized.

The index will automatically be rebuilt each time this setting is changed. This can take a long time and might cause searches to be incomplete until the process is complete.

1. Click the Start menu.
2. In the Search box, type Indexing Options and select it when it appears.
3. Click Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click the Index Settings tab.
5. Under File Settings, select the Treat similar words with diacritics as different words checkbox, click OK, and then click OK again.

To change the location where the index is stored

If you need to free up space on a hard disk, you can change the index's location. If you change this location, the Windows Search service will automatically be restarted, and the change will not go into effect until the restart is complete.

1. Click the Start menu.
2. In the Search box, type Indexing Options and select it when it appears.
3. Click Advanced. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click the Index Settings tab.
5. Under Index location, click Select new, click a new location, click OK, and then click OK again.

Note:
When you change the index location, you should choose a location on a non-removable hard disk formatted using the NTFS file system.