How to Control Windows Diacritics in Search Index
Diacritics in the Windows 11 search index control whether Windows treats accented letters, such as the marks in “résumé” or “café,” as separate characters during file searches. The setting changes both how precise your searches are and how fast they run.
When you keep accent marks separate, searches find exact matches but take more time to run. When you ignore accent marks, searches run faster and group matching words together, so you see more results at once. For example, a search for “cafe” would also return files that contain “café.”
There are three ways to change it: Windows Settings , the Local Group Policy Editor, or the Registry Editor. If a policy or registry value is already set, it overrides the other methods, so start with the one that matches your Windows edition and how your PC is managed.
Open Settings Privacy & security Search Advanced indexing options Advanced, then check or uncheck “Treat similar words with diacritics as different words.” This controls whether Windows 11 distinguishes words that only differ by accent marks in search results .
Option 1Use Windows Settings
Windows Settings is the simplest method and works on Home, Pro, Enterprise and Education. You need an administrator account, or the admin password when Windows asks for it.
- Open Settings by pressing Win+I. The Settings window opens.
Windows 11 Start menu with Settings gear icon highlighted. - On the left side, click Privacy & security. Then, on the right side, click Search. On some Windows 11 builds this page is labeled Searching Windows. The search settings page opens.
Windows 11 Search bar with the 'Search' tile highlighted. - Scroll to the Related settings section and click Advanced indexing options. The Indexing Options window opens. If you can’t find the link, you can open the same window from Control Panel Indexing Options
Windows 11 advanced indexing options for file types. - In the window that appears, click the Advanced button. If Windows asks for permission, approve it. The Advanced Options dialog opens.
Clicking the Advanced button in Windows 11 indexing options. - On the Index Settings tab, find the option Treat similar words with diacritics as different words.
- Set the checkbox the way you want it:
- Checked means ON. Words with and without accents are treated as different.
- Unchecked means OFF. Words with and without accents are treated as the same.
- Click OK. You might see a message saying a policy is already in effect. That means a Group Policy or registry value is controlling the setting. Click OK to dismiss it, then change the policy or registry value instead (see the later sections). If the checkbox is greyed out, the cause is the same. If you don’t see the message, OK saves your choice.
- Click OK again to close the Indexing Options window.
- Windows now rebuilds the search index to apply the change. This can take a while on a PC with many files, and search results may be incomplete until it finishes. Click Close when the button is available.
- You can now close the Settings window.
To undo the change, repeat the steps and flip the checkbox back. The index rebuilds again.
Option 2Use Local Group Policy Editor (For Pro, Enterprise, Education Editions)
If you have Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor to set a fixed rule for how search handles accented characters. Windows 11 Home does not include this tool, so use Settings or the registry instead. A policy set here overrides the checkbox in Settings.
- Open the Local Group Policy Editor. Type
gpedit.mscin the Windows search bar and press Enter. Approve the prompt if one appears. The editor window opens. - In the left pane, go to Computer Configuration Administrative Templates Windows Components Search The policies for Search are listed on the right.
- On the right side, find the policy Allow use of diacritics and double-click it. Its settings window opens.
- Choose the behavior you want:
- To always use diacritics (treat them as different words): select Enabled, then click OK.
- To disable diacritics (treat them as the same word): select Disabled, then click OK.
- To let Windows Settings control this (default): select Not Configured, then click OK. The checkbox in Settings becomes editable again.
- Close the Local Group Policy Editor.
The change may not show up in Settings until Group Policy refreshes. Signing out and back in, or restarting, makes sure it applies. The index may also need to rebuild before results reflect the new rule.
Option 3Use Registry Editor
The Registry Editor works on every edition, including Home. It is the right choice if you can't use Group Policy. Use it carefully, because a wrong edit can cause problems. Before you start, back up the registry or create a restore point. You need administrator rights.
Open the Registry Editor, then follow the section below for the behavior you want. Changes may need a restart or an index rebuild before search results change.
To always use diacritics (treat them as different words):
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search. If any of these keys don't exist, right-click the parent key, choose New Key, and create them with the exact names in the path.
Right-click an empty area in the right pane, choose New DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it AllowUsingDiacritics. Double-click it and set its value data to 1. Click OK.
To disable diacritics (treat them as the same word):
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search.
Create or modify the DWORD (32-bit) Value named AllowUsingDiacritics. Double-click it, set its value data to 0, and click OK.
To let Windows Settings control this (default):
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search.
If the AllowUsingDiacritics value exists, right-click it, choose Delete, and confirm. With the value gone, the checkbox in Settings works again.
Summary
You can control how Windows 11 handles words with accent marks (diacritics) in searches using Windows Settings, the Local Group Policy Editor (Pro, Enterprise and Education only), or the Registry Editor. Changing this setting affects search accuracy and speed, and Windows rebuilds the index afterward, so allow some time for it to finish.
If the option in Settings is greyed out or you see a policy message, check the Group Policy and registry settings first, because they take priority.
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Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
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