Windows 11 Search Indexing: A Complete Guide

Getting Started with Search Indexing

Learn two things first: which folders Windows indexes, and which kinds of files it includes. Once you know those, you can make search reliable without indexing more than you need.

To open the settings ⚙️:

1. Select the Start button ⊞ or the search 🔍 box on the taskbar 🖥️ and type Indexing Options.
2. Select Indexing Options from the results. A window opens showing the included locations and a count of items indexed.
3. Check the Included Locations list. By default it covers your user folders, such as Documents, Pictures and Music, plus the Start menu ⊞.

The status line near the top tells you what the indexer is doing. It may say Indexing complete, Indexing in progress or Indexing speed is reduced due to user activity. All three are normal.

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Fine-Tuning What Windows Searches

Once the basics are in place, a few adjustments shape the results. You can add file types, choose whether Windows reads inside documents, and decide which drives and folders are indexed. Each change narrows search to what you actually look for.

To add or remove a folder:

1. In Indexing Options, click Modify.
2. In the Indexed Locations window, expand a drive and tick the folders you want indexed. Untick any you want left out.
3. Click OK. The main window shows the updated list, and indexing of new locations starts in the background.

If a folder is missing from the tree, it may be a system location Windows does not let you index, or the drive may be disconnected. Large external or network drives usually work better left out unless you search them often.

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Advanced Indexing and Troubleshooting

Some problems need more than a quick toggle: encrypted files, stubborn errors, or an indexer that hogs resources. The tools below fix most of these cases. Most of them sit behind the Advanced button, which asks for administrator permission, so sign in with an admin account first.

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Common questions

How do I change where 🪟 Windows 11 saves the search index?

The index can grow to several gigabytes on a PC with many files, so this helps on a small SSD.

1. Open Indexing Options.
2. Click Advanced and approve the administrator prompt if it appears.
3. On the Index Settings tab, find the Index location section.
4. Click Select new and choose a folder on the drive you want to use.
5. Click OK. Windows may ask you to restart the search service or the PC for the change to apply, and it then rebuilds the index in the new place.

If the drive goes missing, search stops working until you point the index back at a valid location. To undo the change, repeat the steps and select the original folder.

Why is Windows search so slow?

A sluggish search usually has one of three causes: a very large index, a corrupted database, or heavy background tasks. Work through them in this order:

1. Open Indexing Options and read the status line. If it says indexing is in progress, let it finish or pause it for now.
2. Click Modify and remove large folders you never search, such as game libraries or backup archives.
3. If search results are still wrong or slow, click Advanced, then under Troubleshooting click Rebuild.
4. Confirm the warning. Results may be incomplete until the rebuild finishes.

A rebuild can take from several minutes to a few hours depending on how many files you have. Leave the PC on and plugged in, and search will gradually become complete again.

Can 🪟 Windows 11 search inside my documents?

Windows 11 can look inside many file formats, not just match filenames. That is why a search for a phrase can find a Word document that does not have the phrase in its name. You control how deep it looks per file type.

1. Open Indexing Options and click Advanced.
2. Switch to the File Types tab. You see a list of extensions.
3. Select an extension. At the bottom, choose Index Properties Only to catalog just names and details, or Index Properties and File Contents to search the text inside.
4. To add a new extension, type it in the box at the bottom and click Add new extension.
5. Click OK. Windows reindexes the affected files.

Indexing contents gives better results but makes the index larger and the indexer busier. Use properties-only for formats you rarely search inside.

How do I stop 🪟 Windows 11 search from using too many resources?

If the indexer slows the PC during heavy work, you can stop it temporarily.

1. Open Indexing Options.
2. While indexing is running, click Pause. The status changes to show indexing is paused.

The Pause button only appears while the indexer is working, and the pause is temporary. Indexing resumes by itself after a short time or when you restart the PC. The indexer also slows down on its own while you are using the computer, so you rarely need to pause it unless a big task like a video export or a game needs every resource.

What are diacritics in Windows search?

Diacritics are accent marks on letters, such as the marks in résumé. This setting decides whether Windows treats accented words and plain-text words as the same match. With it off, a search for resume also finds résumé. With it on, the two are treated as different words.

1. Open Indexing Options and click Advanced.
2. On the Index Settings tab, under File Settings, tick or untick Treat similar words with diacritics as different words.
3. Click OK. Windows rebuilds the index so the change applies to everything.

Leave this unticked if you mostly search in English and want looser matches. Tick it if you work in languages where accents change the meaning of a word.