Adjusting Windows Indexing Service
The search scope is just one part of the search feature in Windows. The real
brains behind allowing you to search quickly through the various types of
files on your computers are in the indexing service. This service runs in the
background and monitors only folders and file types it was directed to monitor.
The content of any files located in folders the indexing service monitors are read
by the service and indexed. That indexing data is then stored in a centralized
database.
The indexing service allows you to search through the Start menu search box
and find all files, documents, and images that match the search term in both the
filename and within the document. If the file indexed is a popular file format,
most likely there is a reader for it within the indexing service. In theory, you
could search for the word “the” and find all documents and e-mails on your
computer that contain that word. This is all controlled by the settings for the
indexing service.
You can adjust the settings that the indexing service uses to index only the
types of files and locations you care about, which will reduce the amount of
work the indexing service has to do. This will increase the overall performance
of your computer, causing it to have more free resources because they are not
wasted indexing files you don’t care about. Adjusting these settings is easy when
you know where to do it. Just follow these steps to get started:
1. Click the Start button, type Indexing Options in the Search box, and then
press Enter.
2. When Indexing Options loads, you will see all the locations the indexing
service is currently monitoring, as shown in Figure 14-11.
3. Click Modify followed by Show all locations. This is where you can fine-
tune exactly where the indexing service looks. You can even navigate
between locations while on the Modify screen by using the summary list
at the bottom of the window.
4. Navigate through the list of drives and folders and uncheck any locations
you do not want the indexing service to monitor. When finished, click OK.
5. When you are back on the Indexing Options window you can adjust the
file types that the indexing service reads by clicking the Advanced button
and then the File Types tab.
6. Scroll through the list and uncheck any file types that you do not want the
indexing service to keep track of. By default, hundreds of files are checked.
Reducing the number of files that the indexer has to monitor will greatly
improve performance. Click OK when you are finished.
7. Now is a good time to rebuild the index. Click the Advanced button again
on the Indexing Options window.
8. Then click Rebuild on the Index Settings tab.
You are now finished adjusting the Windows Indexing service for
maximum performance while preserving the ability for fast searches in
Windows Explorer.
The search scope is just one part of the search feature in Windows. The real
brains behind allowing you to search quickly through the various types of
files on your computers are in the indexing service. This service runs in the
background and monitors only folders and file types it was directed to monitor.
The content of any files located in folders the indexing service monitors are read
by the service and indexed. That indexing data is then stored in a centralized
database.
The indexing service allows you to search through the Start menu search box
and find all files, documents, and images that match the search term in both the
filename and within the document. If the file indexed is a popular file format,
most likely there is a reader for it within the indexing service. In theory, you
could search for the word “the” and find all documents and e-mails on your
computer that contain that word. This is all controlled by the settings for the
indexing service.
You can adjust the settings that the indexing service uses to index only the
types of files and locations you care about, which will reduce the amount of
work the indexing service has to do. This will increase the overall performance
of your computer, causing it to have more free resources because they are not
wasted indexing files you don’t care about. Adjusting these settings is easy when
you know where to do it. Just follow these steps to get started:
1. Click the Start button, type Indexing Options in the Search box, and then
press Enter.
2. When Indexing Options loads, you will see all the locations the indexing
service is currently monitoring, as shown in Figure 14-11.
3. Click Modify followed by Show all locations. This is where you can fine-
tune exactly where the indexing service looks. You can even navigate
between locations while on the Modify screen by using the summary list
at the bottom of the window.
4. Navigate through the list of drives and folders and uncheck any locations
you do not want the indexing service to monitor. When finished, click OK.
5. When you are back on the Indexing Options window you can adjust the
file types that the indexing service reads by clicking the Advanced button
and then the File Types tab.
6. Scroll through the list and uncheck any file types that you do not want the
indexing service to keep track of. By default, hundreds of files are checked.
Reducing the number of files that the indexer has to monitor will greatly
improve performance. Click OK when you are finished.
7. Now is a good time to rebuild the index. Click the Advanced button again
on the Indexing Options window.
8. Then click Rebuild on the Index Settings tab.
You are now finished adjusting the Windows Indexing service for
maximum performance while preserving the ability for fast searches in
Windows Explorer.
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