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I have three network drives (S:, U: and Z:) mapped to a Synology NAS. They are all online and read/write accessible.

Without installing additional software or making the files available offline, how can I get Windows 10 to add the contents to the search index (without making the files available offline) so that searching them is fast?

Things I've tried

  • "Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties" is already checked for all three (source).
  • Indexing Options doesn't have S:, U: or Z: listed. If I select "Modify" then I can only add C:. Even if I select "Show all locations" then I'm still only shown C:.
  • Deleting and rebuilding the index made no difference.
  • Running the troubleshooter and selecting "Files, folders, apps or settings don't appear in results" just restarts the Windows Search app.
  • Several other solutions that reference buttons, screens or options that only exist in previous versions of Windows
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4 Answers 4

Reset to default
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Windows does not support indexing network shares. You may still search them, but this is done in real-time without indexing, so may be quite slow.

You may enable Offline Files for a network folder by right-clicking it and selecting "Always available offline". This will basically copy the folder to your computer. To make it searchable, you will need to add "Offline Files" to Indexing Options.

None of the above options are really practical.

The correct way to do that is to store the files on Windows Server with the "Windows Search Service" role installed. The server will index its shared folders, and the Windows client can then use this index.

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  • Oh blast. I don't want to make files offline (because it kinds of negates one of the points of moving all the content onto the NAS in the first place). Hopefully Microsoft might add it at some point to Windows 11 because searching is painfully slow...
    – Richard
    Commented Sep 10, 2021 at 8:21
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    You could try third-party tools such as Everything by voidtools and its alternatives.
    – harrymc
    Commented Sep 10, 2021 at 9:33
  • Yep, seems like the only real option I have. Will do and thanks.
    – Richard
    Commented Sep 10, 2021 at 11:49
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Update:

I'd like to share that, with help from this question: Windows Server 2012 R2 - search by file content not working I've been able to make this work, so maybe it's relevant for other users too.

I've a server running Windows Server 2012, and some others desktops running Windows 11, linked via LAN.

Windows Server 2012 index his folders, so the index is created and located on his HDD. These folders are shared with the other desktops, so the files aren't on the clients' drives, but only on the server.

If I allow the search into file content on the server AND disable it on the desktop clients, when I perform a search on the clients, they use the index created by the server and read INTO the files too.

There's no real UI explaining or making you aware of this event, so I thought that mentioning it here and confirming it works could be helpful.

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    As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.
    – Community Bot
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 14:26
  • If you have a new question, please ask it by clicking the Ask Question button. Include a link to this question if it helps provide context. - From Review
    – Dominique
    Commented Jul 12, 2023 at 14:55
  • @Dominique, I've edited my question, making it a reply, instead. I've talked about what's working right now. I hope it helps!
    – Dlofud
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 15:07
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If you have synology with DSM 7.0 make synology index your share. After the indexing is finished, you kan search from Explorer in your Windows.

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  • 1
    I'm running DSM 6.2.4, is this a DSM 7 specific thing? I've looked at Control Panel > Indexing Options but it suggests that only photos, music and videos will be indexed.
    – Richard
    Commented Dec 13, 2021 at 15:04
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    You have to install DSM 7.0 and you have to install the Synology app "Universal Search" where you setup the indexing
    – Klaus Hesselberg
    Commented Dec 14, 2021 at 18:56
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    FWIW I'm now running DSM 7.1.1 with Universal Search running and fully indexed folders. Searching a network path stored on the Synology using Windows Explorer isn't any faster than when it wasn't indexed.
    – Richard
    Commented Oct 17, 2022 at 11:25
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For Synology Diskstation (DSM 7.1.1)

(based on idea of other answer)

  1. Open "Package Center"
  2. Search for "Universal"
  3. Ensure that "Universal Search" is installed Universal Search installed
  4. Click on "Open"
  5. Go to Preferences icon preferences button
  6. Click on "Index Folder List" Index Folder List
  7. Click on "Create"
  8. Create an Indexed Folder with "Name" /photo and "Folder" /photo. Ensure that "Photo" and "Video" is selected Indexed Folder Creation
  9. Then, indexing should start: indexing
  10. Click on "Close" then "Save"
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    Thanks, but your solution configures the Synology Universal Search to index a new location /photo on the NAS - which is not what I'm trying to achieve.
    – Richard
    Commented Dec 21, 2023 at 15:26

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