This feature can be used on single-user (XenDesktop, VDI, etc.) or multi-user systems (RDSH, XenApp, etc.) but only the Outlook email Search information is roamed. This feature allows roaming a user’s Outlook Search information. edb and the necessary files to support search are stored in the \WSearch folder in the VHD(X). edb file, which handles Outlook searching, and mount it into the Profile Container or Office Container as appropriate.
This uses FSLogix’s secret sauce to capture the user-specific portion of the. Multi-User Search moves the user portion of the search index out and stores it in the user’s Profile Container or Office Container.
All of these issues are the drivers behind the FSLogix feature which allows you to mount the Search database to a VHD – Search Roaming. Trying to “roam” this data by redirecting the Registry or using symbolic links can be very difficult, as Search is not intended to be used from networked locations. As well as being shared amongst users, it can also grow very large in some situations. However, in non-persistent RDSH or VDI environments like XenApp and XenDesktop, this can present an issue.Īlso, the Search database is normally placed in a device-specific area - C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\Windows.edb. In persistent environments, this does not present a problem, as the creation of the index is a one-time event. The time required for the initial creation of this index depends on the amount and type of data to be indexed and can take up to several hours. Windows Search builds a full-text index of files on a device. It replaced the Indexing Service that first arrived as part of the Windows NT4 Option Pack, which was deprecated in Windows 7 and finally removed in Windows 8. Windows Search is a feature that has existed in the Windows OS since Windows Vista, although it did exist as freeware called Windows Desktop Search for XP and Server 2003. Extremely important to me is that credit is sent where it should be, this post was a collaboration between four individuals: I thought it was worth reposting as the content is still relevant. This post was initially posted on the FSLogix Blog which has been recently removed.
For changes with these Operating Systems, please see my follow up post here
This post is not addressing Windows 10 Multi-Session or Windows Server 2019 Per-User Search.