The Outlook search function is a handy way to locate important messages in a busy inbox. But do you ever find it running slowly, only returning half the information you expect to see or – worse still – not working at all?
The good news is that, quite often, rebuilding the search index can help clear up the problem. The bad news is that it’s not always obvious from within Outlook how this should be done.
Searching in Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010 uses Windows search indexes, which means it is actually a function of Windows rather than a feature exclusive to Outlook. Rebuilding the search indexes is a simple enough task if you know where to look but it can take a rather long time. So it may be best to run this procedure last thing in the evening as you leave the office.
[themecolor]How to rebuild the search indexes[/themecolor]
- In Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8, you can locate the Indexing Options by clicking the Windows Start button and typing ‘index’ in the search box
- Click ‘Indexing Options’ to bring up the Indexing Options screen
- Click the Advanced button on the Indexing Option screen.
- Click the Rebuild button.
Your current Search Indexes will be deleted and rebuilt. Once the rebuilding process is complete (don’t forget this may take quite a while) you should find Search working perfectly again.
