Configuring Indexing of Encrypted Files Using Control Panel

To enable indexing of encrypted files using Indexing Options in Control Panel, follow these steps:

1. Click Advanced to open the Advanced Options properties dialog box.
2. Select the Index Encrypted Files check box.
3. If the disk volume where the index resides is not yet protected by Windows BitLocker, the following warning dialog box is displayed:
   
   
4. Click Continue to enable the indexing of encrypted content on your computer.
5. If you use a smart card to access encrypted files, a balloon notification appears above the notification area, indicating that EFS needs your smart card personal identification number (PIN). Clicking this notification opens a Windows Security dialog box in which you can type the PIN for your smart card.

Important Selecting or clearing the Index Encrypted Files check box rebuilds the index immediately. Depending on how many files you have, this can take up to several hours to complete, and searches might be incomplete while the index is being rebuilt.

Configuring Indexing of Encrypted Files Using Group Policy

To enable indexing of encrypted files using Group Policy, enable the following policy setting for targeted computers:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Search \Allow Indexing Of Encrypted Files

If you enable this policy setting, indexing disregards encryption flags (although access restrictions still apply) and attempts to decrypt and index the content. If you disable this setting, the Windows Search service (including third-party features) should not index encrypted items, such as files or e-mails, to avoid indexing encrypted stores.