Configuring Indexing Scopes and Exclusions Using Group Policy

To specify locations to be indexed by using Group Policy, enable the following policy setting for targeted computers:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Search \Default Indexed Paths

Then configure this policy by specifying the local file system paths for the volumes and directories that you want to include as indexed scopes on the targeted computers.

To specify locations to be excluded from indexing by using Group Policy, enable the following policy setting for targeted computers:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Search \Default Excluded Paths

Then configure this policy by specifying the local file system paths for the volumes and directories that you want to exclude from being indexed on the targeted computers.

Note Users whose computers are targeted by these two policy settings can override them manually using Indexing Options in Control Panel. For example, a location that is indexed because of the first Group Policy setting can be excluded manually from being indexed by the user. Similarly, a location that is excluded from being indexed because of the second Group Policy setting can be included for indexing manually by the user.