Windows 11 can now automatically add relevant search index locations. Here’s how to enable or disable this feature using Settings and the Registry.
Quick steps: Open the Settings app, go to “Privacy & security” > “Search”, and turn ON or OFF the “Automatically find additional relevant locations”
By default, Windows 11 indexes only a few folders. To speed up search and make sure you find your files when you search for them, you need to manually add folders or drives to the search index list. However, with the new improvement to Windows 11, the OS itself monitors and automatically adds any relevant locations to the search index so that you can find your files reliably and much faster. This feature is called “Automatically find additional relevant search locations”, and it is enabled by default. Generally, this is a good thing. However, if you think indexing is taxing your system too much, or you want more control and don’t want Windows deciding for you, you can disable the “Automatically find additional relevant search locations” feature so you can manually control which folders are indexed. Of course, you can just as easily enable it when needed.
In this quick and easy guide, I will show you the steps to enable or disable the “Automatically find additional relevant search locations” feature in Windows 11 using the Settings app and the Registry Editor. Let’s get started.
Enable or Disable Automatically Adding Additional Search Index Locations Using Settings
Since we need to access the Settings app, press “Windows key + I” to open it. Once it opens, go to “Privacy & security” in the left sidebar, then click the “Search” option under “Windows Permissions” in the right panel.
On this page, scroll down and click the “Find my files” section to expand it. Next, configure the “Automatically find additional relevant locations” option as follows:
- Toggle ON: Let Windows automatically add new relevant locations to the search index.
- Toggle OFF: Stops Windows from automatically adding new relevant locations to the search index.
Close the Settings app. Depending on the toggle position, this feature is enabled or disabled.
Enable or Disable Automatically Adding Additional Search Index Locations Using Registry Editor
Important note: Before making changes, please back up the Registry.
The first thing, open the Registry Editor. You can do that by searching for it in the Start menu or by pressing the “Windows key + R“, typing “regedit“, and clicking “OK“. Once the Registry Editor opens, go to the following folder. You can either copy and paste the path in the Registry Editor’s address bar or navigate to it manually.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\
Now, right-click the “Windows Search” folder on the left sidebar and then select “New” > “Key“. Name the new subkey (subfolder) “ScopeExpansion“.
After that, right-click “ScopeExpansion” and select “New“, then “DWORD (32-bit) Value“. Name the value “Enabled“.
Once created, double-click “Enabled” to open the “Edit Value” window. Set the Value Data as follows, then click “OK” to save the change.
- Set Value Data to “0“: Disable automatic addition of relevant locations to the search index.
- Set Value Data to “1“: Enable automatic addition of relevant locations to the search index.
That’s it. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer. After restarting, the “Automatically find additional relevant search locations” feature is enabled or disabled depending on the registry value you set.
Write down below any questions or comments you have. I’ll respond as quickly as possible.
Thank you,
Vamsi.
