Reindexing content search

You can manually reindex content search, but it takes a long time and can slow performance. We don't recommend reindexing manually unless you have a specific search index problem you need to fix.

Fastpath: Admin Console: System > Settings > Search, then Content Search > Index Tasks

Having the application regularly update the search indexes is very handy, but rebuilding an index can be very time-consuming. You should only manually rebuild the search index if it becomes corrupted or you find you're missing significant amounts of content in search results. The rebuild processing happens on the web app node you are accessing when you initiate the rebuild. This node sends the data to the external search service you have configured. For additional information, see Rebuilding On-prem HA Search Service.

You can rebuild the content search index for the entire community or for only just some part of it for specific content items or places.

Warning: Before you rebuild the community index, consider performance and the needs of your site users. We recommend that you do not reindex search manually during peak usage hours, for example, or during a site-wide campaign or an event that results in high usage.
  • To rebuild the search index in the event of a search problem:
    1. In the Admin Console, go to System > Settings > Search, then open the Content Search > Index Tasks tab.
    2. Under Rebuild content index, click Rebuild Index.
      You should not rebuild the search index during high usage hours.
  • To check the index status of an individual content item or place and rebuild the index, type the URL of the content item in the Content URL text box and click Retrieve Modification Date. If the date is old, you can
    1. In the Admin Console, go to System > Settings > Search, then open the Content Search > Index Tasks tab.
    2. Under Rebuild content index, in Content URL, specify the URL of the content item or place you want to check.
    3. Click Retrieve Modification Date.
    4. If necessary, click Update in Index to update that item in the index.