Index Network Location in Windows 7

Question

I want to make the default Windows search to index and search files in network too. Is there any way or tool from which I can do it?

Answer 1

If you know what computer your file is on, then having Search Everything installed on every PC with the HTTP service activated is a pretty neat solution, see a comparison and more details on our blog.

Or, you could in the case of Windows Search use the remote computer's index rather than filling your index with the whole network; this is all explained in the Windows Search 4.0 Administrator's Guide but it simply boils down to let the server index the location first after which you add the UNC path to the client which will then use the server's index rather than adding it's own.

Answer 2

The easiest way to do this is to include the network shares in a library, then they can be added through the index options.

Another method is to turn on Offline files, add the location to the Search Index Locations, then turn off Offline Files.