7. November 2024
3 Minutes
Laptop, Hände, Grafiken

How to resolve Microsoft SharePoint Online search issues

In rare cases, Microsoft SharePoint Online search may spontaneously stop functioning for list-entry properties assigned to a site column within a list. The desired result does not appear in the search index. This guide shows you how to resolve the issue and restore the Microsoft SharePoint Online search functionality in just a few steps.

Symptom

Suddenly, you cannot search for a specific property of a SharePoint list entry via the search function. This property is technically a site column assigned to a content type. The following screenshot shows an example search query (red frame).

When performing the search, no results are returned, even though the SharePoint search had been functioning perfectly for weeks or months before.

Error in SharePoint search - cause of the issue

On a global tenant level, a managed property in the SharePoint search index is missing its previously assigned crawled property. The existing crawled property still exists in the SharePoint search index but is hidden or invisible.

The SharePoint Admin Center displays this behavior, as shown in the following screenshot.

The link to the Admin Center must be opened by a user with the SharePoint Administrator role:

https://<tenant-name>-admin.sharepoint.com/_layouts/15/searchadmin/ta_listmanagedproperties.aspx?level=tenant

With our how-to guide, you can fix the Microsoft SharePoint Online search issue yourself.

Solution approach: explicit permissions for SharePoint tenant admin on the SharePoint list

This solution is based on Microsoft Support experience rather than official Microsoft documentation.

The “trick” is to assign the SharePoint Administrator user the following permissions:

  • on the SharePoint list with missing search results
  • with the “Edit” permission level

Permissions can also be granted via default inheritance, such as through the SharePoint Site Collection user group “Members of…”.

Steps to resolve the issue

Step 1:
Assign the SharePoint administrators “Edit” permissions on the list by overriding the default permission level. The following screenshot shows a pre-tested solution and highlights the required permissions.

Step 2:
Make a change to a value in the SharePoint list column that is not searchable. Alternatively, create a new test entry. Ensure that a change is made in the SharePoint list.

Step 3:
Wait twenty minutes to about an hour.

Step 4:
The crawled property reappears in the SharePoint admin center.

Step 5:
Assign the crawled property to the managed property via the SharePoint administrator.

Screenshot Sharepoint Suchfunktion

If old list entries cannot be found using the index column:

a. trigger a re-index of the list via the list settings → advanced settings.
b. wait 12 to 24 hours and search for old list entries again.

Any unanswered questions?

Were you able to successfully resolve the Microsoft SharePoint Online search issue? If not, please contact our SharePoint expert, Thomas Hardt. He will be happy to help you.