Why can I no longer search file contents on Onedrive?

Anonymous
2024-10-01T16:41:33+00:00

Once upon a time, the Onedrive search feature allowed you to search file contents, as well as file names.

Now it appears that Onedrive only allows you to search file names.

When did this change, and why? Content searches were a very practical feature.

Microsoft will lose users to better services (such as Google Drive) if it continues to make regressive changes like this. Being able to search file contents is a very low bar in 2024.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

49 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2025-03-13T14:21:50+00:00

    Is there any update on this issue? I'm experiencing the same problem, and it's very disruptive as it makes the OneDrive web interface almost unusable.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2025-03-10T12:38:14+00:00

    hello, is there an update on this fix?

    I will have to move to another provider if contents search isn't fixed.

    kpt

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2025-01-27T16:24:00+00:00

    Hello,

    The problem goes further. For example, by enabling the backup function of the Documents directory in the OneDrive space, the search engine is no longer able to search within the content of a file stored in the Documents folder.

    Philippe.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2024-12-09T07:52:19+00:00

    Hello everyone,

    I am also experiencing the problem when searching within PDF files (it works with Office files). I have enabled content indexing (raw text) for the .pdf extension, and the OneDrive folder is selected in the indexing engine settings, but nothing works. No results are found when I search for a word contained in a PDF file (the file is a PDF containing text, not an image). I am using OneDrive version 24.221.1103.0033 and an up-to-date Windows 10.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  5. Anonymous
    2024-12-06T14:06:56+00:00

    Search started working properly for us on or before the 5th. Curiously, the Synology cloud sync that we'd been using as a workaround stopped working about the same time. Had to unlink, and relink.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments