Who is this article for?

Users moving emails to a new storage device.

Secondary machine access may be required.

To facilitate indexing a large volume of emails without running into issues, we recommend designating one machine for indexing only. It can then be used to share the indexed data with others. This article outlines the steps you need to take to smoothly execute moving indexed data between computers.

1. 1. Preparing machines
      1. Setting up indexes
      2. Establishing Locations
   2. Building indexes
      1. Optimising indexing settings
      2. Optimising Location settings
      3. Checking indexing status
   3. Exporting indexes
   4. Importing indexes

1. Preparing machines

There are several steps you need to take to prepare for the move.

1.1. Setting up indexes

Configure a single computer with access to all required Locations. Address locations inaccessible to certain Users separately.

Complete the full setup before transitioning Users to the new data storage location, and keep them pointed to the old Locations until then. This allows emails filed after indexing but before transitioning to be transferred.

1.2. Establishing Locations

Utilise Auto Discovery to generate a manual .mmcollections file with all necessary Locations, then load this file into the machine you want to use for indexing.

To complete this process, follow the steps for creating Static Collections using the Auto Discovery Setup.

You will need to assess how much you can limit the other computers from attempting to index these Locations. You can instruct your Users to stop their machines from indexing.

To pause it:

1. Click Status.
2. Select Search from the list on the left.
3. Click Pause Indexer (under Advanced).

They may need to do this each time they start Outlook.

2. Building indexes

To complete the indexing process efficiently, we recommend keeping the separate machine from entering sleep mode.

2.1. Optimising indexing settings

To optimise the indexing process:

1. Click Status.
2. Select Search from the list on the left.
3. Open the Indexing rate dropdown (under Advanced).
4. Choose Fastest.

2.2. Optimising Location settings

We recommend marking all Locations as used, as only used Locations are indexed by default. Even if the system is set to index all Locations, prioritising used ones ensures comprehensive coverage.

To mark Locations as used:

1. Open the file/email.
2. Select Other Locations.
   Locations displayed in bold are considered used, while those in plain text are not.
3. Tick all the plain text locations.
4. Click Mark as Used.
5. Unselect the Select Multiple option to prevent automatic selection upon reopening the window.

Once configured, leave the indexing process to complete.

2.3. Checking indexing status

To view progress:

1. Click Status.
2. Select Status from the list on the left.
3. Click Open Location Status (under Index).

Indexing percentage displayed reflects emails found in the Locations thus far. It will fluctuate as more emails are indexed.

3. Exporting indexes

To export an index:

1. Navigate to the installation folder.
   By default, it's: C:\Program Files\Mail Manager\x64 or %localappdata%\Mail Manager\Program Files\x64.
2. Run MailManager.IndexExporter.exe.

3. Tick Include for each Location to export.
4. Browse to the folder where the exported index will be saved.
   Only local and network folders are supported.
5. Click Export.

4. Importing indexes

To import the index:

1. Click Tools.
2. Select User Preferences.
3. Copy the Shared configuration folder path.

4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Navigate to the copied shared configuration folder.
6. Open AdminEmailFiling.cfg in a plain text editor.
7. Add the exported folder path to the file.
   For example: IndexImportLocation=\server01\Mail Manager\Mail Manager Config.
8. Find line containing AdminUpdateDateTime. 
9. Increment the value on that line by 1.
   This will trigger the update across all machines using this shared configuration.
10. Save the changes.

When you restart Outlook, the applied changes will trigger the background import of these indexes.