Index a Database


For Notes to find information within a database, that database must be indexed. The Notes administrator usually indexes any databases on the server except for your Mail, and then the server updates each index nightly. You won't be able to index databases unless you have Manager or Designer access to the database.

For any local databases or your mail database, you are responsible for the indexing. You create a full-text index only once per database, and Notes takes care of updating the index thereafter.

How do you know when a database has a full-text index or when you need to create one? One way is to check the Database properties box. View the Database properties box for an open database by choosing File, Database, Properties from the menu. For a database that's not open, right-click the bookmark, and choose Database, Properties from the shortcut menu.

Select the Full Text tab in the Database properties box (that's the one with the magnifying glass on the tab). If the database needs to be indexed, "Database is not full text indexed" appears at the top of the Full Text page (see Figure 7.1).

Figure 7.1. There is no question that this database needs to be indexed. You can create an index if you have Manager or Designer access. Otherwise, contact your Notes administrator and ask him to create a full-text index.


Another way to see that a database isn't indexed is to open the Search bar for the database. Choose any database view, and select View, Search This View from the menu. The Search bar appears above the View pane (see Figure 7.2). It indicates whether the database has been indexed. You'll learn more about the Search bar later in this chapter.

Figure 7.2. The Search bar tells you if the Mail database is indexed. "Not Indexed" displays when you need to create an index as shown here.


To create a full-text index for a database, follow these steps:

1.

From the Full Text page of the Database Properties box, click Create Index. Or, from the Search bar in a database, click More, and then choose Create Index.

2.

The Create Full-Text Index dialog box appears (see Figure 7.3). Select the options you want to apply to this index.

Figure 7.3. Be aware that each option you select increases the size of the index and therefore the overall size of the database. However, each additional option you select increases the accuracy of your searches.


  • Index Attached Files Select this to be able to search all documents, including the attachments. Select Without Using Conversion Filters for a faster, but less comprehensive search (it searches just the ASCII text of the attachments). Choose Using Conversion Filters on Supported Files for a slower but more comprehensive search.

  • Index Encrypted Fields With this selected, Notes searches all words in fields, including the encrypted fields.

  • Index Sentence and Paragraph Breaks Select to be able to search for words in the same sentence or paragraph.

  • Enable Case-Sensitive Searches Selecting this option means that Notes differentiates between words based on the capitalization (case), so if you're searching for Home, the results won't include HOME or home.

  • Update Frequency This option applies to server copies of databases, not to databases on workstations. Your Notes administrator actually controls this schedule for databases on the server, but you must choose the default Immediate option to index local copies of databases.

3.

Click OK. Your request for indexing is queued to the server. It may take a few minutes before Notes creates the index. When indexing is complete, the Database Properties and the Search bar show that the database is indexed.



Sams Teach Yourself Lotus Notes 7 in 10 Minutes
Sams Teach Yourself Lotus Notes 7 in 10 Minutes
ISBN: B005M4YDXE
EAN: N/A
Year: 2003
Pages: 182

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