Migrated from eDJGroupInc.com. Author: Greg Buckles. Published: 2015-03-25 20:00:00Format, images and links may no longer function correctly.
I found this nice chart that details the file types/extensions that default SharePoint 2013 and Office 365 will index. The “FH” column indicates the important content indexing. If it is not marked as “FH”, then you are limited to searching by the name, location, file type, date or other metadata. Mike Smith’s blog closes with a nice link that details the process for implementing a custom iFilter to index specific file types. From a discovery perspective, I always want to confirm the exact list of iFilters that some helpful admin may have added or removed. Here is a link to the get that list. Too many times I have been debugging a strange search behavior only to find out that the system was ‘tuned’ to optimize performance over search retrieval.
The only potentially relevant file type I spotted without a ‘File Handler’ or iFilter is .CSV files. Maybe that is because I have seen so many legacy engineering spreadsheets, report dumps and even load files that held hidden discovery gems. I was surprised that SharePoint 2013 does not index OneNote (.ONE), PowerPoint variants, Rich Text File, vCards or Calendars, despite having the iFilters to do so. Office 365 (same system, just in the Cloud) does cover more file types. If you are experimenting with the new Microsoft eDiscovery Center, it is worth the time to dig into the search index settings and understand your results before you have to sign an affidavit. Better yet, test your system with your own known data. It takes time to build a good test set of file types with unique, known terms, but it is worth the effort and you can use the test protocol/data for standardized upgrade and acceptance testing.
Greg Buckles wants your feedback, questions or project inquiries at Greg@eDJGroupInc.com. His active research topics include analytics, mobile device discovery, the discovery impact of the cloud, Microsoft’s 2013 eDiscovery Center and multi-matter discovery. Recent consulting engagements include managing preservation during enterprise migrations, legacy tape eliminations, retention enablement and many more.
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