Sharepoint list "search" feature not working.

Question

Hello,

I have a sharepoint list created, where I am making a new entry in the list. I am going to add in "Testing" in my list item as the item description in the description field, then search "Testing" using the search box at the top of the list. Why does it show me no results even though I see it on my list? Is there any issue with Sharepoint list search feature not working correctly?

Answer 1

Hi Sakshi Powade,

Thanks for posting in the community. We are happy to help you.

Per your description, the list item is newly created and when you search through the search bar, the list item cannot be searched.

As far as I know, this is possible when searching for newly created items. This is because the SharePoint search feature automatically crawls existing items in your organization every so often, not in real time. Typically, you will need to wait a few minutes before attempting to search for that list item.

In this case, if you've waited longer than 15 minutes and still can't see the list item after searching, I suggest you try one of the methods and check again. See if you can see it in the search results.

1. Check the list settings and reindex the list

Make sure that you have at least the Edit permission (Site Member)

In the list, click Settings in the upper-right corner> List settings> Advanced settings

In the Search setting, make sure that the "Allow items from this list to appear in search results" is set to "Yes".

In the Reindex List settings, click on "Reindex List", choose "List content is missing from search results", click "Reindex List", go to the bottom of the Advanced settings page and click OK.

After that, I recommend you wait a few minutes, refresh the SharePoint page, and search for this item again.

![Image](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/17388051-f35f-41ef-8c37-5ac1548b4b86?platform=QnA"https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/87399c6b-9740-4cc6-a1ad-abe9d71bebdc?platform=QnA" title="filestore.community.support.microsoft.com" rel="ugc nofollow">![Image](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/87399c6b-9740-4cc6-a1ad-abe9d71bebdc?platform=QnA"2">

Answer 2

Hello,

Thank you very much for your reply.

I have performed the following:

1. I created a new list, inserted columns in this one and waited for 2 hours before trying to search for keywords in it, this failed too.
2. I followed the instructions above and found that, in my List Settings, "Allow items from this list to appear in search results" is already set to "Yes" for both lists, the old and the new one.
3. Reindexed both lists with the steps provided above, waited for a day and then tried searching items on this list. This failed too.
4. Used the wildcard operator sign both, before and after the keywords as instructed, that isn't working either.

I find that nothing from the list itself appears in this search. I can find results if I search for the same item in my organisation but not within the list. I tried with different words from the list item, same results. I would like to find the list items that mention this keyword as it would help in large sets of data to get filtered easily.

Providing the requested information above:

1. Column types I used to test the keywords getting searched : Single line of text, Multiple lines of text, Person and the first auto-created mandatory column created in lists that you can't delete or edit except for renaming it.
2. This happens when searching for any keywords, in any coloumn, of any type, in any and all other lists, I also tested this with another co-worker who is facing the same issue.
3. Switching to "All items" unfortunately shows the same, no results found.
4. There are other members experiencing the same issue, I tried it with a few different lists.
5. I am an internal user of the organisation and also the owner of these lists.

Is there anything I can try more to fix this issue?

Answer 3

Hi Sakshi,

Thanks for posting back.

Based on your reply, then this is not normal. I think it may be caused by your tenant settings or the server. Currently, I have searched for existing service incidents and have not found any similar service incidents reported.

In this case, I recommend you open a support ticket with Microsoft for further troubleshooting.  You can contact your tenant administrator or IT team and ask them to raise a support ticket via Microsoft 365 Admin Center> Support> Help & support. That support team there will have the correct channel and resources to check your environment remotely and find what exactly the reason has caused the problem.

Sorry for the inconvenience that happened to you. Appreciate your understanding and patience.

Sincerely,

George | Microsoft Community Moderator