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Profile Management
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Enable native Outlook search experience

November 28, 2023
Contributed by: 
C

The Enable search index roaming for Outlook feature provides native Outlook search experience. With this feature, the Offline Outlook Data File (.ost) and the search database specific to a user are roamed along with the user profile.

Prerequisites

This feature is available for machines that meet the following requirements:

  • Operating system:
    • Microsoft Windows 10 1709 or later
    • Windows Server 2016 or later
  • Microsoft Outlook 2019, 2016, or 2103, or Microsoft Office 365

For the feature to take effect, make sure that machines have the Microsoft Windows Search Service enabled. By default, it’s enabled on Windows desktops and disabled on Windows servers. For more information about how to enable the service on Windows servers, see this Microsoft article. The following versions have been tested and are supported:

  • 7.0.20348.380, 7.0.20348.138,7.0.20344.1

  • 7.0.21286.1000, 7.0.21343.1000

  • 7.0.17134.376, 7.0.17134.285, 7.0.17134.228, 7.0.17134.1

  • 7.0.16299.402, 7.0.16299.248, 7.0.16299.15

  • 7.0.15063.413

  • 7.0.14393.2457, 7.0.14393.2430, 7.0.14393.2368, 7.0.14393.2312, 7.0.14393.2273, 7.0.14393.2248, 7.0.14393.1884, 7.0.1493.1593

  • 7.0.1393.2125, 7.0.1393.1884, 7.0.1393.1770

  • 7.0.10240.17443

  • 7.0.9600.18722

Note:

This feature is expected to support the future versions of the Microsoft Windows Search Service. If you find that the feature does not support specific future versions of the Microsoft Windows Search Service, contact Citrix Technical Support.

How it works

The VHDX (Virtual Hard Disk) is a disk file format that is used to represent virtual and logical disk storage space for virtual machines. The Enable search index roaming for Outlook feature relies on VHDX files to work.

VHDX files are created for each user that uses the feature. VHDX files store a user-specific profile on a separate virtual disk that is dedicated to that user’s profile. Profile Management mounts VHDX files on logon and unmounts them on logoff. There are two VHDX files:

  • OutlookOST.vhdx file, storing the Offline Outlook Data File (.ost)
  • OutlookSearchIndex.vhdx file, storing the search index database for the offline folder file stored in the OutlookOST.vhdx file

Note:

By default, Profile Management automatically reattaches VHDX files that are detached during a session. For more information, see Automatically reattach detached VHDX disks in sessions.

Profile Management provides a default VHDX capacity of 30 GB. Plan your storage quota accordingly. If the actual usage of your VHDX exceeds the quota you configured earlier, your VHDX file is unmounted.

Automatic switching between Cached Exchange mode and Online mode

Profile Management provides an uninterrupted Outlook service on Outlook container-enabled machines:

  • When detecting that all conditions for Outlook container to work are met on user logon, Profile Management automatically enables Cached Exchange mode for Outlook. With Cached Exchange mode enabled, users are linked to their Outlook containers for mailbox data. Those conditions include:
    • The Enable search index roaming for Outlook policy is enabled.
    • The Outlook container is attached.
    • The customized OST path is not set or set to appdata\local\microsoft\outlook, the mounting path of Outlook container.
  • When detecting that the container is detached during the session, Profile Management switches Outlook from Cached Exchange mode to Online mode. Users are linked to the Exchange Server for mailbox data.
  • When detecting that the container is reattached during the session, Profile Management switches Outlook back to Cached Exchange mode.

Support for concurrent sessions

With the Enable concurrent session support for Outlook search data roaming feature, Profile Management provides the native Outlook search experience in concurrent sessions of the same user.

The feature assigns a copy of the Outlook OST file to each concurrent session of a user. By default, Profile Management provides two VHDX disks to store Outlook OST files (one file per disk). If the user starts more sessions, the additional Outlook OST files are stored in the local profile.

If you have storage capacity available, you can increase the default number of the VHDX disks. For example, set the number to 3. As a result, Profile Management stores the OST files for the first three sessions on VHDX disks and those OST files for any subsequent sessions in the local profile.

Automatic backup and restore of Outlook search index database

Profile Management can automatically save a backup of the last known good copy of the search index database and revert to the copy if corruption occurs.

If this feature is enabled, Profile Management saves a backup of the search index database each time the database is mounted successfully on logon. Profile Management deletes the previously saved backup after a new backup is saved successfully. Profile Management treats the backup as the good copy of the search index database. When an attempt to mount the search index database fails, Profile Management automatically reverts the search index database to the last known good copy.

Important:

  • Profile Management does not save a backup of the search index database after the policy takes effect the first time the search index database is created.
  • Profile Management deletes the previously saved backup after a new backup is saved successfully. The backup consumes more of the available storage space of the VHDX files.

Enable the feature

To provide native Outlook search experience, enable the Enable search index roaming for Outlook feature and enable its enhancements if needed. Detailed steps are as follows.

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Editor.
  2. Access Policies > Administrative Templates: Policy definitions (ADMX files) > Citrix Components > Profile Management > Advanced settings.
  3. Enable the feature using the following steps:
    1. Double-click the Enable search index roaming for Outlook policy.
    2. Select Enabled.
    3. Click OK.
  4. To support the feature in concurrent sessions of the same user, follow these steps:
    1. Double-click the Enable concurrent session support for Outlook search data roaming policy.
    2. Select Enabled.
    3. If you have storage capacity available, increase the number of the default VHDX disks in the Maximum number of VHDX disks for storing Outlook OST files field. For more information about this field, see Support for concurrent sessions.
    4. Click OK.
  5. To provide a high level of stability for the feature, follow these steps:
    1. Double-click the Outlook search index database-backup and restore policy.
    2. Select Enabled.
    3. Click OK.
  6. To provide a high level of availability for the feature, follow these steps:
    1. Double-click the Automatically reattach VHDX disks in sessions policy.
    2. Select Enabled.
    3. Click OK.

For your changes to take effect, run the gpupdate /force command from the command prompt, log off from all sessions, and then log on again. For details, see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/gpupdate.

Note:

To let this feature work on Microsoft Windows 10 1809 and later, and on Windows Server 2019 and later, add a DWORD value EnablePerUserCatalog = 0 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search. Restart the VDA to make your registry setting take effect.

Enable native Outlook search experience
November 28, 2023
Contributed by: 
C
November 28, 2023
Contributed by: 
C

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