Configure the index

Build the index now

Build the Universal Search index now with Process Now, rebuild a table after a settings change, and read the Pending rebuild, Active and Error statuses.

updated: Oct 8, 2026applies-to: 1.0.0.1

This page applies to version 1.0.0.1; the current product version is 1.0.0.0.

The background job builds the Universal Search index on its next run, but you rarely want to wait the first time, or right after a configuration change. Process Now runs the same indexer immediately in your own session, and Rebuild Selected Table tells it to rebuild a table from scratch. This page shows when to use each one and how to read the result.

Prerequisites

The BAA SEARCH ADM permission set, or SUPER.
Indexing started on Universal Search Setup, so changes keep flowing into the index after this first build. See Start indexing.

Build the index immediately

Open Search Index Configuration. Rows that have not been built yet show status Pending rebuild.

Search Index Configuration rows in status Pending rebuild before the first build — *Step 1: rows waiting to be built.*

On the action bar, choose Actions (choose More options first if you do not see it), then Process Now. The indexer runs in your session. When it finishes, Business Central shows: "The index builder has finished processing the queue and any pending rebuilds."

Message after Process Now saying the index builder has finished processing — *Step 2: Process Now runs in your session.*

Close the message. Each row that was built now shows status Active, and Indexed Records shows how many records of its table the build processed.

Index rows in status Active with Indexed Records after Process Now — *Step 3: the rows are built and searchable.*

Open Universal Search and try a search. See Search from Tell Me.

NOTE

Process Now runs in your session, so on a large table you wait until it finishes. For large tables you can leave the rows in Pending rebuild and let the background job build them instead.

Rebuild a table after a change

Changing Enable Phonetic on a built row does not reindex records that are already in the index. A new Weight needs no rebuild, because it is applied when results are scored. To apply a phonetic change:

Select one row of the table, or several rows.
Choose Actions, then Rebuild Selected Table. Every row of each selected table goes back to Pending rebuild, and Business Central shows: "The selected table(s) have been marked for rebuild. The rebuild runs in the background."

Rebuild Selected Table message and the Customer rows back in status Pending rebuild — *Rebuild Selected Table marks every row of that table for a rebuild.*

Choose Actions, then Process Now to rebuild straight away, or let the next background run do it.

A rebuild removes the table's existing index entries and indexes the table again from the current rows. Entering a new Record Filter marks the row for a rebuild on its own, so you only need step 3.

Index statuses

Status	Meaning
Pending rebuild	The table is waiting to be built or rebuilt. New rows start here.
Indexing	The table is being built right now.
Active	The table is built. New changes keep flowing in through the background job.
Error	Building the table stopped. Last Error says why.

A table in Error is not picked up again automatically. Fix the cause, choose Rebuild Selected Table, then Process Now. See Troubleshooting.

Max Records per Table on Universal Search Setup caps how many records of each table a rebuild indexes. See Set result limits.

What's next

Decide how many results people see at a time: Set result limits.