Outlook Cannot Search Email on VDI

If you’re working on a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and experiencing issues with searching emails in Outlook, you're not alone. It's a common problem with a few specific causes and solutions. Below, we'll walk through the common symptoms, causes, and actions required to resolve these issues.

Symptom 1: Outlook Cannot Search Emails on VDI

Problem: You’re unable to search through emails in Outlook while on a VDI session.

Cause: Outlook is attempting to index files in order to search them, but the indexing process never completes. This is a common issue on VDIs due to the nature of their storage and session management.

Action Required:

Disable Cached Exchange Mode:

 Cached Exchange Mode is not supported on standard or dynamic VDI sessions because it requires writing and storing the cached data locally, which isn't preserved from session to session. Typically, VDI sessions are set to run in online mode to avoid this issue.

   

   Here’s how to disable Cached Exchange Mode:

1.    Open Outlook and click the File tab at the top.
2.    Select Account Settings and click on Account Settings from the dropdown.
3.    Under the E-mail tab, double-click the user’s email address.
4.    Uncheck the option Use Cached Exchange Mode under the Server settings.
5.    Click Next and then Finish.
6.    Restart Outlook.
7.    Verify that the search functionality is now working as expected.

   Note: This process might take longer than anticipated to apply.

Symptom 2: Windows Search Engine Disabled Warning

Problem: When you click into the Search bar, you receive a message saying, “The Windows Search Engine is currently disabled. Outlook will not be able to provide fast search results using the Instant Search functionality unless this service is running.”

Cause: The Windows Search function has been disabled on standard VDI sessions by the system administrators due to its heavy usage of processor and network bandwidth, which can slow down performance. 

Action Required:

Clear Windows Search Warning:

Simply click OK on the pop-up message. The search might take slightly longer than usual, but it will still work. The message should only appear once per session, but it may reappear in future sessions or after a VDI profile rebuild.

You can also check the box "Do not show this message again", though this may not prevent it from reappearing after a session reset.

Symptom 3: Search Words Are Not Highlighted

Problem: When searching emails, the search terms are not highlighted within the email content.

Cause: Highlighting search words requires indexing, which is disabled on standard VDI sessions due to the aforementioned resource concerns.

Action Required:

Search Individual Emails:

You can manually search and highlight words within individual emails. Here’s how:

1.    Open the email from the search results.
2.    Click **Find** (or press **F4**) under the **Editing** section on the **Message** menu.
3.    This will allow you to search for the specific word within the email, and it will be highlighted for easier viewing.

Final Note:

As of March 11, 2015, Windows Search has been re-enabled for all pooled VDI sessions, which should resolve some of the search-related issues. However, symptoms 2 and 3 still apply if the search service is disabled.

By following these steps, you should be able to troubleshoot and resolve most search-related issues within Outlook on a VDI session. If problems persist, it might be necessary to consult with your IT department for further assistance.