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Include a file type in the content index (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)

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Applies to: FAST Search Server 2010

FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint crawls and extracts metadata and content from most common file types.

The File Types list that can be viewed in your FAST Search Content Search Service Application is an exclude list of file types that should not be crawled. To include a specific file type in the content index, you must remove the file type from this list or verify that the file type is not excluded by this list as described in Remove a file type from the exclude list.

If a file type is not excluded by the File Types list, it will still be crawled, but the actual content and metadata is only extracted if there an IFilter is registered for that file type. Consult the Crawl Log after a small test crawl with the file type you want to include, and the messages in the Crawl Log will indicate the next steps.

To access the Crawl Log:

  1. Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a service application administrator for your FAST Search Content Search Service Application.

  2. In Central Administration, in the Application Management section, click Manage service applications.

  3. On the Service Applications page, in the list of service applications, click the name of your FAST Search Content SSA.

  4. On the Search Administration page, under Crawling, click Crawl Log. Look for the following messages:

    • Unknown document format, skipping conversion

      This message indicates that you have to register and install a third-party IFilter. See Configure FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint to use a third-party IFilter for more information.

    • No filter available. Enable the Advanced Filter Pack for more filters

      This message indicates that the content and metadata can be extracted by enabling the Advanced Filter Pack. See Enable the Advanced Filter Pack for more information.

    • If none of these messages appear, perform a search and verify that the content is searchable.

In this article:

Remove a file type from the exclude list

Enable the Advanced Filter Pack

Configure FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint to use a third-party IFilter

Remove a file type from the exclude list

  1. Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a service application administrator for your FAST Search Content Search Service Application.

  2. In Central Administration, in the Application Management section, click Manage service applications.

  3. On the Service Applications page, in the list of service applications, click the name of your FAST Search Content SSA.

  4. On the Search Administration page, under Crawling, click File Types.

  5. On the Search Service Application: Manage File Types page, mouse over the file name extension you want to include in the content index. A drop-down arrow will appear and the file name extension will be highlighted.

  6. Click the drop-down arrow and Delete appears.

  7. Click Delete to delete the file name extension.

  8. A confirmation dialog opens; click OK to confirm the deletion of the file name extension from the exclude list.

The Search Service Application: Manage File Types page refreshes and the selected file name extension is no longer excluded from the content index.

Enable the Advanced Filter Pack

By default, the Advanced Filter Pack is disabled. When you enable it, you will be able to extract metadata and content from several hundred file formats in addition to the document formats that are included in the Microsoft Filter Pack.

Follow the instructions in the article Enable Advanced Filter Pack (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint).

Configure FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint to use a third-party IFilter

If you need to use a third-party IFilter, you have to register the IFilter with Windows Search first. After this, update the user_converter_rules.xml configuration file with the file extension, MIME type and format description of the IFilter. For more information, see user_converter_rules.xml reference.

See Also

Concepts

Enable Advanced Filter Pack (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)
user_converter_rules.xml reference
IFilter and file type reference (FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint)