Who is this article for?

Admin with tenant-level access who can configure the search schema settings

Administrator permissions are required.

The Administration Client includes a tool that configures the SharePoint Search Schema to support email-specific columns through the left navigation. This allows users to view metadata for all saved emails, as well as search, sort (by SentDate), and filter metadata within the Search application.

This article walks you through the process of configuring the SharePoint search schema. 

1. Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you've got the following:

• Search schema setup requires Ideagen Mail Manager Enterprise Administration client version 9.1.0 or later.

• Currently, search schema supports only the default content type OnePlaceMail Email; support for custom types is coming soon.

• Configure the email search schema once per tenant to map crawled to managed properties and create email columns for the site URL.

• For new sites under an existing tenant, run Add Email Columns to enable the Search App to populate email metadata.

• Set up the following permissions:

  • SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator to access search schema settings

  • Site Collection Administrator access to Ideagen Mail Manager Administration Client

  • Permissions to create folders and upload files to the target library

• Get access to the following environments:

  • SharePoint Online (not supported on SharePoint On-Premises)

  • Ideagen Mail Manager Administration Client installed

  • Active connection to a OnePlace administration site

2. Deploy Seed Folder

The tool starts by creating a seed folder with sample .eml file with email columns and values to initiate the SharePoint crawling process.

To deploy a seed folder:

1. Launch the Ideagen Mail Manager Administration Client from the desktop.

2. Select Email Search Schema from the left navigation.

3. Review default deployment settings:

   • Admin Site URL - Your connected SharePoint admin site (Automatically populated)

   • Library Name - Documents (Default library for deployment)

   • Folder Name - .ideagenmailmanager-search (Hidden folder for seed data)

4. Select Deploy Folder.
   This will create the seed folder with a sample .eml file with email columns and values.

5. Wait for the deployment to complete.
   The status will update automatically from Not created (Displayed in red) to Created (Displayed in green) once the deployment is successful.

6. Click Next.
   This will take you to the Check Readiness step.

3. Check Readiness

After deployment, SharePoint needs time to crawl email columns and create the corresponding crawled properties, ensuring they are ready for mapping.

Crawled properties can take from minutes to hours to appear in the search schema. Once started, the crawl runs on Microsoft’s search infrastructure even if the user disconnects from Ideagen Mail Manager Administrator Site URL or closes the Administration Client.

To check if crawled properties are available:

1. Click the SharePoint Admin Center link.
   This will open the Crawled Properties page in your browser.

2. Search for crawled properties starting with ows_Em.

3. Ensure that the following crawled properties are listed:

   • ows_EmSubject

   • ows_EmFrom

   • ows_EmFromName

   • ows_EmTo

   • ows_EmToAddress

   • ows_EmDateSent

   • ows_EmCategory

   • ows_EmAttachCount

   • ows_EmCc

   • ows_EmCcSMTPAddress

4. Return to the tool.

5. Tick I have verified that the crawled properties are ready to proceed to the next step.

6. Click Next.
   This will take you to the Import Search Configuration step.

If the crawled properties do not appear within 24 hours, return to Step 1 and perform a Re-Deploy Folder action.

4. Import Search Configuration

This step generates a search configuration file that maps crawled properties to the defined managed properties, enabling search and filter functionality for email content within the Search Application.

4.1. Downloading the file

To download the configuration file:

1. Click Generate File in the Download Search Configuration File section.

2. Select a location.
3. Click Save.
   A message notification will appear confirming that the file has been successfully generated.

4. When the system detects managed properties that were not defined by the Email Search Schema tool but are linked to the crawled properties, the following message will be prompted:

For example, if ows_EmSubject is mapped to managed property that were not defined by the Email Search Schema tool, you will need to remove the mapping.

4.1.1. Removing mapping

To remove the mapping:

1. Navigate to the Crawled Properties page.

2. Click Open Menu for the property

3. Select Remove Mapping.

4. Click OK.

The RefinableDate property maps the crawled property (ows_EmDateSent) to a Date type for filtering. The exact name (e.g., RefinableDate00, RefinableDate01) depends on which is available in your tenant. The tool selects an available RefinableDate automatically.

If no refinable property is found during the system check, a prompt appears after clicking Generate File, reminding you to ensure at least one unused refinable property is available to map with ows_EmDateSent.

4.2. Importing the file

Importing search configuration requires tenant-level access. Ensure you have SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator rights to perform this action.

To import the file:

1. Click Open SharePoint Admin Center in the Import Seach Configuration File section.

2. Click Choose File.

3. Select the SearchConfiguration.xml file you downloaded in the previous step.

4. Click Import to apply the configuration to your tenant.

5. Wait for the import process to complete.
   This usually takes only a few seconds.

6. Monitor the import status by refreshing the page regularly. When successful, the status will display Import Successfully.

7. If you receive this error below, it is a false alarm (due to something on Microsoft's side), and you can proceed to the next step to confirm you have already imported the configuration.

   

8. Return to the Ideagen Mail Manager Administrator Client tool.

9. Tick I have already imported the configuration.

10. Click Next.
    This will take you to the Result step.

5. Result

This step validates that the managed properties mappings have been successfully applied and are active in your SharePoint search schema.

The status grid consists of three columns:

• Crawled Properties - Refers to the source email column’s crawled property (e.g : ows_EmSubject)
• Managed Properties - Refers to the target managed property for Search (e.g : EmSubject or RefinableDateXX)
• Status - Mapped or Not Mapped

Review the status for each property in the table:

• Mapped (Green) - The crawled property has been successfully mapped to the managed property.

• Not Mapped (Red) - The mapping has not been applied yet or is incomplete.

And the overall status indicator:

• Completed - All properties in the table are mapped

• Incomplete mapping - One or more properties are not mapped

• Checking … - After clicking the Refresh button, while it is being processed

When the overall status shows Status: Completed, the configuration process is completed.

You can verify the managed properties in SharePoint by opening the managed properties page through the SharePoint Admin Center link.

Once you're ready to complete the process, click Finish to be taken to the Connected section.

If properties remain in a Not Mapped status for extended period, you can review the crawl log in the SharePoint Admin Center to identify any errors.

6. Managed properties created

The Email Search Schema tool creates the following managed properties in your tenant:

7. Reindexing a site

When is a reindex needed?
A reindex is only required if the customer had already saved emails to SharePoint before completing the email search schema setup (i.e. before the managed properties were configured).
If emails were saved after the schema setup was completed, SharePoint’s incremental indexing will have picked them up automatically — no manual reindex is needed.
 

What happens if a reindex is skipped?
If the customer has older emails saved in SharePoint that pre-date the schema setup and they skip the reindex, those records will not be fully searchable via the search app. 

For example, if a customer completed the schema setup in March 2025 but had been saving emails since January 2025, emails saved between January and March will still be discoverable — however, their email metadata column values such as Subject, From, and To will not be displayed in the search results, nor will those records be searchable against those fields. Only emails saved from March onwards will behave as expected. Running a reindex ensures those older records are re-crawled and their metadata column values are correctly populated in the index.

Reindexing can take from 24 hours to several days, depending on item count, document size, metadata complexity, and system load.

To reindex a site, follow the official Microsoft instructions on reindexing.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the entire process take?

The wizard steps themselves take only a few minutes. However, SharePoint's crawling and indexing process can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours depending on your tenant's crawl schedule and current search workload.

What if I don't have an available RefinableDate property?

The wizard will notify you if no RefinableDate properties are available. You may need to review your current search schema configuration and free up a RefinableDate property, or contact Microsoft support to request additional refinable properties for your tenant.

Can I run this wizard multiple times?

Yes. If you need to re-deploy the seed folder or regenerate the configuration file, you can run the wizard again. If the configuration is already imported, the wizard will detect existing mappings in Step 4.

What happens to the seed folder after configuration?

The Seed Folder (.ideagenmailmanager-search) must remain in your library. It is hidden from the standard views and does not impact normal operations, as it only contains sample data. If you delete it, you would need to re-run the wizard to re-create it.

Do I need to configure this for each site collection?

No. The Email Search Schema is configured at the tenant level and applies across all site collections. You only need to run the wizard once per tenant.

Will this affect existing email columns in my libraries?

No. The wizard only configures the search schema for email metadata. Your existing email columns and saved emails are not modified.