How to Make Windows 8 Index Encrypted Files

Encrypting folders and files is a way to protect them from unwanted access. Encrypting File System (EFS) is a feature of Windows that allows you to store information on your hard disk in an encrypted format. Encryption helps you keep your information secure. If you have files that are encrypted, you will probably have noticed that they don't get indexed by Windows, and it wont show up in search results. Here’s how to fix it.

1. Right click in the bottom left hand corner of your screen and select System.





2. Click Performance Information and Tools.





3. Click on the Adjust indexing options link.





4. Click on the Advanced button.





5. Here you will need to check the Index encrypted files checkbox.





You will get a warning telling you that since you will be indexing encrypted files, the volume on which your search index resides should have some kind of full volume encryption as well, this is a security measure and isn’t required but is recommended


6. Click OK