Written By Jessy Schroeder
Searching for records should feel simple. When you want to make Dataverse Search work for your organization, the search bar should help you filter fields and tables without overwhelming you with too many results. A strong search experience helps your team find information quickly and accurately.
Customizing your Dataverse Search settings gives users the ability to search across the entire database instead of navigating to individual tables. These settings also determine which tables and fields appear in global search results. With proper configuration, Dataverse Search delivers faster and more relevant results, even for partial matches.
What Is Dataverse Search?
Dataverse Search is available in Dynamics 365 customer engagement apps including Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Marketing, and Project Service Automation. When enabled, a search bar appears across the top of all model-driven apps in the environment.
When users enter at least three characters, Dataverse Search displays a preview of matching records. They can expand this preview to see more results. The top results tab shows the searchable tables, and each table tab displays the fields used in the search.
To learn more, you can review Microsoft’s documentation here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/power-apps/maker/data-platform/dataverse-search
How to Enable Dataverse Search
Only an admin can turn on Dataverse Search in the Power Platform Admin Center. Select the environment, open Settings, and expand the Product section. Choose Features, turn Dataverse Search to On, and save the page.
How to Select the Tables Used in Dataverse Search
Admin users must open the environment in the Maker Portal at make.powerapps.com.
From the solution’s Overview page, you can see Dataverse Search information. There is no limit on the number of searchable tables. However, there is a limit of 1,000 indexed fields across all tables. Dataverse automatically indexes 50 fields by default, which leaves up to 950 fields available.
Select Manage search index to open the configuration panel. You’ll see each indexed table and the number of fields included. The bottom of the panel shows the remaining field capacity.
To remove a table, uncheck the table name and save.
If a table does not appear in the list, check its Appear in search results setting.
Additional Microsoft guidance can be found here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/power-apps/maker/data-platform/index-overview
How to Select Fields to Index
Open your solution’s Objects tab and select the table you want to modify. For example, if you want the Lead table to return more accurate results:
- Open the table.
- Select Views.
- Open Quick Find View.
- Add or remove fields under View and Find By to adjust what Dataverse indexes.
- Save and publish.
After updating the fields, Dataverse Search will return more complete results. For example, adding City and State helps you find Leads based on address information instead of only name fields.
Important Notes on Indexing
Indexing changes can take up to 15 minutes to appear in search results. A full sync may take an hour in medium environments and several days in large ones.
Fields from related tables may be added to Quick Find, but Dataverse Search ignores them during the search process.
Some fields count as more than one field:
- Lookup fields count as 3
- Option Set fields count as 2
Configuration Tips for Better Performance
- Try to stay well below the limit of 950 additional fields. Too many indexed fields reduce performance.
- Ensure all searchable tables are added to your model-driven app. A table must be part of the app to appear in search results.
- Review search behavior regularly to make sure results match user needs.
Following these steps helps you make Dataverse Search work more efficiently and improves the search experience across your organization.
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