How to Configure SharePoint Search to Find Numbers Within Text
Question details
The user needs to configure SharePoint Search to successfully locate specific numbers embedded within alphanumeric text strings.
- Product
- SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Searching for a specific numerical substring within a larger text string in a SharePoint list or document library without proper tokenization.
- Observed behavior
- SharePoint Search tokenizes values as a whole and fails to find the specific number when it is embedded in a continuous string without standard delimiters.
Ensure you have SharePoint administrator permissions or site collection administrator rights, as modifying search schemas and mapping properties requires elevated privileges.
Map a Custom Crawled Property to a Managed Property
Configure your SharePoint search schema by mapping the specific list column's crawled property to a refinable managed property that supports substring search.
SharePoint's default search tokenization breaks strings at spaces and certain punctuation marks. If your number is combined with text (like 'AW26-1612'), standard search might not index '26' as a standalone term.
To resolve this, you must map the crawled property of your column to a Managed Property and rely on specific Managed Property configurations.
Navigate to Site Settings in your SharePoint site and select 'Search Schema' under the Site Collection Administration section.
Search for the crawled property that matches the column containing your text strings (typically starting with 'ows_').
Edit an existing RefinableString managed property (e.g., RefinableString00) and add your crawled property to its mappings.
Ensure the managed property has 'Searchable', 'Queryable', and 'Retrievable' enabled. Default RefinableStrings are usually pre-configured for this.
Go to the List Settings, select 'Advanced Settings', and click 'Reindex Document Library' or 'Reindex List' to force a crawl of the updated schema.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't SharePoint find a number inside a word by default?
SharePoint uses a word breaker to tokenize text during indexing. It splits text at spaces and specific characters. If a number is directly attached to letters (like 'A123'), it is indexed as a single token, making it invisible to a search for just '123' unless wildcards are used.
Can I use wildcard characters to search for numbers in SharePoint?
Yes, you can use the asterisk (*) wildcard at the end of a search term (prefix matching) in SharePoint. However, suffix matching (e.g., *123) is generally not supported in standard SharePoint Online configurations unless specifically querying a mapped managed property.
How long does it take for Search Schema changes to take effect in SharePoint Online?
After reindexing a list or library, it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours for the continuous crawl to process the changes in SharePoint Online, depending on the current server load.
Are substring searches fully supported in all SharePoint fields?
No. SharePoint Online restricts arbitrary substring searches to prevent performance degradation. Testing with representative values in your specific mapped Managed Properties is essential to verify if your exact search scenario works.
