SharePoint Document Issues

How to Make SharePoint Library Columns Available in PnP Filters

Huma Ashraf Ch Sep 29, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user needs to expose custom SharePoint library columns, including term store values, as searchable filter fields in PnP Modern Search.

How to Make SharePoint Library Columns Available in PnP Filters

Product: SharePoint PnP Modern Search
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Configuring search refiners and custom column filters in PnP Modern Search for a SharePoint document library.
Observed behavior: Custom library columns do not appear by default in PnP search filters and require manual schema mapping to be utilized as refiners.

Before you start

Ensure you have Site Collection Administrator or SharePoint Administrator privileges, and note that search indexing and schema changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours to fully reflect across your site.

Solution 1Recommended

Configure Search Schema and Map Crawled Properties

This solution walks through mapping the crawled property of your custom column to a Refinable managed property in the SharePoint Search Schema.

In SharePoint, custom columns are automatically discovered by the search crawler, which creates 'crawled properties'. To use these properties as filters or refiners in PnP Modern Search, they must be manually mapped to pre-existing 'Refinable' managed properties.

Ensure the column is indexed

Create your custom site column in the SharePoint library and add data to at least one document or list item. SharePoint will automatically crawl it during the next continuous crawl to generate the crawled property.

Access the Search Schema

Navigate to 'Site Settings' (via the gear icon) and select 'Search Schema' under Site Collection Administration. If unavailable at the site level, navigate to the SharePoint Admin Center > More features > Search > Manage Search Schema.

Map to a Refinable property

Search for an unused 'RefinableString' managed property (e.g., RefinableString00) and click to edit it. Scroll to 'Mappings to crawled properties', click 'Add a Mapping', search for your column's crawled property, select it, and click 'OK' to save.

Update PnP Web Parts

Go to your SharePoint site page, edit the PnP Search Results web part to include your new managed property (e.g., RefinableString00) in the 'Selected properties'. Then, add the same property to the 'Filter field' configuration in the PnP Search Filters web part.

Configure Search Schema and Map Crawled Properties

Re-indexing Required: After mapping the property, you must go to Library Settings > Advanced Settings and click 'Reindex Document Library'. The filters will only populate after the next full crawl completes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why isn't my crawled property showing up in the Search Schema?

Crawled properties are only generated after SharePoint's search engine crawls the site. Ensure your new column has actual data in at least one list item or document, and wait for the continuous crawl to process it, which can take up to 24 hours.

Can I map a Choice column to a Refinable property?

Yes. Choice columns generate crawled properties (typically starting with 'ows_') which can be mapped to RefinableString properties for use as filters in the PnP Modern Search web part.

Do I need SharePoint Admin center access to manage Search Schema?

Not necessarily. If you are a Site Collection Administrator, you can map crawled properties to managed properties at the Site Collection level via Site Settings > Search Schema. However, tenant-wide configurations require SharePoint Admin access.

Why are my PnP Search Filters not displaying the new values immediately?

After mapping a crawled property to a managed property, you must request a re-index of the library or site. Even after initiating the re-index, it takes time for the search crawler to process the items and update the index with the new filter values.

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