Delete the index

Overview

Delete the index by deleting the contents of the directory specified by the WAS variable, SEARCH_INDEX_DIR.

From time to time, we might need to delete and rebuild the Search index. For example, if you change the context root of one of the Connections applications, you then need to rebuild the index by deleting the current index. The index is automatically rebuilt the next time the indexing task runs.

When you delete the index, you might also want to delete the content of the extracted file store used by the Search index. However, the existing extracted file content can be reused when generating a new index so, if the files were previously indexed successfully, it is generally preferable to keep the extracted content to reduce index recreation time.

Delete the Search index

1. Check the value of the SEARCH_INDEX_DIR variable for the relevant server:
   Environment | WebSphere variables | Show filter function icon | Name | SEARCH_INDEX_DIR | Go

   A variable called SEARCH_INDEX_DIR displays in the search results. Take a note of the value of this variable as the index location for the relevant server.

2. To delete the contents of the extracted file store, check the value of the EXTRACTED_FILE_STORE variable for the server:

   Enter EXTRACTED_FILE_STORE into the Search terms field and click Go. A variable called EXTRACTED_FILE_STORE displays in the search results. Take a note of the value of this variable as the extracted file content location for the server.

3. Shut down the Search server or cluster.

4. Delete the contents of the index folder.

5. Delete the contents of the extracted file content folder.

6. Rebuild the index

Parent topic:
Manage the Search index

Related:
Create Search indexes
Recreate the search index
Create a background index