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P4 Search Documentation | 2026.1

# Index P4 Server from the web UI

You can index P4 Server from the P4 Search web UI. You have options to index over a period of time, filter by depot, filter by file type, and more.

You must be an administrator to index P4 Server from P4 Search.

P4 Search indexes file metadata, but not file content. Metadata includes information like the file name, creation date, who created the file, and other relevant details.

## Run an index

1. Log in to the P4 Search web UI with P4 Server credentials that are administrator level or greater.

2. Click the Account button in the top navigation bar and click Indexing.

   The Indexing page opens.

3. Open the Indexing tab if it is not open already.

4. (Optional:) Use the Index History slider to filter the index by time period. See Filter by time period.

5. (Optional:) From the Filter tab, filter the index by depot. See Filter by depots.

6. (Optional:) From the Types tab, filter the index by file type. See Filter by file types.

7. (Optional:) Toggle Force Update to enable or disable the re-indexing of changes that have already been indexed.

8. Click Execute.

   The Indexing Estimate dialog box opens.

9. Click Index to confirm.

   The indexing of P4 Server begins.

## Filter by time period

When indexing P4 Server, you can filter the index to a specific time period.

1. Open the Indexing tab.

2. Use the Index History slider to choose a time period.

   When the index is executed, it is restricted to this time period.

The Index History slider provides the following options:

- Last Day: Indexes all changes committed in the previous day.

- Last Week: Indexes all changes committed in the last week.

- Last Month: Indexes all changes committed in the last month.

- Last Year: Indexes all changes committed in the last year.

- Everything: Indexes the entire P4 Server.

- Custom: Indexes changes based on a revision range, depot path, and user. See Custom indexing.

You should only use the Index Everything option the first time you index a server, or if you are re-indexing a small server. Indexing your entire P4 Server database can take a long time to complete.

## Filter by depots

When indexing P4 Server, you can include or exclude specific depot paths from the index using the com.perforce.p4search.index.filter configurable. These paths (also known as mappings) are saved in P4 keys.

1. Open the Filter tab.

2. Click Add.

   The Add filter dialog box opens.

3. Enter the specific Depot Path to add the filter to.

4. Enter the Type of the filter. For example, INCLUDE or EXCLUDE.

5. Click Add.

   The filter is applied.

By default, P4 Search excludes depots that are not local depots or stream depots. It also excludes the following depot paths:

- //.swarm/...

- //.p4-extensions/...

- //.../.git/...

## Filter by file types

When indexing P4 Server, you can include or exclude specific file types from the index using the com.perforce.p4search.index.types-filter configurable. This helps to speed up the indexing process and reduce the size of your Elasticsearch index.

A list of file types is stored in P4 keys. The file type mappings are stored in P4 keys.

1. Open the Types tab.

   All the available file types are displayed.

2. Click a file type once to include it as a filter. Click the file type again to exclude it as a filter.

3. Click Save.

   The filters are applied.

By default, P4 Search includes the following file types:

- SOURCE: various types of source code

- AUDIO: all audio files

- VIDEO: all video files

- IMAGE: all image files

- HEIC: HEIC files

- VECTOR: vector-based image files

- DIGITAL: digital files

By default, P4 Search excludes the following file types:

- EXECUTABLE: all executable files

- PACKAGE: all package files

- COMPRESS: all compressed file types

- UNKNOWN_TEXT: text files that P4 Search does not recognize

- UNKNOWN: any other unrecognized file types

If there is a file type you would like P4 Search to support, email Perforce support.

## Custom indexing

You can run a custom index for a specific revision range, depot path, or user, or a combination of all three. For example, you could index a range of change numbers in a depot path for a specific user.

1. Open the Indexing tab.

2. Use the Index History slider to choose Custom.

3. Use the Revision Ranges, Depot Path, and By User tabs to customize the index. See the following sections.

### Index changes over a specific range of revisions

You can run an index over a specific range of change numbers or dates.

1. Open the Revision Ranges tab.

2. In the From field, enter the P4 Server change number or date (YYYY/MM/DD) to start indexing from.

3. In the To field, enter the P4 Server change number or date (YYYY/MM/DD) to stop indexing at.

4. (Optional:) Use the other tabs to customize the index further.

5. Click Execute.

   A dialog box opens, providing an estimated time for the index to complete.

6. Click Index.

   The index begins.

### Index changes from a specific depot

1. Open the Depot Path tab.

2. In the Depot Path field, enter the depot path to index.

3. (Optional:) Use the other tabs to customize the index further.

4. Click Execute.

   A dialog box opens, providing an estimated time for the index to complete.

5. Click Index.

   The index begins.

### Index changes by a specific user

1. Open the By User tab.

2. In the User field, enter the name of the P4 Server user to index.

3. (Optional:) Use the other tabs to customize the index further.

4. Click Execute.

   A dialog box opens, providing an estimated time for the index to complete.

5. Click Index.

   The index begins.

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