SharePoint 2016 Automatic Index Feature

SharePoint 2016 introduces a new feature to automatically create indexes on list fields, Where the list has more items than half of the list threshold value. E.g., suppose the list threshold is set to 5000 items, and your list has a view with more than 2500 items in it. In that case, the automatic indexing process starts automatically by a daily timer job, “Large list column index management Timer Job”.

How to Enable Automatic Index on SharePoint List?

This behavior is controlled from the Advanced Settings page of the list. If you head on to the List Settings >> Advanced settings >> under the “Automatic Index Management” section, you’ll find an option to turn ON or OFF the Automatic Index Management option. By default, for all lists and libraries, the property is enabled.

This setting determines whether this list should automatically start indexing its fields when its item count reaches half of the threshold.

PowerShell to Enable or Disable Automatic Indexing:

Using PowerShell, you can turn this setting on or off by changing the EnableManagedIndexes property on a list.

Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

#Get Web and List objects
$web = Get-SPWeb "https://intranet.crescent.com/sites/sales"
$List = $web.Lists["Team Documents"]

#Enable Automatic Index
$List.EnableManagedIndexes=$True
$List.Update()

Similarly, You can disable automatic indexing by setting the EnableManagedIndexes flag to $False.