File Connector

The Coveo connector for file shares allows you to index the content of files stored on local or network drives. The content of the files is integrated into the Coveo unified index, making the files easily searchable by end-users.

Note: CES supports several file formats (see Supported File Formats).

The File connector features are:

Supported file shares

The File connector can index files on file shares of the following types:

• Microsoft Windows Server (2012) and Microsoft Windows (8/7)

• Microsoft Windows Distributed File System (DFS)

• File share on other operating systems (ex.: UNIX, Linux, Mac) accessible through the Windows network. Paths and filenames must be compliant with the Windows naming conventions (see Naming Conventions).

Note: CES 7.0.7183+ (November 2014) The File connector supports long Unicode file paths up to 32,767 characters for both refresh and live monitoring operations, breaking the original 260 character maximum path length.

Security

The permissions associated with a file in the Coveo unified index are the same as the ones found in the file system.

Identity impersonation

You can configure each connector source to impersonate a different identity allowing to index several repositories that require different access credentials.

Incremental refresh

The File connector uses file live monitoring to identify modifications of indexed files. When this feature is enabled, CES processes modifications as soon as they are detected, thus keeping the unified index synchronized with the file system without requiring a source refresh (see About Incremental Refresh and Live Monitoring).

Mail archives

You can optionally configure the File connector to open Microsoft Exchange Personal Folders (.pst) files and index the content of individual emails so that they become easily searchable by end-users. The File connector supports the Unicode and the legacy ANSI format of PST files (see Mail Archive Indexing with the File Connector).

Note: Microsoft Exchange Personal Folders (.pst) files are referred to as mail archives in the File connector documentation.

Note: The File connector is completely independent from the Desktop connector. While both connectors can crawl local and network drives, the File connector is configured by the Coveo administrator and the crawling process runs on the Coveo server. The Desktop connector is configured by end-users using the Desktop Integration Package (DIP) (see Specifying the Personal Folders to Index) and the crawling process runs on their computers. Both connectors send content to the unified index on the Coveo server.