Managing client side search panels changes

When using MacroView DMF and Message with SharePoint Online (or an on-premises SharePoint server in Client Side Only mode), the configuration file that defines the search panels displayed in Search mode are by default read from the O365Masks.xml file located under the users profile at:

C:\Users\<yourprofile>\AppData\Roaming\MacroView DMF\Store

This means, by updating this file, each user can have a unique set of search panels, however if all  users (or specific groups of users) share common search panels, or you have multiple servers defined in DMF and want the search panels to be different for each server, the search panel configuration file(s) can be stored in a central location on a file share or in SharePoint.

Setting a central search configuration file location

To set a location for the search panel configuration file(s):

1. Open the DMF options dialog.
2. Select the General tab on the left panel and navigate to the section titled Search.
3. Next to the Client side search mask location option, select whether the search mask location is on a file share or in SharePoint and click the grey box to browse to the location of the search configuration files.

Users will then see any changes made to the search panel configuration file(s) in this location whenever they restart Outlook or DMF Explorer or if they hit the refresh button in Search mode.

Configuring different search panels for each server

To have different search panels for one or more servers you simply copy the O365Masks.xml file from a users profile, make any required changes then rename it to [Servername].xml and save it to the file share or SharePoint location defined under Options >General > Search.

Whenever a user starts MacroView DMF or Message, switches to Search mode, selects a different server in Search mode or manually refreshes their search panels, DMF and Message will attempt to load search panels in the following priority order:

1. [Servername].xml from the specified Client side search mask location under DMF options
2. [Servername].xml from the users profile
3. O365Masks.xml from the specified Client side search mask location under DMF options
4. O365Masks.xml from users profile
5. Default Keyword and Email search masks (on on-premises servers)

Changing the search panels for different groups of users

By storing different search configuration file(s) in different file share or SharePoint locations and pointing each users DMF client at the appropriate location under Options>General>Search, you can tailor the search panels available for each users and server combination.

Using client side search masks on On-premises SharePoint servers

Search masks for on-premises SharePoint servers are by default installed on the SharePoint server. However, if you are using MacroView DMF 8.5 or later and you are either not familiar with SharePoint server administration, or want an easier way to manage your search panels, DMF or Message can be configured so that all on-premises SharePoint servers retrieve their search panels from configuration files stored in the central file share or SharePoint location in the same way they are for client side search panels (see above). 

To make on-premises servers use client side search panel configuration files, enable Use client side search mask for on-premises SharePoint servers under DMF Options > General > Search.

See Installing a custom search panel for more information.

Version support

MacroView DMF and Message 8.5 and later

Related articles

• FAQ: MacroView DMF and MacroView Message search panels
• Search configuration for SharePoint Online
• Defining custom search panels for DMF and Message
• Index of search configuration articles