February 2025 Azure Search Update: Fixing Indexing Issues in Umbraco with ExamineX

Date : Monday, March 3, 2025
| Categories : Umbraco Search Azure
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Handling the Azure Search Functional Regression in Umbraco with ExamineX: What Developers Need to Know

As of February 2025, Azure Search introduced a significant change that has led to unexpected indexing issues, particularly for developers utilizing ExamineX in their Umbraco projects. This change affects the way fields are mapped during indexing operations, leading to potential failures if fields are not explicitly defined in the index schema.

The Azure Search Update: What Changed?

Prior to this update, Azure Search (now part of Azure AI Search) allowed for implicit field mappings, meaning that it would automatically map source fields to index fields with matching names and compatible data types. However, the new update changes this behavior. Now, any field referenced in a field mapping must be explicitly defined in the index schema. If a field is not explicitly defined, the indexing operation will fail.

For example, developers might encounter the following error:

Field mapping specifies target field 'filename' that is not present in the target index.

This issue has a direct impact on search functionality and the behavior of ExamineX, a popular package used for search indexing in Umbraco. The regression prevents automatic field mapping from working as expected, causing indexing failures when attempting to index new fields.

Impact on ExamineX and Umbraco Projects

If you're using ExamineX in your Umbraco project, this Azure Search change can cause indexing failures when attempting to index new fields that aren't explicitly defined in the index schema. For Umbraco developers, this issue may disrupt search functionality, especially when introducing new content types or fields that weren’t previously part of the schema.

For example, a field added to an Umbraco document type or a new property type that is not explicitly included in the Azure index schema can result in the following:

Indexing failures during the content indexing process.
Disruptions in search results if new fields are not properly defined.
Errors like the one mentioned earlier when fields in the index schema are missing.

What Should You Do as an Umbraco Developer?

To avoid these issues and ensure that your indexing continues to work smoothly, you need to make some updates to your Umbraco implementation. Here are the steps to address this problem:

Review and Update Your Index Schema
- Check your Azure Search index schema to ensure that all fields referenced in your field mappings are explicitly defined. This means updating your field definitions in Azure to include all the properties used in your Umbraco document types.
Update ExamineX Configuration
- If you haven’t already, make sure that your ExamineX configuration is aligned with the new behavior of Azure Search. Update the field mappings in ExamineX to reflect any changes to the fields in your index schema.
Modify Field Mappings in ExamineX
- If you’re using custom field mappings in ExamineX, ensure they are explicitly mapped to the correct fields in Azure Search. This can be done by properly editing your Examine settings to define each source and target field.
Test Your Indexing Operations
- After making the necessary adjustments, run your indexing process again. Ensure that no indexing errors occur and that all content is indexed correctly. Test the search functionality on your Umbraco site to ensure the changes are reflected in search results.
Stay Informed About Updates
- Keep an eye on further updates from Azure Search and ExamineX. These platforms are constantly evolving, and it’s essential to stay up to date with any new changes that could affect your indexing strategy. You can follow the latest news on Azure Search updates and ExamineX releases to stay ahead of potential issues.

Solution for Developers Using ExamineX

To address the specific issue caused by the Azure Search update, ExamineX has already released updates for all major versions to accommodate the new field mapping behavior. If you're using ExamineX, it’s highly recommended to upgrade to the newest minor version!