As digital workplaces grow, employees face the challenge of information overload. While SharePoint is a powerful content management system, finding relevant results can be time-consuming. Often, keyword searches return a flood of data unrelated to what users seek. To solve this problem, hit-highlighted summaries offer a practical feature that improves visibility and saves time. These summaries enhance the SharePoint search functionality by showing users exactly where their searched terms appear within the content, helping them decide faster and more accurately.
Why finding relevant content is harder than it should be
Even with a structured SharePoint setup, search results can feel overwhelming. Users type in keywords, but instead of getting focused, practical results, they receive long lists of documents and pages, many of which are irrelevant. This delays workflows and often causes users to miss key information or give up the search altogether.
This is where SharePoint search functionality can benefit from optimization. Tools that highlight content snippets make it easier to scan through results and spot the useful ones. Hit-Highlighted Summaries are one such enhancement that improves speed and accuracy during content discovery.
Understanding hit-highlighted summaries in SharePoint
Hit-highlighted summaries are automatically generated text snippets that appear in SharePoint search results. These summaries originate from the SharePoint Search Index, not tools like PnP Modern Search. During a query, the search backend includes this data as part of the result JSON, typically in the HitHighlightedSummary or HitHighlightedProperties fields.
PnP Modern Search can surface these summaries using result templates, but it does not generate them. The feature highlights searched terms in bold within a portion of the document text, helping users quickly assess relevance without opening the file.
It is important to note that these summaries are supported using the classic SharePoint Search API. Organizations relying solely on Microsoft Search (Graph-based) may not see hit-highlighted summaries, as they are not currently supported in that model.
Benefits of hit-highlighting for workplace productivity
The inclusion of hit-highlighted Summaries directly supports better decision-making. Users can instantly eliminate irrelevant results when they see their search terms in context. This lowers frustration, reduces time spent digging through files, and keeps team members focused on meaningful tasks.
It also enhances trust in the SharePoint search functionality itself. When users know they can rely on the platform to surface the correct data with clear visual cues, they are more likely to use it consistently, boosting SharePoint adoption throughout the organization.
Make search results easier to navigate
One of the easiest ways to improve user experience is by ensuring hit-highlighted summaries are displayed properly in modern or custom search pages. With PnP Modern Search, developers can configure result templates to show these summaries consistently and apply styling for better visibility.
However, there are important considerations. The content that appears in summaries must come from searchable managed properties. This means mapping those fields correctly in the SharePoint Search Schema for custom columns or lists. If a property is not marked as searchable or queryable, it may not appear in summaries.
Also, hit-highlighting works best with full-text indexed fields, such as document body content. It may not function with binary formats (like scanned PDFs) or metadata fields not configured for text indexing.
Modern workplaces do not have time for inefficient search experiences. Using hit-highlighted summaries, organizations can significantly improve the SharePoint search functionality and empower users to find information faster. This feature turns a cluttered search page into a clear, focused tool that works in real-world scenarios. It is a slight change that significantly impacts usability and daily productivity.
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