Create a Search-Based View for Policies: SharePoint Admin Guide

As a SharePoint administrator, you manage many policies across your tenant. Finding a specific policy among dozens of entries can take too long. The SharePoint admin center does not offer a direct filter for policy details like title, description, or last modified date. This article shows you how to create a search-based view that displays only the policies you need, using the built-in SharePoint search features.

Why a Custom Search View Is Needed for Policies

The SharePoint admin center provides a Policies section under the admin menu. This section lists policies such as site creation rights, external sharing settings, and device access policies. However, the default view shows each policy as a single row with limited columns: policy name, type, and status. You cannot filter by description, owner, or the date the policy was last updated. If your tenant has more than a few policies, scrolling through the list is inefficient.

A search-based view solves this problem. Instead of relying on the admin center list, you create a search page that queries a document library or list where policy documents are stored. By adding metadata columns like policy title, description, effective date, and owner, you can build a search results page that displays exactly the fields you need. This approach also lets you use search refiners to narrow results by date, author, or content type.

Before you begin, confirm that your policy documents are stored in a SharePoint document library or a list. The library must have a content type assigned to each policy item. If you do not have a content type for policies, create one first in the site settings under Content Types. The content type should include at least these columns: Title, Description, Policy Type, Effective Date, and Owner.

Steps to Create a Search-Based View for Policies

This method uses SharePoint search and a custom search results page. You do not need to write code or use PowerShell. All steps are performed in the SharePoint admin center and the browser.

1. Open the SharePoint admin center
   Go to https://admin.microsoft.com and sign in as a SharePoint admin. In the left navigation, click Admin centers and then SharePoint.
2. Navigate to the Policies section
   In the SharePoint admin center, expand the Policies menu on the left. Click Active sites to see the list of site-level policies. This is the default view that you will replace with a search-based view.
3. Identify the site collection that stores policy documents
   Determine which site collection contains the policy document library. If you do not have a dedicated policy site, create a new communication site named “Policy Documents” and add a document library called “Policies.” Upload your policy documents and assign the policy content type to each item.
4. Create a search result source
   In the SharePoint admin center, click Search in the left navigation, then click Manage result sources. Click New Result Source. Give it a name like “Policy Documents.” Set the protocol to SharePoint Search Results. In the query text box, enter:
   {searchTerms} contenttype:policy
   Replace policy with the actual name of your policy content type. Click Save.
5. Create a query rule for the policy search
   Still under Search, click Manage query rules. Click New Query Rule. Give it a name like “Policy Search View.” Under Context, select All sources. Under Conditions, choose Query matches keyword exactly and enter policies as the keyword. Under Actions, click Add Result Block. Set the block title to “Policy Documents.” In the query text box, enter:
   {searchTerms} contenttype:policy
   Click OK. Click Save.
6. Create a custom search results page
   Go to the site where your policy library resides. Click the gear icon and select Site contents. Click New and then Page. Choose a page layout (for example, Blank). Give the page a name like “Policy Search.” In the page editor, add a Search Results web part. In the web part properties, under Query, select the result source you created (“Policy Documents”). Set the query text to contenttype:policy. Click OK.
7. Add refiners to the search results page
   Above the Search Results web part, add a Search Refinement web part. In the properties, click Choose Refiners. Add refiners for Policy Type, Effective Date, and Owner. These refiners allow you to filter the policy list without typing a search term.
8. Publish and test the page
   Click Publish in the top-right corner. Navigate to the new page URL. Type policies in the search box. The search results should show only policy documents from the library. Use the refiners to narrow by type or date.

Common Mistakes and Limitations

Search results show no policies

If the search returns zero results, check that the policy content type is correctly assigned to the documents. Also verify that the search crawl has indexed the library. Wait up to 15 minutes after uploading new documents. You can force a re-index by going to the library settings, clicking Advanced settings, and selecting Re-index document library.

Refiners do not appear

Refiners only work if the managed properties for Policy Type, Effective Date, and Owner are set to refinable. In the SharePoint admin center, go to Search > Manage Search Schema. Find the managed property for each column and set Refinable to Yes. Wait 10 minutes for the changes to take effect.

Users see all documents instead of only policies

Make sure the query in the Search Results web part uses the content type filter. If you used the result source but forgot to add the content type filter in the web part, the search returns all documents from the library. Edit the web part and add contenttype:policy to the query text.

Admin Center Policy View vs Search-Based Policy View: Key Differences

Item	Admin Center Policy View	Search-Based Policy View
Location	SharePoint admin center > Policies > Active sites	Custom search results page on any site
Data source	Predefined list of site-level policies	Search index of a document library or list
Columns displayed	Policy name, type, status	Any metadata columns: title, description, effective date, owner
Filtering	Default filters by type and status only	Custom refiners for any managed property
Customization	No option to add or remove columns	Full control over display template and web part properties
Search capability	No search box for policy details	Full search with keyword and refiner support

The admin center view is built for managing site-level policies like sharing and device access. The search-based view is designed for browsing policy documents stored in a library. Use the admin center to configure policy settings. Use the search view to find and review policy documents.

After creating the search-based view, you can share the page URL with your team. Add the page as a link in the SharePoint app bar or site navigation for quick access. If you need more advanced filtering, consider adding a search vertical that targets only the policy result source. That vertical appears as a tab on the search results page and lets users switch between general search and policy search.