No option is available to configure SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to crawl files that do not have a file name extension as HTML files

Consider the following scenario. You configure Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to crawl a content source. The content source is a file share that contains files that do not have a file name extension. By default, SharePoint Portal Server 2003 crawls files that do not have a file name extension as text files.

There is no option available to configure SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to crawl files that do not have a file name extension as HTML files. That is, you cannot configure SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to use the HTML filter to process files that do not have a file name extension.

This problem was first fixed in a hotfix that is now contained in a service pack. If you installed the latest SharePoint Portal Server 2003 service pack, you do not have to install the hotfix.

Service pack information

This problem is corrected in SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Service Pack 3.To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for SharePoint Portal Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
After you install the service pack, follow the steps that are listed in the "How to enable this hotfix" section of the article to set the UseThisExtensionIfNoExtension registry key and to activate the hotfix.

Hotfix information

How to obtain the hotfix

This issue is fixed in the SharePoint Portal Server 2003 post-Service Pack 2 Hotfix Package that is dated June 16, 2006. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to enable the hotfix

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
To enable this hotfix, follow these steps:

1. Quit SharePoint Portal Server 2003.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click to select the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SPSSearch\Gathering Manager
4. After you select the key that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click String Value.
5. Type UseThisExtensionIfNoExtension, and then press ENTER.
6. Right-click UseThisExtensionIfNoExtension, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type .htm, and then click OK.
8. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.

After you enable this hotfix, SharePoint Portal Server 2003 crawls files that do not have a file name extension as HTML files. This functionality applies only if the content source is a file share.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.This problem was first corrected in SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Service Pack 3.

For more information about filters in SharePoint Portal Server 2003, see the "Managing File Types" topic in the Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator's Guide. This topic is found in the "Managing Search Settings" section of the "Administration" chapter of the guide. The guide itself (Administrator's Help.chm) is located in the Docs folder in the root of the SharePoint Portal Server 2003 CD.