Autodesk Content Service is an indexing service that monitors the activity in watched folders on the computer where it is installed. While monitoring these watched folders, Autodesk Content Service continuously updates an index with critical metadata associated with all design files and design objects in those watched folders.
When you perform a search with Content Explorer, the index maintained by Autodesk Content Service is examined for matches to the search criteria. Since the index is continually updated by Autodesk Content Service, the search results are provided quickly. With this real-time search capability, you can create custom searches for thousands of design files and design objects, and display only those files and objects you need for your design.
If you plan to search folders on several different network computers, Autodesk Content Service must be installed on each of those network computers. The folders you want to search must be set for public sharing and added to the watched folder list for indexing. Any computer running an Autodesk program that includes Content Explorer can access the network computers running Autodesk Content Service for real-time search results.