Search property condition with "is empty" operator gives results with non-empty property value

Overview

Executing a simple search based on a metadata property with the operator “Is empty” can lead to a result set that contains objects with also non-empty values for that property. That is caused by a database-level issue which is fixable.

 

Solution

1. In the M-Files Admin tool, select the vault that has this problem.
2. Open the right-click menu for that vault and select Maintenance > Verify and Repair (Quick). It does not take the vault offline.
3. When it completes, it should report only errors it can fix. If so, click "yes" when prompted to fix the issues. If there is a single error that it says it cannot fix, send the full list to support and do NOT click "yes".