So many different categories of documents come through to us in the form of PDF files that it's easy to lose track of where they are on your computer. The first challenge is to find PDF files that you're specifically looking for. After you've found the file, you might wonder about how to look up words in a PDF.
This article shows you how to find local PDFs on your machine as well as how to search PDF documents for specific text bits. There are a few ways to find PDF files on your computer, some of which are outlined in this section. Probably the easiest way to find all the PDF files on your system is to use the Search function in the Windows Start menu.
Here are the steps:. This is a versatile search function where one of the options is to be able to search for specific file extensions just like with the previous method. Not many people use Cortana to interact with Windows compared to Alexa or Google Assistant , but voice search can be useful in this instance.
These three simple methods will let you find all the PDF files on your computer, but what if you want to go deeper than that and find specific words in a PDF document. Use These Additional Criteria document properties.
You can select multiple property-modifier-value combinations and apply them to searches. Note : You can search by document properties alone by using document property options in combination with a search for specific text. Applies the criteria set in the three connected options to the search.
The check box is selected automatically when you enter information in any of the three options for that set. First menu property. Indicates the document characteristic to search for. Second menu modifier. Indicates the level of matching. Otherwise, the available options are Contains and Does Not Contain. Third box value or text. Indicates the information to be matched, which you type in. If the first menu selection is a date, you can click the arrow to open a calendar that you can navigate to find and select the date you want.
Use between two words to find documents that contain both terms, in any order. For example, type paris AND france to identify documents that contain both paris and france. Use before a search term to exclude any documents that contain that term. Or, type paris NOT kentucky to find all documents that contain the word paris but not the word kentucky.
Use to search for all instances of either term. For example, type email OR e-mail to find all documents with occurrences of either spelling. Use to search for all instances that have either term but not both. Use parentheses to specify the order of evaluation of terms.
For example, type white AND whale OR ahab to find all documents that contain either white and whale or white and ahab. The query processor performs an OR query on whale and ahab and then performs an AND query on those results with white. To learn more about Boolean queries, syntax, and other Boolean operators that you can use in your searches, refer to any standard text, website, or other resource with complete Boolean information.
A full-text index is created when someone uses Acrobat to define a catalog of PDFs. You can search that index rather than running a full-text search of each individual PDF in the catalog.
An index search produces a results list with links to the occurrences of the indexed documents. To search a PDF index, you must open Acrobat as a stand-alone application, not within your web browser. If you have upgraded recently, update the index before using Acrobat X to search. To read file data about a selected index, click Info. To exclude an index from the search, select it and click Remove.
Selecting the Match Whole Word Only option when searching indexes significantly reduces the time taken to return results.
Ignore Asian Character Width. Finds both half-width and full-width instances of the Asian language characters in the search text. Ignore Diacritics And Accents. Finds the search terms with any variation of the alphabetical characters. Displays document titles in search results. If a document does not have a title, displays the filename. When deselected, displays filenames in search results. Limits the search results in the Search PDF window to a specific number of documents.
The default value is , but you can enter any number from 1 to 10, Accepts a range from 1 to 10, Enable Fast Find. Generates a cache of information from any PDF that you search.
This cache reduces subsequent search times for that PDF. Maximum Cache Size. Limits the temporary cache of search information for the Fast Find option to the specified size in megabytes from 5 to , The default setting is Purge Cache Contents.
Legal Notices Online Privacy Policy. User Guide Cancel. Search and replace features overview. Access the search features. Display the Find toolbar. Open the Search window. Do one of the following:. Arrange the PDF document window and Search window. Find and replace text in PDFs. Find and replace text in a PDF. Type the text you want to search for in the text box on the Find toolbar.
To replace text, click Replace With to expand the toolbar, then type the replacement text in the Replace With text box. Optional Click the arrow next to the text box and choose one or more of the following:. Also searches the text in the Bookmarks panel. Also searches the text of any comments. Click Next. Acrobat jumps to the first instance of the search term, which appears highlighted.
Find text in multiple PDFs. Open Acrobat on your desktop not in a web browser. Do one of the following. In the Search window, type the search text. From the pop-up menu directly below this option, choose Browse For Location. Select the location, either on your computer or on a network, and click OK. To specify additional search criteria, click Show Advanced Options, and specify the options. Click Search.
Review and save PDF search results. Review search results. Jump to a specific instance in the search results single PDFs only. If necessary, expand the search results. Then select an instance in the results to view it in the PDF. To view other instances, click another instance in the results. Sort instances in the search results. Select an option from the Sort By menu near the bottom of the Search window. Icons shown with search results. Opens the Bookmarks panel and highlights the instances of the search terms.
Opens the Comments panel and highlights the instances of the search terms. Layer icon. Save search results. Advanced Search Options. Look In. Enter the text or phrase to search for. Restricts your search results according to the option you choose:. Includes the basic search options plus five additional options:. Searches the text of any bookmarks, as viewed in the Bookmarks panel. Searches the text of any comments added to the PDF, as viewed in the Comments panel. Check box. Boolean operators.
Commonly used Boolean operators include the following: AND Use between two words to find documents that contain both terms, in any order.
NOT Use before a search term to exclude any documents that contain that term.
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