pdf search won't work

[cwr64]

I have received an email that contains links to 2 pdf's.  If I click on a link, the pdf opens in the browser with no problem.  But there is initially no search icon showing.  If I get into advanced search the find does not find the word(s) I am searching for even though I can see them in the pdf.

If I save the pdf to my HD and open it with Acrobad Reader DC, it opens fine, but again - search cannot find words that I can plainly see in the pdf.  No doubt this is a rookie problem, but what's the solution of having "find" or "search" begin to work?  On W10 desktop PC

[Amal.]

Hi there

Hope you are doing well and sorry for the trouble.

Web browsers use their own PDF mechanism to render and display the PDF content and they are not Adobe dependant. 

As mentioned after you save the PDF to your computer locally, you are still unable to user the search function to find the words in the PDF.

What happens when you try to search for the word in the PDF file, do you get any error message? If yes please share the screenshot of the same for a better understanding.

What is the version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC you are using? To check the version go to help > about Acrobat and make sure you have the latest version 21.07.20095 installed. Go to help > check for updates and reboot the computer once.

Also try to repair the installation from the help menu and reboot the system and check.

If it still doesn't work please try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here - https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-defau...

Regards

Amal

[cwr64]

OK. 

Acrobat DC says that it is version 2021.007.20095

I selected to look for updates but it says there are no updates to what I am running.

I also did the Acrobat DC "repair".

Nothing is fixed yet - I have attached a screen shot of the results of the search for a word that you can plainly see in the (downloaded) PDF.  

But question - can a PDF that is opened in a browser not be searched?  And even though I saved/downloaded the PDF from my browser to my HD - does that PDF remain "unsearchable?   

Like I said - this is probably a rookie (me) error due to lack of knowledge about PDF's, but please let me know. 

[cwr64]

And I did reboot the PC but that did not fix it.

[Amal.]

Hi there

We are sorry to hear that. Would you mind sharing the PDF file with us so that we can check it at our end.
https://helpx.adobe.com/document-cloud/help/sharing-pdfs.html

Regards

Amal

[cwr64]

Amal,

I have attached the PDF file in question.  Please let me know that you have it.

[cwr64]

And while I'm thinking about it....

I have over the last couple of years seen a number of PDF's that were online or sent to me as files that did not have the little Acrobat search icon.  Was that done by the PDF creator deliberately.  Often I might want to search the PDF for some character string and sometimes I seem not to be able to find a way to make the search icon show up and maybe cannot get the Menu to show or maybe "search" is even missing from the Menu.  What is with this - what am I missing?  And to reiterate - I am an Acrobat newbie.   

[Amal.]

Hi there

Thankyou for sharing the PDF in question. I have checked it and found that its a scanned PDF with no real text.

You have to run the OCR in the PDF file (Option available in Acrobat Pro DC only) to convert the text to editable/real text so that it can be found with the search function.

Additional information: To know how OCR works please check the help page https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/edit-scanned-pdfs.html

Regards

Amal

[cwr64]

Amal, Thank you.

Did you read the text of my previous reply about Acrobat menus, etc?  Sometimes I see no Acrobat menu or "find" is missing from that menu.  Comment?

[cwr64]

Still waiting for Amal or anyone else to reply to my questions about menu and search being "missing".

[Amal.]

Hi there

We are sorry to keep you waiting.

As described you do not get the option to find in the Acrobat menu. Would you mind sharing the version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC you are  using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 21.07.20099 installed. Go to Help > Chdck for Updates and reboot the computr once.

You may also try to repair the installation (Win Only) from the help menu and see if that works for you.

If it still doesn't work, please remove the application using the Acrobat cleaner tool - https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/cleaner.html reboot the computer and reinstall the application using the link - https://get.adobe.com/reader/enterprise/

Regards

Amal

[cwr64]

Running 2021.007.20099.

I previously ran the "repair".  I reboot daily.

Check for updates says there are no updates to what I am running.

I will remove/reinstall Acrobat.

[cwr64]

note that some PDF's show the menu with "search", and some do not even show a real Acrobat menu - let alone with "search".  I assumed that maybe the PDF creator was determining whether to display the menu and whether the menu (if shown) would contain the "search" option.  Being an Acrobat novice, I just do not know - but you can tell me.. Thank you.

[cwr64]

And here are 2 more questions..

1.  The doco for the Acrobat cleaners states plainly that it is NOT an uninstaller.  So should I use Windows to uninstall Acrobat and then afterthat run the cleaner?

2.  Some of your doco talks about Acrobat and Reader as separate entities.  On my Windows10,  I see no product entries for Reader.  So what is Reader and where does it live?   

And please read my previous couple of replies.

[Amal.]

Hi there

We are sorry to hear that. As described its the issue with some of the PDF files, Would you mind sharing the PDF file in question with us so that we can check it at our end. To know how to share the PDF file please check the help page https://helpx.adobe.com/document-cloud/help/sharing-pdfs.html

Regards

Amal

[cwr64]

I will attach a PDF such as I described as soon as I see the next one.  Meanwhile, could you please answer the 2 questions that I asked: 

1.  The doco for the Acrobat cleaner states plainly that it is NOT an uninstaller.  So should I use Windows to uninstall Acrobat and then, after that, run the cleaner?

2.  Some of Adobe doco talks about Acrobat and Reader as separate entities.  On my Windows10,  I see no product entries for Reader.  So what is Reader and where does it live?   

and here's a simple question - is there a way to edit (fix) my forum reply that was already entered on a post?  Might just want to correct a spelling or change a word or whatever...  

[Amal.]

Hi there

Acrobat cleaner tool is used to remove the Adobe Acrobat application from the system. Please proceed with the Acrobat cleaner tool to remove the application, rebpoot the computer once and reinstall the application using the link shared earleier and see if tat helps.

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is a freeware application used to read, view, annotate and fill and sign the PDF files. FOr more info please check the help page https://helpx.adobe.com/reader/faq.html

Regards

Amal