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C
cwr64
Known Participant
October 6, 2021
Question

pdf search won't work

  • October 6, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 4508 views

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

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1 reply

Amal.
Community Manager
Amal.Community Manager
Community Manager
October 6, 2021

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-default/m-p/4792082

 

Regards

Amal

C
cwr64Author
Known Participant
October 6, 2021

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. 

C
cwr64Author
Known Participant
October 14, 2021

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.


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.

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