Search function in PDF not working for words in a pdf document

[Guest]

I am using Adobe Reader Ver 10.1.1 (All updates)

I have a pdf document in which I am unable to search for words. No words in the document are found even though they do exist. If I copy a word from within the document and paste it into the search criteria then instead of getting the word that I copied, I get substitute characters and it can in fact find these characters as the word being searched.

The document is a catalog and can be downloaded from the following URL.

http://www.carbatec.com.au/getcatalogue?zenid=d1cuvbat0ois0g37r0r33vnah1

I will appreciate any help as to why I cannot search for words in the document.

[RebeccaA48]

I followed your suggestion, but it did not work either.  Would uninstalling & reinstalling Adobe work?

[Chilly52]

I have the newest version of Acrobat Pro DC, I followed the steps above but I am still unable to search for test. The document is 365 pages, does anyone have any suggestions on why?

[RebeccaA48]

I have tried the steps outlined above several times, but it has not solved my problem.  I cannot search for a recently received PDF document. Search works in several other PDF documents. The creator of the document told me he could search.  And a colleague told me that when he followed the outlined steps, he was able to search the same document.  

[defaulto5c0g28itq6b]

Hi,

When I download my eBay orders as "Microsoft print to Pdf". I couldn't search for a keyword. But when I downloaded them as "save as Pdf" this fixed the problem. 

So it could be the format you are downloading the pdf in the first place. 

Hope that helps 🙂

[defaultnposxkide5fo]

Alternative solution: I had a PDF that was also failing to find keywords confirmed to be in the document. I had exported a Word document to PDF rather than using the Save as Adobe PDF option. It seems that there is a significant difference when using the export to PDF vs save as functions in Word. Side-note; the save as feature used Adobe Acrobat to generate the file - not sure if that is significant for the final result.

[joshuamarsilio]

I can't search words within a pdf either. I have windows 10, and pdf files are opened within the microsoft edge browser. I click on the magnifying glass at the top of the pdf and i type in any word, even the word "and" or "the" and nothing is found.

[default63e0fjj4qsv8]

I had the same issue, I have Adobe Acrobat DC. Normally i would print to PDF in which case i could not search for word that i clearly could see on the document in fornt of me. 

Solution: 

Do NOT "print to PDF"

if on a web page:

1. right click 

2. select print

"save as PDF" and i was then able to search and find the words

[Shawna23558334ou7n]

The solution did not work for me.  I am trying to search inside the BSG Player's Guide. I have it downloaded to a PDF and I made sure to open it in Adobe Reader and I made sure I had updated Adobe.  No luck.  According to others here, the issue is that the PDF was created to NOT be searchable?

[Haley269443409x3l]

Hello,

I am expericing this same issue. I cannot serach key words or use my ctrl+f to find a word. The seach box pops up but say "no items found" and will not find the words I am looking for. I have already followed steps to purge cache and it was NOT sucessful. I have adobe acrobat Pro DC 32-bit. It is critical for my work that I can use ctrl+f to serach and find words. Hoping someone can help as soon as possible. There is also a small grey dotted box right at the tip of my cursor in these documents and a few headlines of my doc are highlighted in blue which has never occoured berfore. Please advise. Attached is a picture of when I serach the word mental. That word i sclearly listed in the document. 

[Joseph28038215d7m6]

It's January 2023 and Adobe has not fixed this on their end. I have this issue and the steps below did not solve. 

12 years, no fix. That is tech debt. 

[Vanidor73]

Having the same problem, and it seems to have just started.  Semi-recently upgraded to Windows 11, and don't recall accessing this particular PDF since the changeover, however, needed to (it's a town map on a game I play)... Before, I could Ctrl-F search for a place/name on the map, and it would go through and highlight it, and other instances of it, like you normally do.  I just went to search for something, and it's telling me that it can't find anything, even though what I'm searching for is right in front of me...  I performed the Open PDF in the reader, Edit > Preferences > Search > [Purge cache contents]  & get told  "Some files could not be deleted. They may be in use, or you may not have access rights to delete them."

Went and checked the properties, even made a copy with all possible properties removed, loaded that, and tried again... it still didn't find anything, and still gave me the "Some files could not be deleted." line.

[Plum25310068oayz]

My search seems to work now ... This is my version of Reader :

[image: image.png]

[Vanidor73]

Lucky you... and all I see is:

[image: image.png], no actual image...

My version is the latest, it seems version 2023.001.20093 64-bit

since there are no available updates.

[Vanidor73]

Still having a problem searching the PDF...and so far it seems to be the ONLY PDF that isn't letting me find things within it. Just to be sure, I tried searching for something in another PDF...it found it fine, this is the only PDF I really need to search through, as it's a Game Map, and makes finding routes from point A to point F easy (despite it being outdated.)

I tried the cache clearing, but I keep getting told some files may be in use, or I may not have access rights to delete them, even when I Initially Open Adobe, and haven't loaded a PDF to begin with, it still doesn't allow me to clear the cache. I've even gone through and repaired the Adobe install, trying to reset everything (it seems to have cleared out my browser's cache of opened web pages (blank homescreen with pinned & unpinned "quick pages" ...after repairing adobe install, and closing the Edge program I wasnt opening, computer fully crashed & rebooted, after rebooting, screen of previous webpages is blank save for a few pinned ones> ... Re-opened map pdf, search for something that's directly in front of me "Instructions" ... "searched entire PDF, nothing can be found" ... zoom in on the small text on the PDF:

' If you can read this text, then you’re ready to use the map! Use your ‘Find’ command (Ctrl+F on Windows, Cmd+F in OS X) and then type the exit or room name you’re looking for. Your PDF reader or browser should automatically center upon the results '

Well, apparently not.. it USED to... Adobe Reader version: 64-bit, 23.001.20143.0, freshly downloaded & installed.

Windows version: 11 Home

[Plum25310068oayz]

my search appears to be working - at least in one document ...

[Michelle_Peart]

I had this issue and realized that when i used the Save as Adobe PDF button, the issue was resovled. 

For context, previously I had been using the Save As button and manually selecting the PDF format.