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Participating Frequently
February 14, 2018
Question

Unable to search in a pdf file

  • February 14, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 16512 views

Hey hi

I am unable to search words in a pdf file. Can someone guide me what should i do??

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    try67
    Community Expert
    February 14, 2018

    Another reason might be that the text is badly encoded. To test that, if you were able to select the text (as mentioned above), copy it and then paste into a plain-text editor. Does it come out as legible text? If not, then it also can't be searched.

    Participating Frequently
    February 14, 2018

    I am able to select a word and copy. But when i am pasting it in word, it is showing many squares or diamond shaped symbols. Kindly help me. I need a solution to it as soon as possible.

    ~graffiti
    Brainiac
    February 14, 2018

    The main reason that normally causes this is because the pdf is created from a scanned image. That means, there is no text to search (and nothing you can do about it using the free Reader software).

    You can test this. Using the select tool, try selecting a word in the text. If you can't do it, it's a scan.

    Participating Frequently
    February 14, 2018

    I am able to select a word and copy. But when i am pasting it in word, it is showing many squares or diamond shaped symbols. Kindly help me. I need a solution to it as soon as possible.