6 Free and Easy Methods to Search in a PDF

Searching words or phrases in a PDF can help quickly access the key information in a lengthy document and help data extraction.

To optimize the process of finding the relevant section in a PDF, we provide you with 6 practical methods. Read on and choose one in this guide.

How to Search in a PDF Online for Free

PDFgear’s PDF Editor Online has a powerful search feature to look up specific terms or phrases inside the document.

This web-based app works across different operating systems while guaranteeing file secure.

No installation and no sign-up. Follow the simple steps to search words in PDF online:

Step 1. Open PDFgear online PDF editor with any browser on your PC or mobile. Then click “Upload PDF files” and choose a PDF to import to the online tool.

Step 2. Select the “Find” icon (a magnifying glass) in the toolbar.

Step 3. Enter the search term you want to find in the search box and click “enter” on your keyboard.

The editor will then highlight any instances of your search term in the PDF. You can click through the highlighted search terms to find the section you’re looking for.

How to Search in a PDF with a Free Tool

As a free AI-powered PDF reader, PDFgear enables quick and accurate text searches within PDF documents. The advanced options case sensitivity and all words matching are also available to enhance search functionality.

It allows side-by-side pages viewing and provides a variety of PDF editing capabilities, such as text highlighting, annotation, and more.

Step 1. Download and install PDFgear on your Mac or Windows PC, then open the PDF file with it.

Step 2. Below the Home tab, choose the Find feature. Alternatively, Press Ctrl + F (or Command + F on a Mac) to activate the Find feature.

Type in the keyword or phrase you are looking for in the search bar. Press “Enter” to initiate the search.

PDFgear will highlight all instances of the keyword or phrase within the PDF document. You can navigate through the search results by clicking on the left or right arrow by clicking on the highlighted instances directly.

How to Find Text in Scanned PDFs on Mac with Preview

Preview is a native PDF reader with a search option. The Live Text feature brings a benefit that allows you to interact with your scanned files.

Follow the instructions below to use this feature.

Step 1. Turn on the Live Text toggle button in Settings > General > Language & Region.

Step 2. Open the scanned document in Preview.

Step 3. Press Command + F and enter the text in the find pane. Content matches will be highlighted for you to locate.

Step 3. A search bar will appear in the Preview window’s upper right corner. Enter the word or phrase you want to look up in the search bar.

To enhance the accuracy of your search, the magnifier feature includes a “Match Case” option, allowing you to find words in the PDF that exactly match the capitalization of your search term.

How to Search in a PDF on iPhone Using Live Text

Just like on a Mac, your iPhone or iPad also comes with the Live Text feature, which helps you find words in both text-based and scanned PDF files. To use this feature, make sure to enable Live Text in Settings > General > Language & Region.

Then, open the scanned document in Files > Tap the magnifier icon at the bottom and type the text you want to search.

How to Search in a PDF for Words Using Chrome

Most browsers have a built-in PDF text search function. After opening a PDF file in your browser, you can use the search box that comes with your browser to search for text in the PDF. You can also use keyboard shortcuts (e.g. “ctrl+F”) to open the search box.

Step 1. Open the PDF document with a web browser like Chrome or Edge.

Step 2. Press “Ctrl+F” (or “Command+F” on Mac) to open the Find box. Type in the words or phrases you want to search for in the Find pane.

Step 3. The web browser will then search through the document and display any matches.

Step 4. Then you can check all matches you want to view, then click on the up and down arrows and this will toggle through all the highlighted text.

How to Search for a Word in a PDF Using Microsoft Word

If you need to search for particular words or phrases within a PDF document and you don’t have a PDF viewer or editor at your disposal, you can use the Find function of a word processing tool, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs, to find the information. Here is how to do that:

Step 1. Simply open the document in the word processing program. Just need to drag and drop your PDF into Microsoft Word, then click “OK” to open it.

Step 2. Press Ctrl + F (or Command + F on a Mac) to open the Find feature, and type in your search term. It can be words or phrases.

Step 3. The program will highlight all instances of the term within the document, and display all match terms in the left panel. Then you can navigate between them.

FAQs

How to Search Words in PDF on iPhone?

For searching in PDF on iPhone, PDFgear is an ideal tool. It demands no installation, registration, or subscription. Go to PDFgear online editor > Upload a PDF > Hit the magnifying glass icon > Type the words to search.

Can I Search in Scanned PDF?

Yes. As mentioned in this post, you can search in a scanned PDF on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad using the Live Text feature. Switching on Live Text in Settings > View the PDF with Preview or Files > Use shortcut Command + F to open find box > Enter the word or phrase for search.

Is There an AI-powered Search PDF Tool?

Yes, PDFgear is an AI-powered PDF editing tool that allows you to search within a PDF by activating the AI Chatbot in the bottom right corner. Simply enter commands like “find words ‘TROPICAL’ in this pdf” to highlight the search term.