How to search for a word in a PDF

Whenever you have to identify a specific word within a PDF file, you waste hours and hours leafing through the entire document and would you like to understand if there is a faster and easier way to meet this need? Yes, of course! And I’ll tell you more, it is possible to do it with any device and with many different applications.

If you want to know more, read on. In the following lines, in fact, you will find explained, in a simple way but not for this lacking in details, how to search for a word in a PDF from a computer (therefore on Windows and macOS) and from smartphones and tablets (acting both from Android and from iOS / iPadOS). If it can comfort you, know that the procedure is practically always the same in all cases. All you have to do is use the search function offered by the various PDF viewers available on the square and that’s it.

Come on then: position yourself comfortably, take a few free minutes just for you and immediately start focusing on what is reported below. I assure you that you will be able to reach your goal with extreme simplicity!

Index

• How to search for a word in a PDF: PC
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
• How to search for a word in a PDF: Mac
  • Preview
  • Books
• How to search for a word in an Android PDF
• How to search for a word in an iPhone PDF
  • Safari
  • Books

How to search for a word in a PDF: PC

To begin with, let’s find out how to search for a word in a PC PDF. Below, therefore, you will find indicated how to perform the operation in question using the main programs to view the PDF files available for the Windows operating system.

Microsoft Edge

If you have a PC with Windows 10 installed and you want to search for a word in a PDF, I inform you that you can do it first by using Microsoft Edge. Perhaps not everyone knows it, but in addition to being the default browser of the latest operating system from Microsoft, it is also an excellent PDF file viewer.

So, to use Edge for your purpose, first open the PDF file of your interest by double-clicking on its icon. If in doing this Edge does not start, to solve it, right-click on the PDF icon, choose the Open with item from the context menu and select the Microsoft Edge option.

Once the PDF is open in Edge, to search for the word of your interest in the document, click on the (…) button at the top right and select the Find on page option from the menu that appears. If you prefer the use of keyboard shortcuts, you can call the above functions also via the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + F.

Then, type the word you are interested in finding in the document in the text box that appears at the top right of the browser and press the Enter key on your keyboard, in order to start the search. Subsequently, any matches that may be present in the PDF will be highlighted (and you can switch between them by continuing to press Enter ).

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Another tool you can use to search for a word in a PDF is Adobe Acrobat Reader. In case you’ve never heard of it, this is free software made available by Adobe (the company that developed the PDF format) that allows you to view and make basic changes to PDFs. Eventually, it is also available in a more advanced version, called Acrobat Pro which, upon subscription to a subscription of 15.85 euros/month (with a free 7-day trial), offers more advanced editing functions.

To download Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (the free version of the program), visit its website and click on the Download Acrobat Reader button. When the download is complete, open the .exe file obtained and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click the Yes button, then wait for the installation procedure to be completed, press the Finish button and wait for the software to start.

Now that you see the Adobe Acrobat Reader window on the screen, click on the File menu, at the top left, click on the Open item in it and select the PDF file on which to act.

After opening the PDF, click on the magnifying glass icon located on the toolbar at the top. Alternatively, you can use the key combination Ctrl + F to invoke the search function more quickly.

At this point, type the word to search for in the search field that has just appeared at the top of the screen and press the Enter key on your keyboard. Subsequently, any matches that may be found in the PDF will be highlighted (and you can navigate between them by continuing to press Enter ).

How to search for a word in a PDF: Mac

Do you own an Apple-branded computer and would like to know how to look up a word in a PDF from Mac? Then the indications to which you must follow are the ones you find below.

Preview

The first tool I suggest you turn to search for a word in a PDF on macOS is Preview, the default application on Apple computers through which you can view and edit images and PDF documents.

To use it, open the PDF file of your interest by double-clicking on its icon. If in doing this Preview does not open but another application, to remedy it, right-click on the PDF of your interest, select the Open item from the context menu and choose the Preview item from the additional menu that is shown to you.

Now that you see the Preview window with the PDF, type the word to find in the search field located at the top right and then press the Enter key on your keyboard. If you prefer, you can also call up the search field using the key combination cmd + f. Later, if matches are found in the PDF they will be highlighted (you can switch between matches by continuing to press Enter ).

Books

Another macOS application you can turn to search for a word in a PDF is Books. It is the default tool on Apple computers for purchasing, reading and managing eBooks and audiobooks, and it also allows you to view and organize PDF files. Note that it integrates perfectly with iCloud, so documents saved in the application can also be synchronized with other devices connected to the same Apple ID.

To be able to use it for your purpose, click on the Books icon (the one with the orange background and the open book ) that you find in the Launchpad, then click on the File menu at the top left, choose the Add to library item present in the menu that appears and select the PDF file on your computer that you want to open, to import it into the application library.

After completing the above steps, select the PDF item that you find in the side menu, then double-click on the preview of the PDF you just imported, in order to open it.

In the new window that is shown to you, type the word to search for in the text field, at the top right, and all possible matches will be immediately highlighted. If you prefer the use of keyboard shortcuts, even in the case of the Books application you can recall the search field “on the fly” using the combination of keys cmd + f (and you can switch from one correspondence to another by continuing to press Enter ).

How to search for a word in an Android PDF

You don’t have a computer at hand and would like to understand how to identify the terms of your interest in a PDF from Android? I’ll explain immediately how to do it.

Well, know that you can succeed in your aim by using all the most common PDF viewers for the mobile platform in question, such as the Google PDF viewer for example.

If the Google PDF file viewer is already installed on your smartphone or tablet, to use it all you have to do is open the document of your interest through the file manager on your device (eg Google files ). If, on the other hand, you have not yet installed the application, first download it by accessing the relevant section of the Play Store and tapping the Install button (on devices without the Play Store you can contact other apps to open PDFs, taking them from alternative stores ) .

Now that you see the PDF of your interest, tap the icon with the paper and the magnifying glass located at the top right, type the word to search in the search field that appears and tap the Search button on the virtual keyboard. After doing this, any matches possibly found in the document will be highlighted.

How to search for a word in an iPhone PDF

If you own an Apple-branded smartphone (or tablet) and, therefore, you are wondering how to search for a word in an iPhone PDF (or on an iPad, there is no difference), the solutions you can turn to are those listed below.

Safari

If you want to search for a word in a PDF from iPhone (and iPad), you can first resort to the use of Safari, the default browser of Apple-branded devices which, perhaps not everyone knows, also allows you to view files in the format in question available online.

So, if you have opened in your browser the PDF file in which you want to search for a given word, all you have to do to succeed in your intent is to press on the icon of the sharing (the one with the square and the arrow ) that find at the bottom and select the word Find on the page in the menu that appears.

Next, type the word to search for in the text field at the bottom of the screen and press the search button located on the virtual keyboard. Any matches possibly found within the document will be highlighted.

As an alternative to what I have just indicated, you can type the word to search in the PDF directly in the Safari address bar and, in the new screen that is shown to you, then select the Find item “[typed word]” which you find under the heading In this document.

Books

Books, the application through which you can view and manage eBooks and PDFs that I told you about in the passage dedicated to the Mac side, is also available for iOS (and iPadOS) and even in this case it can be used to search for a word in a PDF.

To use Books for the purpose in question, all you have to do is start the app, selecting the relative icon (the one with the orange background and the open book ) that you find on the home screen and/or in the App Library, go to the section Library, by selecting the appropriate item located at the bottom, then the Collections item in the new screen displayed and, finally, the PDF one.

Now you have to select the PDF file on which to act: if this is not already present in the Books application, you can import it by starting the app in which it is currently located, opening the document, tapping on the sharing icon (the one with the square and arrow ) and selecting the Books icon from the menu that appears.

Once the PDF is displayed, tap the magnifying glass icon located at the top right, type the word to find in the document in the search field that appeared at the top, tap the Search button on the keyboard and select any matches found.