Search for Word in PDF: Tips For Instant Matches

Searching words across a PDF is quite important for students or professionals who have to assess a complete PDF document with a task at hand. Usually, the need to find a word in a PDF comes with an urge to locate something important from the document. Thus, the articles turn up in discussing a comprehensive guide on how to search for a word in a PDF using two existing methods.

Part 1: How to Search for a Word in a Regular PDF

There are many PDF word search tools available, but if you're looking for the best, UPDF should be your top choice. This powerful PDF editor features a dedicated "Search and Locate Text" tool, allowing you to find specific words or phrases in lengthy PDFs effortlessly. It also offers advanced options like "Case Sensitive" and "Whole Words Only" for precise searches. UPDF highlights all matching words in yellow and displays their page locations, making it easy and intuitive to find what you need.

Moreover, it is compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, making it effortless to search words in a PDF on all these devices. Give it a try by clicking the download button below now!

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If you're looking to search for a specific word within a PDF document, UPDF makes the process simple and straightforward. Below, we'll walk you through the steps for searching in UPDF on Windows. The steps are similar for Mac users. Mobile users can refer to the guide provided below:

Step 1: Open PDF File

Launch UPDF after downloading it successfully for free with the below button. Once opened, click on "Open File" to import the PDF document that you intend to work on.

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Step 2: Use Shortcut Key to Find

Once the document is opened, use the shortcut keys of "Ctrl + F" to protrude to the "Search" window on the screen. Or you can tap the "Search" icon on the top right to search the word in the PDF.

Step 3: Search a Word in PDF

After you tap the "Search" icon, it will have a window to let you type the word. Type in any word that you wish to find across the PDF document. The results shall be essentially highlighted across the document. Below the window will appear the results of the search.

type the word and how to search a word in pdf

Step 4: Select the Search Type

UPDF can also make the search more accurate. Tap the small icon beside the search box. It has "Case Sensitive" and "Whole Words Only" two options for you to choose from.

It is worth noting that UPDF is an alternative to many PDF index generators, which offers a robust PDF editor with practical searching tools, allowing for swift navigation within documents, even the in scanned PDFs (OCR using UPDF required first).

Video Tutorial on How to Search for Text in PDF on Windows

Also Read: Top 5 PDF Search Engines to Efficiently Find PDF eBooks

Part 2: How to Search Words in a Scanned PDF

As mentioned earlier, UPDF also allows you to search for words in scanned PDFs. To make a scanned PDF editable and searchable, users must first use the OCR feature—available only in UPDF for Windows and Mac. Since a single UPDF account works across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, mobile users can switch to the Windows or Mac app to apply OCR to the scanned PDF.

Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Import PDF Document

Download and launch UPDF on your computer, and proceed by clicking on "Open File" to import it to the platform.

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Step 2: Convert the Scanned PDF to Editable Format

After importing the PDF, click the OCR icon in the right panel. This will open the OCR settings window. Select "Searchable PDF" as the document type, choose "Text over the page image" for the layout, and set the language of your document. Once you've made your selections, click the "Perform OCR" button. UPDF will begin the OCR process and automatically open the OCR'd PDF when it's finished.

Step 3: Search the keywords in PDF

In the OCR'd PDF, follow the steps outlined in Part 1 to use the "Find" option in the top-right corner to search for words within the document.

That's all the steps of using UPDF to search words in PDF. Elevate your PDF game with UPDF Pro. It's everything you need and more. Upgrade today!

Bonus Tip

Beyond word searching, UPDF also functions as a powerful PDF editor with features like editing, annotation, AI chat, conversion tools, and more. Interested users can watch the video below for a detailed overview.

Part 3: FAQs about Searching for Word in PDF

1. How to Search for a Word in a PDF on iPhone?

You can use UPDF for iOS to search a word in a PDF on iPhone. With the same abilities to the Windows and Mac versions, UPDF for iOS also offers the searching function for users.

2. Why Can't I Find Words in a PDF?

The reason it may you are unable to find words in a PDF is they are nonexistent in the file. You may be typing in the wrong word; that is why you may be unable to find the word in the PDF. The other reason is your PDF file is not a searchable PDF. You can make PDF searchable with the OCR feature in UPDF first, and then it can search the word.

3. How Do I Search for Text in a PDF Image?

There is no certain way to search for text in a PDF image until and unless you change the image into a PDF file with the help of the OCR function available across PDF editors. Use the feature to convert the image into a document that can then be used to search for text.

4. How to Search Words in PDF Android?

If you have a PDF file that you want to assess on your Android, you need to have a PDF editor such as UPDF for Android downloaded on the device. Once it is on your device, you can launch it and use its search feature to find the word in PDF.

Conclusion

This article has clearly presented some appropriate methods that can be used to search for words in PDF. With the help of these methods, users can essentially find the words that they want across the PDF document without putting them in a mess. UPDF have different type of search and supports Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android platforms. Try to use it to search for the words now.

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