PDF was everyone’s favorite file format for document interchange. This is mainly due to the fact that it keeps all the text formatting and graphics within itself, and the end user really doesn’t need anything to open it other than the free PDF reader software. The only downside to PDF is that you cannot search for text in these files as easily as in other files.
However, there are several methods that allow you to perform a PDF search operation so that you can search for a specific word in multiple PDF files at the same time on your computer. The following guide will teach you how to do this.
How to search for multiple PDFs with Acrobat Reader
The most popular way to search a PDF or multiple PDFs is to use the Acrobat Reader on your computer. This is how you accomplish a task in a program.
- Open Acrobat Reader on your computer.
- Click the Edit menu and choose Advanced Search.
- Select all PDF documents in and then select the PDF folder.
- Enter your search term in the input field.
- Click the Search button.
- At the screen prompt, click Allow.
The program will search for the term you specified in all PDF files in the specified folder. You will see the results right in the search bar.
Find a specific search term in multiple PDFs
Most PDF readers let you search for any text in PDF files. This is because PDFs are scannable documents and, like Microsoft Word files, their characters are also recognized by your system.
However, what you cannot easily do with PDF files is that you cannot search for a specific term in multiple files at the same time. Pressing Control + F only searches the current document open in the program, but does not search other PDF files.
If you have a lot of PDFs and are looking for something specific in them, it is best to use the advanced search feature in Acrobat Reader It allows you to search for specific search terms across all PDFs available in one place on your computer.
Here’s how to do it in Acrobat Reader:
Download and install Acrobat Reader if it is not already installed on your computer.
Run the program and you will see a list of recent files. The option you want is in the Edit menu. Click the Edit menu at the top and select the Advanced Search option. Or you can press Shift + Ctrl + F.
On the next screen, set the following options:
Where do you want to search? – Select All PDFs In and then use the drop-down menu to select the folder where multiple PDFs are saved.
What word or phrase do you want to find? – enter the word you want to search in your PDF files.
You can use additional options to customize the search for your word, for example by checking the “Match case” checkbox to register your search query – sensitive, etc.
Finally, click the ” Search “to start searching.
Then you can preview the results when they appear on your screen.
Use Windows Search to search within PDFs
PDFs can also be searched using the default Windows search option on your Windows computer. You need to first enable the option as shown below.
Go to Control Panel> Indexing Options and click Advanced.
Select the File Types tab on the next screen and find pdf in the list. Check the box next to pdf. Then enable the Index Properties and File Contents option and click OK.
It’s time to add PDF folders to the index list. To do this, open the same Indexing Options dialog box and click Edit. Then select the folder where your PDFs are located and click OK to add folders for indexing PDFs.
When Windows finishes indexing your PDFs and their contents, you can search for text in multiple PDFs at the same time.
Use SeekFast to search PDFs
SeekFast also makes it easy to search for your terms in various file types, including PDF. This is how it works.
- Download and install the software on your computer.
- Launch the software, enter your search term in the search box at the top, click the Browse button to select the PDF folder, and finally click Search.
It will search for terms in all PDFs found in the directory of your choice.
Perform a PDF search with Foxit Reader
Foxit Reader also comes with advanced search capabilities, and you can use it to find whatever you need in multiple PDF files.
Install the software on your computer and launch it.
Click the search icon next to the search box in the top right menu. It opens advanced search options.
On the next screen, select the PDF folder from the first dropdown menu, enter your search term in the search box, check the other filters if you want to apply them, and finally click that search button.
The search results should appear on your screen.
How to use UltraFinder to search PDF files
UltraFinder is an advanced search tool for Windows computers that can also be used to search for text in PDF files.
Install and run the tool on your Windows computer.
Set the following options so that it searches the contents of your PDF files. Then press the green play button to start searching.
Find matches by – File content
Find what – enter your query here
Find where – add the directory where your PDFs are located
In files / types – * .pdf
It will list all PDF files in which the search term was found.
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