Windows search PDF contents

Question

I'm trying to figure out how to get Windows 10 to search PDF contents, rather than having to open each file to search manually.

According to this you can specify which file type should be content-searchable. When I do this on Windows 10, I see that the PDF file type is missing an IFilter ("Registered IFilter is not found"). Is this the right path? I can't find a Windows 10 PDF IFilter (well, Foxit has one, but it's over $1,000). Adobe has one here but it's only stated for Windows 7 and 8.

Any ideas?

Please show us what have you done so far... – xenteros Jul 22 '16 at 09:21 — xenteros, Jul 22 '16 at 09:21
Install File Locator Lite! Wonderful software, free. – aparente001 Jan 23 '22 at 15:52 — aparente001, Jan 23 '22 at 15:52

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 25 '16 at 15:42

0

You can simply install Adobe Acrobat or Reader and the PDF iFilter will install along with it. You'll get the 32 bit version but since the files are being indexed in the background, it shouldn't really matter.

answered Jul 25 '16 at 15:42

joelgeraci

4,606
1
12
19

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 27 '17 at 03:00

Check these three things:

Check at Control Panel > Indexing Options > Modify to make sure the file location is indexed.
In the registry, go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pdf\PersistentHandler. Verify that the value is 1AA9BF05-9A97-48c1-BA28-D9DCE795E93C. If the entry is F6594A6D-D57F-4EFD-B2C3-DCD9779E382E then it has been overwritten which broke the search index. Return it to its original value, then restart the computer.
Control Panel > Indexing Options > Advanced > File Types. If the entry for pdf still says “Registered IFilter is not found”, install 'Adobe PDF iFilter 11 for 64-bit platforms' and restart the computer.

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 13 '19 at 15:54

Open “Indexing Options” (from the start menu type indexing options and click on the link)
Click on the “Advanced” button
Click on the “File Types” Tab
Uncheck “PDF”
Click “OK”
Click “Close”
Download and install IFilter ( https://supportdownloads.adobe.com/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=5542&fileID=5550)
Open “Indexing Options” again (from the start menu type indexing options and click on the link)
Click on the “Advanced” button
Click on the “File Types” Tab
Select “Index Properties and File Contents”
Scroll down to PDF and recheck it.
Click “OK”
Click “Close”

This will re-index the computer, it takes a bit of time but you will now be able to search within the contents of a PDF (not scanned).

Maybe you need to format your answer to look more readable. – Harsh Wardhan Jan 07 '19 at 14:49 — Harsh Wardhan, Jan 07 '19 at 14:49

Windows search PDF contents

3 Answers3

Linked