Search PDFs

Revu supports two methods for searching PDFs: Text Search and Visual Search.

Text searches are generally faster and, when searching for text, more reliable, but they only work on actual text elements in the PDF; scanned PDFs, for example, are images, so even if those images contain words, they are not considered text elements and Text Search will not work on them. You would need to run OCR to make a scanned document searchable.

Visual searches allow for the searching of graphical symbols in PDFs. It can be slower than a text search, but it offers functionality that a text search cannot.

Text searches look for textual elements in the PDF content layer by default. Scanned PDF files are images and do not contain searchable text. See OCR for details on how to make scanned documents searchable. Similarly, Markups are not in the PDF content layer until they are flattened, so text within unflattened markups is not searchable unless the Search Markups option is enabled before running the search.

  1. Go to Window > Panels > Search or press either Alt+1 or Ctrl+F to show the Search panel.

  2. Select Text. The Text Search parameters appear.

  3. Enter the desired search term in the first parameter field.

  4. Select the document(s) or location you would like to search from the menu in the second parameter field. The options are Current Document, Current Page, All Open Documents, Current Set, Recents, Folder or Current Studio Project.

    • If Folder is selected, use the path box or select browse below to define the location of the folder. Select Include Sub-Folders to include the folders found within the specified folder in the search.
    • The Current Set option will be available only if you have a Set open. Select this to search within the open Set.
    • The Current Project option will be available only if you are logged into a Project. Select this to search all local (downloaded) files from that Project. This option restricted to file name only searches; it is currently not possible to search within document content.
  5. Select the desired search options from those available under Options. The exact options available will vary according to the selection made in the first parameter field.
    • Include Sub-Folders: Searches any sub-folders found in the designated folder. Only available when Folder is selected as a search parameter.
    • Search Pages: Searches for text in the content of the PDF.
    • Search Filenames: Searches the file names in the Recents list or designated folder when either Recents or Folder is selected as a search parameter.
    • Search File Properties: Searches for text in the Properties metadata fields.
    • Search Form Fields: Searches for text in the data entered in the form fields.
    • Search Markups: Searches for text in markups.
    • Case Sensitive: Searches for text with the exact case typed in the Search Terms field.
    • Whole Words Only: Searches only for instances where the search term exists as a complete word. If the search term is partially contained in another word and the Whole Words Only box is checked, it will not be included in the search results.
  6. Click Search. Search results will appear under the Options section.

Some search results can have additional operations performed on them. These results will have a checkbox next to them, allowing you to select some or all of them for these actions. See Search Panel Toolbar for more information about these additional operations.

This process describes how to search for text selected from the current PDF. This kind of search automatically searches the current PDF only with preset search options enabled.

  1. Go to Edit > PDF Content > Select Text.
  2. Drag over the desired text.
  3. Right-click the selected text and select Search. The search will start running automatically.

Search results are shown under the Options section. The search term is highlighted in the phrase where the term was found. The page number of the PDF is included at the beginning of each result. Select a particular search result to jump to the location of the term in the main workspace.

If search terms are found in multiple documents (for example if the search was conducted in All Open Documents or Folder), the search results are grouped by document. Select the button next to a filename to collapse or expand the results within each file.

A progress bar appears at the bottom of the Search tab as lengthy searches are performed.

Some search results can have additional operations performed on them. These results will have a checkbox next to them, allowing you to select some or all of them for these actions. See Search Panel Toolbar for more information about these additional operations.

Text found in the PDF content layer during a Text Search can be replaced using the   Replace Checked tool on the Results toolbar. Note that only text in the PDF content layer can be replaced in this manner; since markups do not reside in the content layer until they are flattened, text contained within unflattened markups cannot be replaced using this tool. Performing this action on a page containing flattened markups will prevent all markups on the page from being unflattened.

  1. Run a Text Search for the text you wish to replace.
  2. Select the desired results from the Search Results.
    Results found outside the PDF content layer, such as text found in unflattened markups, do not have a checkbox and cannot be selected for this operation.

  3. Select   Replace Checked on the Results toolbar.

  4. In Search and Replace dialog, enter the replacement text in the Replace with field.
  5. Select one of the Font options to determine how to handle text that uses a font that does not have editable permissions. You may either Skip such replacements, or Use a different font by selecting it from the list.

VisualSearch allows for the searching of graphical symbols in PDFs. VisualSearch can search the PDF annotation layer, where unflattened images and markups are found, if that option is enabled.

  1. Go to Window > Panels > Search or press either Alt+1 or Ctrl+F to show the Search panel.
  1. Select Visual.
  2. Select Get Rectangle, then drag a rectangle around the image you would like to search for.
  1. Review the image that appears in the preview window to the right of the Get Rectangle button to be sure that it includes all of the desired image.
  2. To search for only certain colors within the search rectangle, select Refine Colors and clear the colors to be excluded. Select OK when the desired selections have been made. If this button is not available, ensure that the Filter by Color option is selected.

  3. Select the document(s) or location you would like to search from the Search In menu. The options are Current Document, Current Page, All Open Documents, Current Set, Recents, Folder or Current Studio Project.

    • If Folder is selected, use the path box or select browse below to define the location of the folder. Select Include Sub-Folders to include the folders found within the specified folder in the search.
    • The Current Set option will be available only if you have a Set open. Select this to search within the open Set.
    • The Current Project option will be available only if you are logged into a Project. Select this to search all local (downloaded) files from that Project. This option restricted to file name only searches; it is currently not possible to search within document content.

  4. Select the desired search options from those available under Options. The exact options available will vary according to the selection made in the Search In field.

    • Sensitivity: Determines how closely the images need to match to be considered a valid result. Adjust the slider to set a lower or higher sensitivity. Lowering the sensitivity will allow for matches that have minor differences, like an adjacent line, but may also result in false positives.

      You might need to lower the sensitivity if you are working on a PDF created from a scan because there may be stray pixels or background noise in the PDF.

    • Search Multiple Rotations: Symbols will be searched at 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, and 270 degree rotations.
    • Filter by Color: Enables the Refine Colors button. The search will filter out colors that are not part of the selection (or in the selected range in the histogram).

    • Limit by Selection: On a vector PDF, this option filters out vector objects that extend out of the selection rectangle, as shown in the example below.

    • Search Markups: Searches for the selection in annotations and markups.

    • Search for Fine Detail: Enables a refined search on the segments that might exist inside the search area symbol.

  5. Select Search. Search results will appear under the Options section.

Some search results can have additional operations performed on them. These results will have a checkbox next to them, allowing you to select some or all of them for these actions. See Search Panel Toolbar for more information about these additional operations.

The search results are shown in the Results section. A graphic of the search result and a small area around it will appear in the results list. Select the image, and the main PDF workspace will change to show that result and the area around it.

Working with search results for VisualSearch is similar to working with results for Text Search, though text-based actions are not supported. Additionally, Count measurements can be applied to the results of a VisualSearch.

To apply Count measurements to the search results, follow these steps:

  1. Select the results that should be counted.

  2. From the Actions menu, go to Apply Count Measurement to Checked and select the desired Count symbol to apply to the selected results.

Related topics

Search Panel

OCR