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How to search for text within a PDF document using Windows XP?

Published: July 14, 2004
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Adobe IFilter Plugin

By default, "Search for Text" won't work for PDF documents as Windows does not provide the filter for PDFs. Filter DLLs allow a client to extract text information from the persistent representation of the contents and properties of a file. Adobe made available the IFilter plug-in and available for download from Adobe download page

Once you install this Filter, the PersistentHandler for PDFs is set automatically set, powered by it's DLL file named PDFFilt.dll (C:\Program Files\Adobe\PDF IFilter 5.0). The Adobe IFilter plug-in - ifilter50.exe is free and it's about 3.8MB and works flawlessly. You may need to register before downloading.

If the plug-in is already installed and still not able to search for text in PDF documents, apply this registry file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.pdf\PersistentHandler]
@="{B7509D6F-85EE-11d0-AF7D-00C04FD8DC02}"

The PersistentHandler for PDF is {B7509D6F-85EE-11d0-AF7D-00C04FD8DC02}

More Information

Using the "A word or phrase in the file" search criterion may not work