If Preview and Adobe Reader can function properly (test with different PDF files), but a PDF cannot be searched, the PDF file may be corrupted. A PDF file can be generated from different resources and the encoding may be quite different. When Preview Search doesn’t work, close the PDF and reopen it, try again the Search feature.
In this case, the solution on how to search a PDF on mac would be making the PDF searchable before searching by text, a OCR tool will help. Image-based PDF (scanned/non-searchable PDF) is a principal reason to cause why a PDF cannot be searched on mac. If you are working on macOS Mojave or such a problem remains on your macOS, here are several fixes. Mac Preview is a great PDF tool on Mac, but on macOS Mojave, “Mac Preview Search Not Working” becomes a common issue. Repeat the steps to search a pdf on mac with Preview or Adobe Reader.
This program also allows users to add password to PDFs, you can set password for your PDF if necessary. Start conversion process to make scanned PDF searchable.For example, if you want a part recognized as Table, remove the defaulted mark box, click on "Mark Tables" under OCR Applied Zone toolbars, then drag a mark box to select the contents you want to recognize as Tables. You can check if all the contents are marked correctly, if not, manually adjust. A new interface will appear, with each part of the OCR applied zone marked as Texts, Images or Tables in different colorful boxes. For more accurate OCR results, you can click the "Settings" icon. Don’t forget to turn the OCR button ON to do ocr and choose language. Once the file is uploaded to the program, choose output format as PDF, select page range.
Perform OCR on scanned PDF to make “search a pdf on mac” possible.Go to "Converter", drag and drop scanned PDF files into the program. Upload PDF into Cisdem PDF Converter OCR.Even, it supports to create PDF from other document type, and users can utilize this program to customize their PDF, such as adding password to PDF, adjusting PDF size and quality. It supports batch conversion, OCR performance on more than 40 languages, while keeping original file quality.
To make a PDF searchable, you need the aid of Cisdem PDF Converter OCR, a PDF converter for mac allowing users to convert native, scanned and images into searchable and editable PDF, or other 15+ formats. Neither Preview nor Chrome allows searching for a Word in a scanned PDF on Mac, to search in a scanned PDF, we need to make it searchable first, then search the word. Even you can press “Command+F” to search a pdf on mac. Or just click the search icon in the panel.
Have you ever noticed that most of the browsers enable users to open and view a PDF file? Google Chrome allows users to view PDF files too, as long as your PDF is searchable (native), you can search a PDF in Chrome on Mac. Input the key word you want to search in the field and the word will be highlighted in yellow as following.Or you can use search toolbar in the window, even press “Command+F” to search a pdf on mac. Note: Preview can only search a searchable PDF on mac. Preview, a free mac tool to manage PDF and images, allows users to search a specific word within PDF on mac fast and easily. It creates searchable PDF from Word, PowerPoint, ePub, etc.įree Download Search for A Word in A PDF on Mac with Preview.It OCR PDF and image, export as 10+ formats.It allows converting non-searchable/scanned PDF to searchable PDF for easy searches.