Adobe Acrobat - Search function isn't working.. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Grondar · 04-05-2004, 06:35 PM

Greetings all.

I have an assignment for an English class that involves finding 20 reputable sources written on a novel of our choosing. We then read these articles and provide a short summary of what they are about.

Thankfully, I was able to find many articles online via EBSCOHost, ProQuest, J-Stor, etc., and many were in PDF format.

While summarizing the articles, I pulled out a few quotes here and there, but I didn't specify the page number (and I'm not sure that I have to).

However, I later decided it might be nice to include the page number with the quote, and that brought me to Adobe Acrobats' "Search" function.

Basically, I wanted to open a particular PDF file in Adobe Acrobat, then search for part of the quoted text, so that the search would take me to that line, and I could then just record the page number.

However, Adobe Acrobats' "Search" function isn't working at all for me.

As an example, one quote I used reads, "When he retreats in panic to Grand Central Station, he begins to read a discarded magazine."

If I do a search for "When he retreats," I get nothing. When I do a search for "He," I still get nothing. If I do a search for, "the" I still get nothing.. So something appears to be amiss.

I am using Adobe Acrobat version 6, and just got done upgrading to that from an earlier version (3 or 4).

Is anyone familiar with Adobe Acrobat, and have any possible reasons the Search feature wouldn't be working for me?

One final note, when I go to Start > Search... > For Files or Folders, that search does not work either, and hasn't for years. I am wondering if there may be some connection here, or if the two malfunctioning searches are completely unrelated.

Regardless, I am concerned about the Adobe Acrobat search feature currently, as I have learned to manage without my Windows search..

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

When I click "Search" it shows 0 results, even upon entering common words, that I know are in the article.

Again, thanks and take care.

Redjake · 04-05-2004, 06:38 PM

Some articles are not "search enabled." (<--made up that term). Newer PDFs are able to be searched in, but some older documents just don't have the capabilities. Try updating Acrobat to the newest version (if you haven't). That's all the advice I can give. Like I said, some PDF files just don't have that Search capability.

Grondar · 04-05-2004, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Redjake
Some articles are not "search enabled." (<--made up that term). Newer PDFs are able to be searched in, but some older documents just don't have the capabilities. Try updating Acrobat to the newest version (if you haven't). That's all the advice I can give. Like I said, some PDF files just don't have that Search capability.

Good info, thanks!

Knowing that is a possibility, I'm guessing that is the case.. As some of these are pulled from articles 10+ years old.

I did use a few books, and I cited the page number in them (as they are 100+ pages, while an article is 20 at most), but I am now wondering if I should remove the page numbers listed for the books, just so the prof doesn't notice a discrepancy.

Hmm...

Thanks much for the info. It has surely saved me a lot of wasted time tinkering with Adobe and other random options.

Redlemon · 04-06-2004, 06:19 AM

Two thoughts:
1) if the page is a scanned image file, you can't search it. If you see "speckle marks", or you can't select text, it is a scanned document.
2) You may have used the Acrobat Speedup trick, where you disable a bunch of plugins and it starts much faster. Search is one of the plugins.

Grondar · 04-06-2004, 11:23 AM

redlemon: Thanks for the reply.

I think the documents may be scanned, as they are journal articles, that originally were printed on paper.. Only later were they converted (scanned, I assume) to PDF form.

Thanks for the info, as that would explain why I can't select text either.

04-05-2004, 06:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
Grondar Junkie Location: Pa, USA	Adobe Acrobat - Search function isn't working.. Greetings all. I have an assignment for an English class that involves finding 20 reputable sources written on a novel of our choosing. We then read these articles and provide a short summary of what they are about. Thankfully, I was able to find many articles online via EBSCOHost, ProQuest, J-Stor, etc., and many were in PDF format. While summarizing the articles, I pulled out a few quotes here and there, but I didn't specify the page number (and I'm not sure that I have to). However, I later decided it might be nice to include the page number with the quote, and that brought me to Adobe Acrobats' "Search" function. Basically, I wanted to open a particular PDF file in Adobe Acrobat, then search for part of the quoted text, so that the search would take me to that line, and I could then just record the page number. However, Adobe Acrobats' "Search" function isn't working at all for me. As an example, one quote I used reads, "When he retreats in panic to Grand Central Station, he begins to read a discarded magazine." If I do a search for "When he retreats," I get nothing. When I do a search for "He," I still get nothing. If I do a search for, "the" I still get nothing.. So something appears to be amiss. I am using Adobe Acrobat version 6, and just got done upgrading to that from an earlier version (3 or 4). Is anyone familiar with Adobe Acrobat, and have any possible reasons the Search feature wouldn't be working for me? One final note, when I go to Start > Search... > For Files or Folders, that search does not work either, and hasn't for years. I am wondering if there may be some connection here, or if the two malfunctioning searches are completely unrelated. Regardless, I am concerned about the Adobe Acrobat search feature currently, as I have learned to manage without my Windows search.. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. When I click "Search" it shows 0 results, even upon entering common words, that I know are in the article. Again, thanks and take care. __________________ "Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that." -Stewie

04-05-2004, 06:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
Redjake I'm a family man - I run a family business. Location: Wilson, NC	Some articles are not "search enabled." (<--made up that term). Newer PDFs are able to be searched in, but some older documents just don't have the capabilities. Try updating Acrobat to the newest version (if you haven't). That's all the advice I can give. Like I said, some PDF files just don't have that Search capability. __________________ Off the record, on the q.t., and very hush-hush.

04-06-2004, 06:19 AM	#4 (permalink)
Redlemon Devoted Donor Location: New England	Two thoughts: 1) if the page is a scanned image file, you can't search it. If you see "speckle marks", or you can't select text, it is a scanned document. 2) You may have used the Acrobat Speedup trick, where you disable a bunch of plugins and it starts much faster. Search is one of the plugins. __________________ I can't read your signature. Sorry.

04-06-2004, 11:23 AM	#5 (permalink)
Grondar Junkie Location: Pa, USA	redlemon: Thanks for the reply. I think the documents may be scanned, as they are journal articles, that originally were printed on paper.. Only later were they converted (scanned, I assume) to PDF form. Thanks for the info, as that would explain why I can't select text either. __________________ "Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that." -Stewie