You can check indexing progress at the top of the “Indexing Options” window. This step might take a long time depending up on the number of documents.
Windows will start building an index of your content. If they are not, click “Modify” and add them. Make sure the folders which contain the PDF files you would like to search are listed under “Included Locations” in “Control Panel->Indexing Options”. Select “Index Properties and File Contents” under “How should this file be indexed?”.
Open “Control Panel->Indexing Options->Advanced Options->File Types”, make sure you see “PDF Filter” next to the PDF extension. Download and install 64-bit version of PDF iFilter. 32-bit PDF iFilter is bundled with Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available as a free download from. Step 2 – Install PDF iFilterĪs of the time of writing this article, the right steps depend on whether you are using a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows. If you see “PDF Filter”, it means you have the right filter already installed. Go to: “Control Panel->Indexing Options->Advanced Options->File Types” and check the text next to PDF extension. After enabling the Microsoft Windows Search Service, perform the following steps to configure Enable search index roaming for Outlook in Group Policy Objects. Close the Services and the Server Manager windows. Step 1 – Check if you have PDF iFilter installed I really like the Instant Search feature because it’s directly integrated into the application, and you can search in the current folder only, which isn’t possible in Google Desktop or some of the other email search engines. In the Services window, double-click Windows Search, set the startup type to Automatic, click Apply, and then click OK. Short answer – you need to install a PDF iFilter. Read on for a more detailed explanation.
Several customers of EZDetach and MessageSave have asked how to configure Windows Search (built into Windows), also formerly known as Windows Desktop Search, to index and search PDF files.