Search PDFs quickly: This is how you create an index

Who doesn't know it: A large collection of PDFs on the hard drive, and you're desperately searching for a specific document. Searching through thousands of files can turn out to be a tedious endeavor. But it doesn't have to be! With the right technique, you can index and search through all your PDFs lightning fast. In this guide, I'll show you how to create an index in Adobe Acrobat to easily find your PDFs.

Main Takeaways

• By creating an index in Adobe Acrobat, you can search through your PDF documents extremely quickly.
• Indexing is a one-time process that saves you a lot of time in the long run.
• You can select specific folders and customize the search.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Access the advanced search

To start the process, open Adobe Acrobat on your computer and access the advanced search. You can quickly do this by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + F keys. This will take you to the advanced search menu, allowing you to define more precise search parameters.

Step 2: Select the search folder

Now you need to select the folder you want to search. Choose the corresponding location where your PDFs are located. Make sure to include all subfolders in case you have documents stored there as well. You can check directly in your file manager how many subfolders there are and if the PDFs are indeed located there.

Step 3: Perform the search

Now enter the word or specific term you want to search for. Click on "Search" and watch the system work. However, the more PDFs in the folder, the longer the search may take. In my example with over 100 PDFs, the search took almost a minute.

Step 4: Create an index

To speed up the search process in the future, you should create an index. Go to "Tools" in Adobe Acrobat and search for "Index." Click on "New Index" to start the indexing process.

Step 5: Name the index

You will now be prompted to enter a name for the new index. Choose a meaningful name, such as "PDF_Collection_Photography." This will help you identify the index easily later on. Also, make sure to include a brief description of the index.

Step 6: Add folders

Now you can select the folders to be included in the index. Copy the paths of the desired folders to the clipboard and paste them accordingly. You also have the option to exclude individual folders if you do not want to index certain documents.

Step 7: Generate the index

Now press "Generate" to create the index. This process usually doesn't take very long – often almost as short as a manual search would be. The beauty of the index is that you really only have to do this process once.

Step 8: Use the new index in advanced search

Once the index is created, you can use it anytime. Access the advanced search again via Ctrl + Shift + F and select the newly created index under "Show more options." Add it, and you can start searching.

Step 9: Review the results

Enter the search term again. You will see that the results are displayed almost instantly. You can click on the results and go directly to the relevant document. Remember to arrange the windows types as needed to get a better overview.

Step 10: Define additional search criteria

To search even more precisely, you can define various additional search criteria. For example, you can specify whether only whole words or specific uppercase and lowercase letters should be searchable. Experiment with these settings to achieve the best results.

Summary

Creating an index in Adobe Acrobat allows you to navigate quickly and efficiently through a large collection of PDF documents. With just a few steps, you can save time and significantly speed up your search through indexing. It is a one-time effort, but it pays off in the long run.