Search A Document On Mac

  • Search options:
On other pages:

Open the document in Preview (if it isn't your default option, you'll have to right-click on the document, then. Use the search bar in the top toolbar of the document to find the desired section of text. Steps to Recover Unsaved Word Document on Mac from Temp Folder Open Terminal by going to FinderApplicationTerminal. Enter “open $TMPDIR” in the window and press “Enter”. Hi I'm new here and I'm happy to be the proud owner of my first MAC computer. Loving it so far but I need to get used to some functions available to a normal PC. Can anyone telll me if it's possible to search for spefic words within a document or website. When I search for specific items.

Displaying the Search/Find Window Pane

  • How to Search for Text Within a Web Page in Safari. By Melanie Pinola 05 February 2016. Find specific words or phrases on a web page faster with these shortcuts for Safari on the Mac and iOS.
  • To locate a file by using the Find controls, follow these steps: With the Finder active, display the Find controls by pressing Command+F (or choose File from the Finder menu and then choose Find). Mac OS X displays the controls that you see here. Click the buttons at the top of the list to specify where you want to search.

When a PDF is opened in the Acrobat Reader (not in a browser), the search window pane may or may not be displayed. To display the search/find window pane, use 'Ctrl+F'.

How To Search A Document On Mac

When the Find window opens, follow these steps and refer to Figure 1 below:

Search A Document On Mac
  • Click the small arrow on the right side of the box.
  • Select the drop down item - 'Open Full Acrobat Search'.

Figure 1

Search Options

There are several ways to search for information within a PDF document. These include the following:

  • Basic Search
  • Advanced Search

Basic Search Options

To execute a basic search request complete the following steps:

  • Type your search term(s) inside the 'text box' where you are asked: 'What word or phrase would you like to search for?'
  • Click the 'Search' button to execute the search request.

Advanced Search Options

To get to the Advanced Search feature, click on 'Show More Options' at the bottom of the search window pane.

Brief explanation of the options available in the advanced search are:

  • Match Exact Word Or Phrase - Searches for the entire string of characters, including spaces, in the same order in which they appear in the text box.
  • Match Any Of The Words - Searches for any instances of at least one of the words typed. For example, if you search for each of, the results include any instances in which one or both of the two words appear: each, of, each of, or of each.
  • Match All Of The Words - Searches for instances that contain all your search words, but not necessarily in the order you type them. Available only for a search of multiple PDFs or index definition files.
  • Boolean Query - Uses the Boolean operators that you type with the search words into the What Word Or Phrase Would You Like To Search For box. Available only for searching multiple PDFs or PDF indexes.
    Note: You cannot run wildcard searches using asterisks (*) or question marks (?) when searching PDF indexes.

Click 'Use Advanced Search Options' near the bottom of the search window pane to display the advanced search information. To execute an advanced search request complete the following steps:

  • Type your search term(s) inside the 'text box' where you are asked:'What word or phrase would you like to search for?'
  • Select an option from the drop down menu for 'Return results containing:'
  • Click the 'Search' button to execute the search request.

Sample Search Request Using Advanced Search Options

For the purposes of this example, steps are provided to illustrate how to execute a search request for finding information about diazinon and kaolin in a PDF document. Assume that a PDF document is opened in the browser. If the search window pane is not displayed, please refer back to 'Displaying the Search Window Pane' for assistance.

The Search Criteria

Below are the steps to be followed for completing a search request to find information about diazinon and kaolin. Refer to Figure 2.

  • Click 'Show More Options' near the bottom of the search window pane. (Step 1)
  • Select 'Match Any Of The Words' from the drop down menu for 'Return results containing:' (Step 2)
  • Type 'diazinon kaolin' inside the 'text box' where you are asked: What word or phrase would you like to search for?' (Step 3)
  • Click the 'Search' button to execute the search request. (Step 3)

Figure 2

The Search Results

In this example, the search results produced 10 items in the PDF document for information about diazinon and kaolin. See Figure 3 below.

Figure 3

How to search a document on mac shortcutMac

Additional Information

How To Search A Document On Macbook

Setting a Preference for Displaying the Advanced Search Option as the Default

  • Select 'Edit' from the menu option at the top-left of the computer screen.
  • Select 'Preferences'.
  • The Preferences popup window is displayed.
  • Under Categories: select 'Search'.
  • Refer to the 'Search' section and check the box 'Always show more options in advanced search'.
  • Click the 'Ok' button to save.

The above solution is assuming you are using the iCloud tools (the iCloud Drive folder in Finder) to search iCloud Drive, not the web browser tool.


Write a document on mac

In Windows, this would be the iCloud for Windows application and using File Explorer to search the synced iCloud Drive folder.


From the web browser, there really isn't a search option. The browser tool for iCloud is not full featured in any way and was not designed to be a replacement for any other file management tool.

Search Pdf Document On Mac


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Jul 17, 2017 7:45 PM