How to Use “Find” in Adobe Reader

To use the Find function in Adobe Reader, you can use a simple keyboard shortcut or the application menu:

Using the Keyboard Shortcut:

This is the quickest way to access the find function.

For Windows: Press Ctrl + F.

For Mac: Press Command + F.

A small “Find” toolbar will appear in the top-right corner of the document window.

Using the Menu

Open the PDF file in the Adobe Acrobat Reader app.

In the top menu bar, select Edit > Find.

After Opening the Find Toolbar

Type your search term into the text box.

Press Enter or Return.

The first instance of the word or phrase will be highlighted in the document.

Use the Next (arrow pointing right) and Previous (arrow pointing left) buttons next to the text box to navigate through all the results.

Advanced Options

For more specific searches, you can slick the gear icon or the down arrow on the right side of the Find toolbar to reveal options:

Whole Words Only: Finds only complete occurrences of the word, excluding partial matches (e.g., searching for “stick” won’t find “sticky”).

Case Sensitive: Searches for words that match the exact capitalization you typed.

Include Bookmarks: Expands the search to include text within bookmarks.

Include Comments: Expands the search to include text within comments and annotations.

Open Full Acrobat Search: Opens a separate “Search” panel (often on the left) which offers even more advanced options, such as searching across multiple PDFs or using Boolean queries.