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My neighbor is trying to search a pdf file for the word 'eight' but doesn't want 'weight', 'eighty' or other instances where 'eight' is within a larger string. She searched for ' eight ' (with spaces on either side), and it ignores the spaces. I just tried the same, and it ignores the spaces in the search.

How do you get the pdf search to not ignore spaces?

She has tried with a space before and after, both before and after; on Vista and Windows 7; with an Adobe reader and a reader/writer.

It seems like there should be a setting, and under Edit/Preferences, there is a Search option. But I sure don't see how to set it to not ignore leading and trailing spaces in a search.

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  • 1
    What reader are you using?
    – Pricey
    Mar 29, 2011 at 15:37
  • I'm using Acobe Reader 9, and I think she mentioned 9 as well. Mar 29, 2011 at 15:41

4 Answers 4

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Select Edit > Advanced Search

Select "Match Exact word or phrase", then tick the "Whole words only" option.

Apparently this is only in Adobe Reader X (sorry).

In Adobe Reader 9 it's Edit > Search (Shift+Ctrl+F)

Adobe Search menu

There's no drop down but there is the "Whole words only" option:

Adobe Search options

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  • Adobe Reader 9 doesn't have an Edit > Advanced Search. Under Edit, it has Search, Search Results, and Preferences. Preferences has a Search category, but nothing about "Whole words only". Mar 29, 2011 at 16:25
  • The "Find" toolbar also has a drop-down menu (from the small arrow) that allows you to select "Whole Words Only".
    – sblair
    Mar 30, 2011 at 12:29
  • Is it possible to exclude phrases?
    – Mark C
    Jan 16, 2022 at 19:46
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Most search engines will consider exact match if you surround the text with " like " eight "

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  • 1
    The OP has already tried that and found it didn't work.
    – ChrisF
    Mar 29, 2011 at 15:44
  • 3
    I think laurent is suggesting to not just wrap in spaces, but also quotes.
    – Pricey
    Mar 29, 2011 at 15:52
  • @PriceChild - Yes, exactly - I understood the OP has tried only with spaces
    – laurent
    Mar 29, 2011 at 15:54
  • If I surround the word with quotes, it finds nothing, because no words have quotes around them. That sounded like a good idea. Mar 29, 2011 at 16:27
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Keep your software up-to-date, Adobe Reader 9 has bugs and security leaks.

Here is a screenshot of Adobe Reader X:

enter image description here

As it looks like they slightly revamped the search engine it might support the " " syntax as well...

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  • 1
    I'll suggest to my neighbor to try the newer adobe, if that's an option for her. Both of us use what our companies provide, and at least for me, upgrading on my own is simply not allowed. Mar 29, 2011 at 16:51
  • You could try to propose an upgrade if the feature is necessary for your work, another option is to use a portable version of Adobe Reader X. Mar 29, 2011 at 16:55
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To search for phrases with spaces:

  1. Press Shift-Ctrl-F to Open Full Reader Search.
  2. Enter the phrase but use the underscore character "_" in place of each space.
  3. Change Return results containing to "Match Any of the words".
  4. Click on "Show More Options" on the bottom left of the window.
  5. Check the option "Stemming" under "Use these additional criteria".
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  • That doesn't seem to answer the question, as it wasn't about phrases, but rather a word that could be contained within other words. Apr 5, 2017 at 15:39

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