Find text in a PDF or other document
You can open a PDF or other document in Preview, then search for a word or any set of characters. If you can’t see the search field at the top right of the document window, drag the window’s edge (top, bottom, or sides) to enlarge the window.
Find text: Type a word or phrase in the search field in the toolbar.
Find an exact phrase: Enclose the phrase in quotation marks. For example:
red shoes: All instances of the string “red” and the string “shoes” are found (even if they’re within other words, such as “transferRED” or “snowSHOES”).
“red shoes”: Only instances of “red shoes” are found.
Group the search results by page: Choose View > Table of Contents.
Sort the search results by number of matches: Click Search Rank.
Sort the search results by page number: Click Page Order.
Close the search results sidebar: Click Done.
Find text in notes: To search notes added to the PDF (instead of the text in the PDF itself), choose View > Highlights and Notes, then type a word or phrase in the search field in the toolbar.