Desktop for Windows Help

If Google Desktop isn't finding a particular PDF file, try one of the following solutions. Click each link to read more details.

• Download the PDFtoText utility to your computer.

  Go to your C:\Program Files\Google\Google Desktop Search\ directory and check for a file named 'PDFtoText.exe.' If the file is missing, you can download it, and place it in this directory. Then re-index your computer to make your PDF files searchable.

• Verify that the PDF isn't utilizing clear or transparent text.

  At this time, Desktop doesn't support the indexing of PDF documents with clear text data inside of it. See more details.

• Verify that the PDF isn't encrypted or password-protected.

  Google Desktop can't access data within encrypted or password-protected PDFs. To check if your PDF is restricted, follow these steps:

  1. Open the file in Acrobat Reader.
  2. Click the File menu.
  3. Select Document Properties.
  4. Click the Security tab.
• Try searching for a word that appears at the beginning of the PDF.

  For most documents, Desktop searches about the first 10,000 words. Occasionally, Desktop may index slightly fewer words to save space in your search index and on your hard drive. A PDF may not appear in the search results if you're searching for a word that appears at the end of a very long PDF file.

• If the PDF you're looking for contains a scanned image, try searching for its file name.

  A PDF containing scanned images only shows up in Desktop search results when you search for its entire file name.

• Make sure that the 'Text and other files' checkbox is selected on your Desktop Preferences page.

  Open the Desktop Preferences page by clicking the Desktop icon in your system tray and selecting Options. To search PDF files, both 'PDF' and 'Text and other files' checkboxes must be selected as search types on the Desktop Search tab. In older versions of Desktop, this option is located on the Local Indexing tab.

  If you'd like the ability to search the text of your PDFs, be sure to select the 'Enable Content Indexing' checkbox.
• Make sure that Desktop is indexing the network or mapped drive that contains your PDF.

  Desktop will search for PDFs on the network drives you've selected, but only after you've configured your Desktop preferences. Learn how to add these drives to your index.

  For network or mapped drives that you haven't selected, Desktop searches only Microsoft Office files that you open, create, or save after installing Desktop. PDF, TXT, or MP3 files are not included.

• Verify that the PDF isn't located in a hidden folder.

  Right-click the folder containing the PDF on your computer. Select Properties and find the 'Attributes' section. Make sure the 'Hide' checkbox isn't selected in the 'Attributes' section. If you unhide a folder, re-index your computer to make files in this folder searchable.