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PDF iFilter no longer connected to Windows 11 search - was it an update that broke it?

Anonymous
2024-06-09T07:43:09+00:00

As there is not PDF iFilter to enable Windows 11 to search PDF contents I installed the TET iFilter. After installation I reindexed and was able to search inside PDF contents.

A recent search of PDF's, however, produced an incomplete result. After checking Indexing Options I see that the installed iFilter is no longer actice and my settings have reverted to the default 'File properties filter'

The TET iFilter is still installed but no longer available as an option. To search PDF contents the 'text filter' is the only option presented.

I'm wondering if an update to Windows 11 has reverted my indexing settings and replaced the installed iFilter?

An additional question; why doesn't Microsoft distribute a PDF iFilter?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Ramesh 176.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-06-10T05:02:19+00:00

    Regarding Windows.Data.Pdf.dll - how is this selected via Indexer? Is this done via regedit? I ask as 'Plain text filter' (on another Windows 11 PC) is autofilled when I select 'file contents' for PDFs

    Hi Tim,

    Yes. It's done via Regedit. By default, Windows.Data.Pdf.dll is set as the default search handler. If you want to set it as the default, open Regedit.exe and go to:

    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.pdf\PersistentHandler

    Set the (default) value data to {1AA9BF05-9A97-48c1-BA28-D9DCE795E93C}.

    (To effect the changes, rebuilding the index is essential.)

    Regarding the "Error Editing Value" error, that key is locked by TrustedInstaller. Instead, create the following key manually.

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE*Policies*\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search

    And create the DisableBackOff DWORD value.

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-06-30T02:00:16+00:00

    For others having this issue, there is an alternative solution that does not require editing the Windows Registry. I'm running Windows 11 Pro (23H2) which was an in-place upgrade pn top of Windows 10. My PDF content search was broken.

    What did NOT work:

    • Rebuilding the search index
    • Indexing Options- Advanced- File Types- PDF- "How should this file be indexed?" = "Index Properties and File Contents" WITHOUT Adobe iFilter installed. NOTE: When iFilter is not installed (see below), then the "Filter Description" shows as "Plain Text Filter"

    What DID work:

    1. Install Adobe iFilter which can be downloaded from this reputable 3rd party: https://columbiasoftcomdownloads.blob.core.windows.net/software/PDFFilter64Setup.msi. The official Adobe download source is unfortnately FTP, which is a hassle these days but also provided here for reference: http://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/acrobat/win/11.x/PDFFilter64Setup.msi.

    AFTER intalling Adobe iFilter, I noted that Indexing Options- Advanced- File Types- PDF- "How should this file be indexed?" = "Index Properties and File Contents" and the "Filter Description" shows as "PDF Filter" <-- this is the key!

    1. Rebuilt the index and PDF content search was back up and running.

    Happy searching!

    Keith

    Refer to the winning combination below:

    Image

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-06-10T00:27:31+00:00

    One other thing if I may?

    I tried to disable search backoff (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gathering Manager\DisableBackoff) so as to prioritise indexing. I did this with an elevated regedit, and after stopping the windows search service, but was unable to change the value. Any thought on why that might be the case?

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-06-09T22:32:34+00:00

    Thanks for the (refreshingly) helpful response, Ramesh

    I actually reinstalled TET and rebuilt the index so now am getting the results I expected.

    Regarding Windows.Data.Pdf.dll - how is this selected via Indexer? Is this done via regedit? I ask as 'Plain text filter' (on another Windows 11 PC) is autofilled when I select 'file contents' for PDF

    Thanks again for the accurate and helpful reply

    Cheers

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  4. Ramesh 176.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-06-09T08:13:08+00:00

    Hi Tim,

    Windows has a built-in PDF iFilter module (Windows.Data.Pdf.dll). But I'm unsure how the PDF's default iFilter has changed to "Text filter". This issue is not seen in my systems (Windows 10 and 11, fully updated) and the Edge updates didn't do this.

    It's possible that the PDF association (Progid) has changed which caused the problem.

    Try registering the TET iFilter module using this command, from admin CMD:

    regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\PDFlib\TET PDF IFilter 5.5 64-bit\bin\TETPDFIFilter.dll"

    (Got the above path from TET's official documentation. Please check the folder path accordingly.)

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