Searching of pdf-Attachements Content to E-Mails Outlook (Office 2022) desktop version not working on Windows 11.

Question

I use in my practice Outlook (Office 2022) desktop version, on new Windows 11-pcs. Unfortunately with the per default installed PDF-Professional-Filter Outlook is not capable of sarching within pdf-attachements to E-Mails. Finally installed an old pdf-filter from Adobe and it works now. But the Adobe filter is very old and not supported anymore, Anyone knows another solution? I think Microsoft should include a pdf-filter, that allows Outlook to search in pdf-attachements to emails reliably, as this is a very basic function needed by many private- and enterprise-user. One should not have to spend hours searching a solution to such an important basic function. https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/current-official-download-link-for-adobe-pdf-ifilter-11-for-64-bit-platforms/m-p/12508386.

Answer 1

Hi Peter Tomasi,

We haven't heard from you, so we're guessing your problem has been fixed. We will not be monitoring this thread in the future, so if you need further assistance, please create a new thread to discuss these concerns by clicking on this link: **** Create a New Question

Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely

ReynaldoB

Microsoft Community Forum Moderator

Answer 2

Hi Peter Tomasi

Thank you for posting in the Microsoft Community forum. I hope you're doing well.

Based on your description, I understand that you have a problem with your searching PDF attachments on your Outlook. And based on your previous responses, it seems to be that you've already performed troubleshooting steps but still didn't resolve the problem. Let's work together to find the best solution to this problem.

First of all, may I know what is the configuration of your email on Outlook? Is it on IMAP, POP or Microsoft Exchange?

To help you even more about your problem, here are other troubleshooting steps that you can try.

1. Try accessing your account on a different computer under the same network. If the search works fine on another system, then the issue might be related to your current system.
2. Create a new Outlook profile and re-add your account. Sometimes, creating a new profile can help resolve issues. Overview of Outlook e-mail profiles - Microsoft Support
3. Try repairing your Office installation. Sometimes, repairing the Office installation can help resolve issues. Repair an Office application - Microsoft Support
4. Run the Windows Search troubleshooter. This can help identify and fix common problems with Windows Search. Fix problems in Windows Search - Windows Client | Microsoft Learn
5. Verify if indexing is complete. Incomplete indexing can cause search issues.

Hope it helps. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely

---

ReynaldoB

Microsoft Community Forum Moderator

Answer 3

Hi,Peter

Based checking on your version. We've already contacted the related team internally.

Please give some patience and waiting for the further assistance from the dedicating team.

Thank for your understanding and cooperation.

Have a nice day,

Alex.

Answer 4

Hi,Peter

Good day!

Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to assist you.

According to your description, I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing issues with searching for PDF attachments in Outlook. Microsoft does provide a built-in PDF filter for Outlook, but it may not be enabled by default. Here are the steps to enable it:

1. Open Outlook and click on File > Options.
2. Click on Search in the left-hand menu.
3. Under the Sources section, click on the Indexing Options button.
4. In the Indexing Options window, click on the Advanced button.
5. In the Advanced Options window, click on the File Types tab.
6. Scroll down to the PDF extension and make sure it is checked.
7. Click OK to close all windows.

Once you have enabled the PDF filter, Outlook should be able to search for content within PDF attachments. If this does not work, you may need to rebuild your search index. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Open Outlook and click on File > Options.
2. Click on Search in the left-hand menu.
3. Click on the Indexing Options button.
4. Click on the Advanced button.
5. Click on the Rebuild button.
6. Wait for the indexing process to complete.

If the issue persists, could you please share your detailed client version with us that we can do more searching for you - What version of Outlook do I have? - Microsoft Support.

Thanks for your precious time and your understanding would be highly appreciated.

Hope you all the best!

Sincerely,

Alex | Microsoft Community Moderator.

Dear Alex

I am using Microsoft® Outlook® 2021 MSO (Version 2308 Build 16.0.16731.20182) 64 Bit.

I have gone through the steps 1-7 and 1-6 that you mentioned above several times without success.

As mentioned, I finally solved the issue with the old Adobe PDF filter (see the link in my post).

I also want to express my opinion that Microsoft should provide a default filter that works reliably, as searching via PDF attachments is a very basic and important function. Outlook loses much of its power when you can't use this function. Alternatively, Microsoft could recommend reliable functioning filters from third parties. It took me several hours to find a solution, and since Adobe no longer supports the filter, nobody knows how long it will continue to work, and there is no guarantee that using the old Adobe filter won't cause any issues.

Regards! Peter

Answer 5

Hi,Peter

Good day!

Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to assist you.

According to your description, I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing issues with searching for PDF attachments in Outlook. Microsoft does provide a built-in PDF filter for Outlook, but it may not be enabled by default. Here are the steps to enable it:

1. Open Outlook and click on File > Options.
2. Click on Search in the left-hand menu.
3. Under the Sources section, click on the Indexing Options button.
4. In the Indexing Options window, click on the Advanced button.
5. In the Advanced Options window, click on the File Types tab.
6. Scroll down to the PDF extension and make sure it is checked.
7. Click OK to close all windows.

Once you have enabled the PDF filter, Outlook should be able to search for content within PDF attachments. If this does not work, you may need to rebuild your search index. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Open Outlook and click on File > Options.
2. Click on Search in the left-hand menu.
3. Click on the Indexing Options button.
4. Click on the Advanced button.
5. Click on the Rebuild button.
6. Wait for the indexing process to complete.

If the issue persists, could you please share your detailed client version with us that we can do more searching for you - What version of Outlook do I have? - Microsoft Support.

Thanks for your precious time and your understanding would be highly appreciated.

Hope you all the best!

Sincerely,

Alex | Microsoft Community Moderator.