Debugging iFilter plug-in (PDF indexing)

Question

I have the official Adobe x64 iFilter PDF plug-in and the FoxIt Software iFilter PDF plug-in installed, and neither one seems to be allowing me to index the contents of PDF files. So far, I've:

• Added my data folder into the Indexing service configuration
• Ensured that PDF files are configured to index "file properties and contents"
• Rebuilt the index from scratch

But, when I search, I can only search for PDF file names, not the contents of them. Any ideas on how to debug this issue?

Answer 1

The IFilters don't index the files Windows Search does. Windows Search uses the registered IFilter for the file type to 'read' the PDF and provide the text for indexing.

So you need to change the Windows Search configuration to make sure it indexes PDF content AND indexes the folder your PDF documents are stored in. You can changes the settings in 'Change how Windows searches'.