Windows search not finding your PDF text? Here’s how to fix it

If you notice that Windows search does not return any PDFs as hits, even though you are sure that your search term appears in such a file, check the search settings.

To do this, open the Start menu, search for a term, then click the three dots at the right-most edge of suggested search terms across the top of the interface — next to your account icon. Enter the indexing options and then click on the “Advanced Indexing” option, followed by the “Advanced” button to bring up a new dialogue box.