# What is the keyboard shortcut to search a PDF? — DocFind

Last reviewed: October 21, 2026. HTML version: https://docfindapp.com/answers/keyboard-shortcut-to-search-a-pdf

**Ctrl+F on Windows and Command-F on a Mac. Every desktop PDF viewer whose help we read today opens its find bar with that pair: Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Apple's Preview through the standard Mac shortcut. The key most people never learn is the next one: Ctrl+G (Command-G on a Mac) jumps to the next match without reaching for the mouse.** The table is the quick version; each section below names the vendor page it comes from.

| Viewer | Open find | Next match | Previous match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, Windows | Ctrl+F | F3 or Ctrl+G | Not in Adobe's table |
| Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, Mac | Command-F | Command-G | Not in Adobe's table |
| Chrome, Windows | Ctrl+F or F3 | Ctrl+G | Ctrl+Shift+G |
| Chrome, Mac | Command-F | Command-G | Command-Shift-G |
| Edge, Windows | Ctrl+F | Ctrl+G | Ctrl+Shift+G |
| Edge, Mac | Command-F | Command-G | Command-Shift-G |
| Preview, Mac | Command-F | Command-G | Shift-Command-G |

## Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader <p>Adobe's shortcut reference lists "Find in document" as Ctrl + F on Windows and command + F on a Mac, and "Move to the next search result and highlight it in the document" as "F3 or Ctrl + G" (command + G on a Mac). The same table has no row for the previous result, so for going backwards use the arrow buttons in the find bar ([*Keyboard shortcuts*, Acrobat Desktop Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/get-started/preferences-and-settings/keyboard-shortcuts.html), read 21 October 2026).</p> <p>For a search across a whole folder, Adobe's Reader page gives one shortcut and one menu path: "In a web browser, press Ctrl+Shift+F to open the advanced Search pane", while "In the Acrobat Reader application, choose Edit > Advanced Search" ([*Save, view, and search PDFs*, Adobe Acrobat Reader Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/reader/desktop/save-view-search-pdfs.html), read 21 October 2026). Once the results list covers several files, the shortcut table adds a pair for stepping between documents: "Search the next document (with Search results displaying multiple files)" is Alt + Shift + Right Arrow, marked "(Windows only)", or command + shift + Right Arrow on a Mac, with Left Arrow for the previous document (the *Keyboard shortcuts* page above). How that folder search works, and its limits, is on [searching in Adobe Reader](https://docfindapp.com/answers/search-in-adobe-reader).</p>

## Chrome and Edge, for a PDF opened in the browser <p>Google's shortcut list describes Ctrl + f or F3 as "Open the Find Bar to search the current page", then Ctrl + g to "Jump to the next match to your Find Bar search" and Ctrl + Shift + g for the previous one; the Mac column uses ⌘ in place of Ctrl, and adds ⌘ + e to search for the text you have selected while the find bar is open ([*Chrome keyboard shortcuts*, Google Chrome Help](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/157179?hl=en), read 21 October 2026).</p> <p>Microsoft's list for Edge matches it closely: Ctrl+F is "Open find on page", Ctrl+G is "Jump to the next result for find on page" and Ctrl+Shift+G goes back, with F3 listed as "Find in the current tab". On a Mac the same three are Command+F, Command+G and Command+Shift+G. Edge's table also has PDF-only keys, such as Ctrl+\ to "Toggle PDF between fit to page / fit to width" ([*Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Edge*, Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/keyboard-shortcuts-in-microsoft-edge), read 21 October 2026). Neither list is written for PDFs alone; both describe the current page or tab, which is where a PDF you opened in the browser sits. The browser-by-browser detail, Safari included, is on [searching a PDF in a browser](https://docfindapp.com/answers/search-a-pdf-in-a-browser).</p>

## Preview on a Mac <p>A small surprise: Apple's own shortcut page for Preview covers saving, tabs, zoom and page movement, and has no entry for finding text ([*Keyboard shortcuts in Preview on Mac*, Preview User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/preview/keyboard-shortcuts-cpprvw0003/mac), read 21 October 2026). The shortcut comes from Apple's list for the whole Mac instead: "Command-F: Find items in a document or open a Find window", and "Command-G: Find Again: Find the next occurrence of the item previously found. To find the previous occurrence, press Shift-Command-G" ([*Mac keyboard shortcuts*, Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102650), read 21 October 2026).</p> <p>Preview's search has two options worth a click once the results appear. If you type a phrase, "Preview searches for that exact phrase", and choosing Any Match widens it to any of the words; the results can be sorted by Search Rank, the number of matches, or by Page Order ([*Find text in PDFs in Preview on Mac*, Preview User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/preview/prvw2014/mac), read 21 October 2026).</p>

## On a phone <p>There is no Ctrl key, so the same command lives in a menu, and it has a different name in each app. [Ctrl+F on a phone](https://docfindapp.com/answers/ctrl-f-on-a-phone) lists where it is in Safari, Chrome, Apple's Preview, Files by Google and Google Docs.</p>

## If the shortcut opens but finds nothing <p>A find bar can only match words that are stored in the file. When you can see a word on the page and the search still says no results, the page is probably a scan with no text behind the picture; [checking for a text layer](https://docfindapp.com/answers/does-my-pdf-have-a-text-layer) takes a few seconds. And every key in the table above searches the one PDF you have open. When the word could be in any of dozens of files, that is a different job, covered on [searching inside many PDFs at once](https://docfindapp.com/answers/search-inside-multiple-pdfs).</p>

Related: [How do I search in Adobe Reader?](https://docfindapp.com/answers/search-in-adobe-reader) · [Search inside a PDF in Safari or Chrome](https://docfindapp.com/answers/search-a-pdf-in-a-browser) · [How do I Ctrl+F on a phone?](https://docfindapp.com/answers/ctrl-f-on-a-phone) · [Search inside PDFs on a Mac](https://docfindapp.com/answers/search-inside-pdfs-on-a-mac)