Why did a document return no hits?

It is likely a scan without a text layer. Run PDF OCR on it, then search the recognised text.

Is the regex syntax the same as JavaScript?

Yes — it uses the browser's own regular-expression engine, so JavaScript syntax applies.

How many files can I search?

Up to thirty at a time. Beyond that, memory rather than the tool becomes the limit.

Are my files uploaded anywhere?

No. Every operation runs inside your browser tab using JavaScript and WebAssembly. Nothing is transmitted to MyToolyard or any third party, and nothing is stored after you close the tab.

Is there a file size or page limit?

There is no artificial limit — the practical ceiling is your device's memory. Files up to roughly 100MB are comfortable on a modern laptop; very large scanned documents are best processed in smaller batches.

Does it work on a phone or tablet?

Yes. The interface is fully responsive and touch-friendly. Very large documents will be slower on mobile because processing uses the device's own CPU and memory.

Search Inside PDFs

Find a word or phrase across a whole stack of PDFs at once — every hit with its file, page number and surrounding sentence.

No training on your data
Region: global

Drop one or many PDFs to search

Click, drag or paste — searching happens on your device

PDF & DocumentsAdvanced & AI

Search Inside PDFs — Overview

About this tool

What is Search Inside PDFs?

Search Inside PDFs searches many documents at once. Drop a whole folder's worth of PDFs, type a phrase, and every hit comes back with its file name, page number and the surrounding sentence highlighted in context.

Whole-word and case-sensitive modes keep results tight, and a regular-expression mode handles patterns like invoice numbers, reference codes or date formats. Results export to CSV, which turns a search into a documented audit trail.

Your PDF reader can only search one open file. This searches thirty, locally, with nothing uploaded.

What it does

What does Search Inside PDFs do?

Full-text search across a stack of documents:

Search up to 30 PDFs in one pass
Every hit shown with file, page number and surrounding context
Highlighted matches so you can scan results at a glance
Case-sensitive and whole-word options
Regular-expression mode for patterns and codes
CSV export of every match for reporting or evidence

How to use

How to use Search Inside PDFs

1
Drop your PDFs
Add as many as you need; remove any file from the list before searching.
2
Enter your phrase
Turn on whole words for precision, or regular expressions for patterns like a reference-number format.
3
Review or export
Read hits grouped by file, then export the whole result set as CSV.

Good to know

Privacy & cost

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged, or saved on our servers — safe for confidential or proprietary data.

Use cases & scenarios

Where it fits

Legal discovery

Find every mention of a name or term across a bundle of disclosure documents.

Finding one invoice

Locate the purchase order number hidden somewhere in a year of supplier PDFs.

Technical documentation

Search a set of manuals and datasheets for a part number or error code at once.

Value & benefits

Why people pick this tool

✓Free forever — no page caps, watermarks, sign-ups or premium tier
✓100% in-browser processing — your documents never touch a server
✓Works offline once the page has loaded, ideal for confidential files
✓No queues or waiting rooms — the work happens at the speed of your device

Frequently asked questions

FAQs

Final thoughts

The bottom line

Search is the fastest way to make a pile of PDFs useful, and it is exactly the task people wrongly hand to an upload-based service. Doing it in the browser means unlimited searching over documents that never leave your laptop.