DocFind PDF Keyword Search

DocFind searches inside many PDFs at once, on Android and on iPhone — scanned PDFs included — and opens each result at the page where your words appear, highlighted. Your documents are never uploaded: indexing, searching and reading scanned pages all happen on your device.

WHAT IT DOES

• Search many PDFs at once for one or more keywords
• Results show the file, the page, and the surrounding text, so you can see the match in context before you open anything
• Tap a result to open that PDF at that exact page, with your keywords highlighted
• Step through matches one at a time, and see how many there are

SEARCH INSIDE SCANNED PDFS

Some PDFs are pictures of pages rather than text — anything scanned or photographed. DocFind can read those too, on your device, and then search them like any other document. Reading a document is something you start yourself, so nothing happens to your files without you asking.

For scanned PDFs you add, the free version reads your first 100 pages, then 10 pages a month. Pro removes that limit.

SCAN A DOCUMENT, THEN SEARCH IT

Tap Scan Document at the top of your library and photograph up to 20 pages. DocFind saves them as one PDF, reads the text on your phone and adds it to that PDF, so the scan is searchable here and in other PDF apps. Scans are kept inside DocFind; use Share or Save a copy to keep one anywhere else. Reading a scan is free and never uses your reading allowance.

BUILT FOR REPEAT SEARCHES

DocFind reads each document once and remembers what it found, so searching the same library again is fast. Indexing runs in the background, shows its progress, can be cancelled, and picks up where it left off if the app is closed.

ORGANISE WITH LIBRARIES

Group the documents you work with into a library and keep them there. Your selection survives closing the app. The free version keeps one library of up to 25 documents; Pro allows as many libraries and documents as you need.

TRY IT WITHOUT SETUP

Tap "Try the demo" on the first screen and DocFind builds three sample documents — including a scanned one — and searches them. Nothing of yours is touched, and exiting the demo removes everything it created.

EXPORT YOUR RESULTS

Save a set of results as a CSV spreadsheet, a Markdown file, a formatted PDF report, or a PDF containing just the pages that matched. Every export records what was searched and anything that was skipped, so the file is honest about its own limits.

The free version writes 10 exports a month; Pro removes the limit.

WORKS OFFLINE, NO ADS

Searching, indexing, reading scanned pages and exporting all work with no internet connection. Your documents are never uploaded. There are no ads. The scan screen is part of Google Play services, which may need to download it before your first scan.

WHY DATA SAFETY LISTS DIAGNOSTICS

Google's ML Kit, which reads scanned pages on your phone, sends Google diagnostics such as phone model, app version and timing, with an install ID. What Google lists as sent includes nothing from your documents.

WHEN IT CAN'T DO SOMETHING, IT SAYS SO

If a file can't be opened, if a document hasn't been read yet, or if a file has changed on disk since it was indexed, DocFind tells you which ones and why, rather than quietly returning fewer results.

FREE AND PRO

Free: one library of up to 25 documents (a scan counts as one), unlimited keywords and unlimited results, 10 exports a month, and for scanned PDFs you add, your first 100 pages read free, then 10 a month. Camera scans are always read free.

Pro: unlimited libraries and documents, unlimited reading of scanned PDFs, and unlimited exports. Available monthly, yearly, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled; you can cancel any time in Google Play > Subscriptions.

GOOD FOR

Students across a stack of papers. Lawyers and accountants looking for one clause or one figure. Researchers, and anyone who keeps more PDFs than they can remember the contents of.

Recent changes:
NEW: Scan a document, then search it
• Tap Scan Document at the top of your library or in the Add menu and photograph up to 20 pages. DocFind saves one PDF, reads its text on your phone and adds the text to the file, so it's searchable here and in other PDF apps. Scans are read free.
• Scanned PDFs you add: the free version now reads your first 100 pages, then 10 a month.
• A Home button at the top left takes you back to your library.