How do I create a full-text index for searching many PDFs in Acrobat?

Put all your PDFs in one folder. Open Acrobat Pro and go to the Catalog tool. Start a new index and let Acrobat scan your folder. Wait for the .pdx and .idx files to be made. Use the Search window to search across all indexed PDFs.

If my scanned PDF is blurry, will the Catalog index still find words in it?

If the scanned PDF does not have selectable text, Catalog cannot index its words. Blurry scans often do not have real text, only images. Use OCR (text recognition) first to make the text searchable.

Why should I use Catalog instead of searching each PDF one by one?

Catalog makes searching faster by using an index. You can search all PDFs at once, not separately. It also finds words in comments, bookmarks, and attachments.

How is searching with Catalog different from normal PDF search?

Catalog Search Normal PDF Search. Searches many PDFs at once Searches one PDF at a time Uses an index for speed Opens each file to look for words Finds words in comments, bookmarks, metadata, and attachments Usually only searches main text Needs setup (make index) No setup needed

Cross-Document Indexing in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

3 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”I need every page referencing 'warranty' in the defense file. Search the Bates-numbered PDF set…+

I need every page referencing 'warranty' in the defense file. Search the Bates-numbered PDF set for the word warranty, extract those pages in Bates order, and give me a single PDF of the results by close of business.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

BImprove — “do it better”The reviewer will want clear context and won't accept extraneous pages. Search the…+

The reviewer will want clear context and won't accept extraneous pages. Search the Bates-stamped production for [term=warranty] and also bring forward the page immediately before and after each hit unless it duplicates another extract. Keep Bates stamps intact, produce a consolidated PDF in Bates sequence, and add a short index of found Bates ranges.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

CDecide — “help me choose”I'm unsure whether to pull only the exact hits or full surrounding ranges for review. Describe…+

I'm unsure whether to pull only the exact hits or full surrounding ranges for review. Describe the trade-offs between precision and context when searching Bates-numbered PDFs, recommend an extraction strategy for a discovery review that minimizes re-requests, and provide the exact extraction plan (how many surrounding pages, handling duplicates) I should follow for 'warranty' hits.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Place all PDFs you want to include in the search index into a single folder on your computer.
2
Open Adobe Acrobat Pro.
3
Go to the Tools view and select Catalog.
4
In the Catalog panel, click New Index.
5
In the Index Definition dialog, click Add Folder and select the folder containing your PDFs.
6
Optionally, adjust the advanced options for the index (such as custom stop words or include/exclude subfolders) as needed.
7
Click Build to start creating the index.
8
Choose a location and filename for your .pdx index file and click Save.
9
Wait for the indexing process to complete, then click Close when finished.
Best practiceFor best performance, keep your PDF collection and the .pdx index file together in the same folder so users can easily search across all documents.

In the appWith the API

After building the index, use the Advanced Search feature and select 'Use Index' to search across all indexed PDFs at once.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

IndexA special file that helps you search for words very quickly in many PDFs at once.ExampleThe index allowed me to find every mention of 'project budget' across hundreds of documents instantly.

CatalogThe Acrobat tool that builds an index for searching many PDFs quickly.ExampleThe Catalog tool quickly indexed all project PDFs, allowing instant keyword searches across them.

Full-Text SearchLooking for words in all parts of a document, including the main text, comments, and other information.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

We're preparing a privilege log and I found inconsistent use of Bates ranges for related topics.

FAQ

about this task

Put all your PDFs in one folder.
Open Acrobat Pro and go to the Catalog tool.
Start a new index and let Acrobat scan your folder.
Wait for the .pdx and .idx files to be made.
Use the Search window to search across all indexed PDFs.

A PDF index is a file that stores a list of all the words and their locations in a group of PDFs. When you search, Acrobat looks in this index instead of opening every PDF to look inside. This makes searching much faster, especially if you have many files. Indexing is important because it saves time and helps you find information quickly.

If the scanned PDF does not have selectable text, Catalog cannot index its words.
Blurry scans often do not have real text, only images.
Use OCR (text recognition) first to make the text searchable.

Catalog makes searching faster by using an index.
You can search all PDFs at once, not separately.
It also finds words in comments, bookmarks, and attachments.

Catalog Search	Normal PDF Search
Searches many PDFs at once	Searches one PDF at a time
Uses an index for speed	Opens each file to look for words
Finds words in comments, bookmarks, metadata, and attachments	Usually only searches main text
Needs setup (make index)	No setup needed

Cross-Document Indexing

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help