In response to my DWF Text Search article, Senior Technical Writer, Chris Blocher, provided the following article.
Sure Buzzsaw, DWF iFilter, and Google can index DWF files on servers and the Web, but what about your local DWF files?
The local solution is to take advantage of a perk provided when either the Autodesk DWF Viewer or Autodesk Design Review 2007 is installed on your computer. When these programs are installed, you can use the Search tool on the Start menu, in Microsoft Internet Explorer, or in Windows Explorer to locate text in DWF files.
Note: The steps below are for a clean install of Windows XP Professional. The steps might vary slightly for your Windows setup.
To search for DWF files and their contents using Windows Explorer:
- Open Windows Explorer.
- Display the Search Companion.
- Choose View > Explorer Bar > Search.
- Click Search.
- Or, press Ctrl+E.
- If necessary, click All Files and Folders.
- Optional: In the All or Part of the File Name text box, type .dwf (This limits the search to DWF files.)
- In the A Word or Phrase in the File text box, type the term you want to find.
- From the Look In drop-down list, select a location to search.
- Optional: To set additional conditions (Date, Type, Size, and Advanced Options) restricting the search further, click More Advanced Options.
- Click Search. DWF files that contain the search term(s) are listed.
The ability to electronically find text in a DWF file is one of the ways DWF goes beyond the paper. This is so much easier and accurate than thumbing through a stack of e-size printouts and eyeballing for text.
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