What if my PDF is a scanned image without selectable text?
Use our "OCR PDF" tool first to make the scanned text selectable, then search and highlight with ease.
Instantly find and highlight every occurrence of key terms, names, dates, or account numbers across multi-page PDF documents automatically.
100% Free & Private — Processed entirely inside your web browser without server uploads
🚀 Open 🔍 Search & Highlight PDFLocating critical terminology across hundreds of pages in legal contracts, medical charts, research papers, or discovery exhibits is tedious when highlighting each occurrence by hand.
SmallPDF Pro’s Search & Highlight PDF tool automatically scans the text layer of your document for your specified query words or phrases and applies high-visibility translucent highlighter annotations across every match.
With customizable highlight colors (yellow, green, blue, pink) and case-sensitive options, your document analysis is completed in seconds with 100% client-side privacy.
Drop your document into the tool to initialize the in-browser text search index.
Type the search query, name, date, or phrase you want highlighted across the document.
Pick your preferred highlight color (Yellow, Green, Cyan, or Magenta) and opacity.
Click "Highlight All Matches" and download your annotated research document.
Use our "OCR PDF" tool first to make the scanned text selectable, then search and highlight with ease.
Yes, because highlights are saved as standard PDF annotations, you can view or delete them in any PDF viewer.
Zero tracking. SmallPDF Pro processes everything locally in your browser memory without sending data to servers.