Cannot tag my PDF files

I've been using Quick PDF Tools (quickpdftools.com). It adds a context (right click) menu to windows explorer. One of the commands allows you to edit document properties.

Also, to search within pdf files you need a ifilter. On 64 bit systems, Foxit ifilter 2.0 is the go. One hassle I've had is the Foxit ifilter stops working occasionally (maybe after a windows update) with no clue other than known files are not turning up in the search results. It then requires a reinstall which is very quick (but keep the installer handy).

Maybe someone will stumble over this old thread like I did. Hope it helps.

David

I looked at Quick PDF Tools and I think it'll do just what I'm looking for. One catch though: McAfee Site Advisor gives the site a good rating and says they trust the download, but the trend micro internet security trial that came with my laptop says the download is malicious. Have you had any problems with it or is trend micro just making a mistake? I've never known McAfee's siteadvisor to give a bad download a good rating, but I don't want this to be the one time I get something bad. Thanks!

I've been using Quick PDF Tools for several months with no problems. My anti-virus (MS Security Essentials) has no problem with it.

alright - the trend micro page looks to be based on some kind of automatic thing, rather than an actual test, so since mcafee actually tested it and you've used it w/out any problems it looks like I'm good to go! Thanks for the help.

dfur said:

Also, to search within pdf files you need a ifilter. On 64 bit systems, Foxit ifilter 2.0 is the go.

The problem with the Foxit ifilter 2.0 is that it apparently costs $450. The earlier Foxit ifilter doesn't seem to work on 64-bit Windows 7.

I am a student with a number of research-related pdfs through which I would like to search for text from an explorer window and the start menu search box. I am using Windows 7 on a 64-bit system.

I have gone into Indexing Options->Advanced->File types->pdf->Index Properties and File Contents but that did not solve the problem. My computer spent a while indexing after I made that change, but I still can't find text inside pdfs.

I looked into iFilters from Adobe. But Adobe claims that the latest iFilters are bundled with the latest versions of Acrobat and Reader, so I should have them.

I'm going to try Mendeley, but does anyone have a solution that will allow 64-bit Windows 7 to work? I want to find the word “causative” among pdfs in a folder with a few dozen of them.

I am solving this issue as follows:
Use a good viewer like pdfxchange viewer (close to Acrobat, more than a viewer):

Tracker Software Products :: Downloads

So I edit pdf metadata (CTRL+D) and add any keyword I like, comma separated, I think of it as tagging.
Then using its "search pdf" you can specify location (it could be a whole drive) and just uncheck "include pages content" (for lightning speed). It will pick from your keywords as well from other doc infos, as title etc. So by using a keyword you'll pick all tagged files.
I also keep a tag list somewhere (text file, piece of paper..) for convenience.

I have tried using file manager programs, but it turns out they copy tagged files into their program directory, so they duplicate disk space, which is unpleasant to me.
I only found one, Stuff Organizer from sourceforge, where you can avoid this issue by leaving "new directory" as blank field, so it will basically index the source file itself. It's up to you..

DIMIN HTML Directory Structure Creator

This small free program creates a index file of PDF files in a HTML file format in a tree structure for a group of folders containing PDF files. This HTML file can be opened in a web browser and any PDF file can be opened in browser just by clicking on the file name. (hyperlinks automatically created).

I used this program for cataloguing my e-books library containing more than 2000 files.

This is about a free and open source solution to the problem, available at http://filemeta.codeplex.com.

I started out with the same problem as jaochoo, wanting to tag research PDF papers. What the linked solution does is to allow you to use Explorer to see and edit tags, comments, etc that are stored with the file, so that they will when you move the file, but not in it, so you are not making any changes to the original.it also works with Windows search. There is no separate database, the capability is built into NTFS.

I think that Microsoft almost shipped this in Vista, because all the plug points are there in both Explorer and NTFS. The key piece that I provide is one 17 K DLL ( 64-bit) to connect the dots. They seem to have backed off because although everything works great as long as the PDF file is on an NTFS drive, but is lost when you send the file as an e-mail attachment, or move it to a different file system.

If you can live with that limitation, feel free to take a look!

I use the following workaround. I read and edit my PDFs with Foxit software (https://www.foxitsoftware.com/) and use Copernic (https://www.copernic.com/) to search the contents of my computer. To tag a PDF document I simply add a Note in Foxit and put my tags into the note. Those notes/tags become searchable with Copernic. Dead easy and works seamlessly.