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Find and Replace Text in PDFs

Find and Replace is powerful programmatic text editing in PDFs with precision and flexibility. It enables precise search-and-replace in PDFs while preserving the original layout, fonts, and structure. Whether you're modernizing terminology, localizing content, or applying consistent phrasing across documents, it delivers fast, reliable results—while preserving the visual integrity of your files.

This feature is available in the PDF Editing add-on to Server SDK.

Key capabilities include:

Flexible Matching: Choose from exact, wildcard, or regex-based search
Smart Reflow: Maintain paragraph structure and alignment
Layout Preservation: Replacement text is fitted within the existing text box, with minimal adjustments to font size or spacing made only when necessary to maintain visual consistency
Customizable Options: Match case, whole words, page ranges, and more

How Find and Replace Works

Unlike basic search tools, Find and Replace is designed for structured, automated, and scalable document transformations. It uses Apryse's native PDF editing engine to find and replace text content. Page layout is recalculated dynamically, so changes are absorbed into the document without affecting visual quality or structure.

1// Open a PDF document to edit
2PDFDoc doc(input_path + "find-replace-test.pdf");
3FindReplaceOptions options = FindReplaceOptions();
4
5// Set some find/replace options
6options.SetWholeWords(true);
7options.SetMatchCase(true);
8options.SetMatchMode(FindReplaceOptions::e_exact);
9options.SetReflowMode(FindReplaceOptions::e_para);
10options.SetAlignment(FindReplaceOptions::e_left);
11
12// Perform a Find/Replace finding "the" with "THE INCREDIBLE"
13FindReplace::FindReplaceText(doc, "the", "THE INCREDIBLE", options);
14
15// Save the edited PDF
16doc.Save(output_path + "find-replace-test-replaced.pdf", SDFDoc::e_linearized);
17

1// Read a PDF document from a stream or pass-in a memory buffer...
2FileStream istm = new FileStream(input_path + "find-replace-test.pdf", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
3
4using (PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc(istm))
5{
6	FindReplaceOptions options = new FindReplaceOptions();
7	
8	// Set some find/replace options
9	options.SetWholeWords(true);
10	options.SetMatchCase(true);
11	options.SetMatchMode(FindReplaceOptions.MatchType.e_exact);
12	options.SetReflowMode(FindReplaceOptions.ReflowType.e_para);
13	options.SetAlignment(FindReplaceOptions.HorizAlignment.e_left);
14	
15	// Perform a Find/Replace finding "the" with "THE INCREDIBLE"
16	FindReplace.FindReplaceText(doc, "the", "THE INCREDIBLE", options);
17	
18	// Save the edited PDF
19	doc.Save(output_path + "find-replace-test-replaced.pdf", SDFDoc.SaveOptions.e_linearized);
20}

1// Open a PDF document to edit
2PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc(input_path + "find-replace-test.pdf");
3
4FindReplaceOptions options = new FindReplaceOptions();
5
6// Set some find/replace options
7options.SetWholeWords(true);
8options.SetMatchCase(true);
9options.SetMatchMode(FindReplaceOptions.MatchType.e_exact);
10options.SetReflowMode(FindReplaceOptions.ReflowType.e_para);
11options.SetAlignment(FindReplaceOptions.HorizAlignment.e_left);
12
13// Perform a Find/Replace finding "the" with "THE INCREDIBLE"
14FindReplace.FindReplaceText(doc, "the", "THE INCREDIBLE", options);
15
16// Save the edited PDF
17doc.Save(output_path + "find-replace-test-replaced.pdf", PDFNet.SDFDoc.SaveOptions.e_linearized);

Benefits of Find and Replace

Automation-Ready: Ideal for batch processing and enterprise workflows
Highly Configurable: Tailor behavior to your document structure and language rules
Reliable Engine: Built on the trusted Apryse PDF platform

For full code samples and advanced usage, visit the Find and Replace SDK Samples Page.

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Find and Replace Text in PDFs

How Find and Replace Works

Benefits of Find and Replace

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