Document Search Engine for PDF, Word and PowerPoint Files
DocJax is a free document search engine. Type a topic, pick a file type and choose where to look: the whole web, government and university sites, Google Drive, Dropbox and more.
DocJax writes the search for you and runs it on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo or Yandex, so you get their full index of documents with only the files you asked for.
File type
Your search
Type something to build a search.
How Does a PDF Search Engine Work?
The big search engines already hold billions of documents. A PDF search engine narrows their results to one kind of file with the filetype: operator, so budget filetype:pdf returns only PDF files about budgets.
DocJax adds those operators for you. Choose PDF, Word or Excel, and add a place such as .gov sites, and the search box shows the exact query before it opens. Copy it if you want to reuse it later.
File Types You Can Search
| Type | Extensions | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Reports, manuals, papers, forms, books | ||
| Word | .doc, .docx | Letters, drafts, templates, meeting minutes |
| PowerPoint | .ppt, .pptx | Lecture slides, pitch decks, training |
| Excel | .xls, .xlsx | Price lists, budgets, data tables |
| CSV | .csv | Raw data exports |
| Text | .txt, .rtf | Plain notes, logs, transcripts |
| EPUB | .epub | Ebooks |
| OpenDocument | .odt, .ods, .odp | LibreOffice files |
Pick more than one type and DocJax joins them with OR, so a single search can return both Word and PDF files. For slides alone, the PowerPoint search page opens with that filter already set.
Where You Can Look
Anywhere searches the whole web. The other choices limit results to one kind of site:
- Government and universities:
.govand.edusites, where most public reports, studies and course material live. - Cloud storage: files shared publicly from Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box. See Google Drive search and Dropbox search for how those links get found.
- Document sites: Scribd, SlideShare, Issuu, DocumentCloud and the Internet Archive.
- One website: type any domain to search only its files.
Tips for Finding the Right Document
- Use the words that would appear in the document itself, like “annual report” or “syllabus,” not a question.
- Turn on exact phrase under More filters when you know a title or a line from the text.
- Put a key word in the title field to cut out pages that only mention it once.
- Leave out words like sample or template when you want real documents.
- Try a second engine. Bing and Yandex often surface files Google leaves out.
Need every operator at once? The Google dork generator opens with all the fields showing and has a full cheat sheet.
Search by File Type or Website
Each of these opens the same search with one filter already set, plus tips for that kind of file or site.
Questions
Is DocJax free?
Yes. DocJax is free, with no account and no limit on searches. It builds the search for you and opens it on the search engine you pick.
How do I search for PDFs only on Google?
Add filetype:pdf to your search, for example climate report filetype:pdf. Google then returns PDF files only. DocJax adds the operator for you when you pick PDF.
Can I search public Google Drive files?
Yes, as long as a search engine has found them. Files shared with anyone who has the link, and posted somewhere public, often get indexed. Pick Google Drive under Where to search only those.
Does DocJax save what I search for?
No. Your search is put together in your browser and opens straight on the search engine you choose, so the words you type are never sent to DocJax.
What was the old DocJax?
DocJax launched in 2009 as a search engine for documents on the open web, such as PDF, Word and PowerPoint files. It does the same job today, using the large search engines that already index those files.