PDF Editing Issues

How to Highlight and Copy Multiple Sentences in a PDF

John Wilson Oct 19, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to search for a specific keyword in a large PDF, highlight every sentence containing that word, and copy all matching sentences simultaneously. They are also experiencing stalled PDF-to-Word conversions for large files.

How to Highlight and Copy Multiple Sentences in a PDF

Product: Adobe Acrobat
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Extracting specific sentences from a large PDF document based on a keyword search to compile research or data.
Observed behavior: Adobe Acrobat does not support automatically highlighting and copying all matching sentences at once; each sentence must be handled individually. Additionally, large PDF files may cause the software's conversion tool to freeze or run endlessly.

Before you start

Ensure your PDF is text-searchable and not a scanned image. If it is scanned, you must first perform OCR (Optical Character Recognition) before you can search, highlight, or copy any text.

Solution 1Recommended

Manually Search and Copy Sentences in Your PDF Editor

Since most standard PDF editors do not support one-click bulk extraction of searched sentences, use the built-in search tool to find and copy instances individually.

While time-consuming for large documents, this method requires no specialized scripts and works universally across all major PDF reading applications.

Open the Search Tool

Open your PDF document and press Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac) to bring up the search bar.

Search for Your Keyword

Type your desired keyword (e.g., 'syndrome') into the search field and press Enter to locate the first occurrence in the document.

Highlight and Copy

Select the entire sentence containing the keyword with your cursor. Right-click the selected text, choose 'Copy', and paste it into your destination document or notes.

Proceed to the Next Match

Click the 'Next' arrow in the search bar to move to the next instance of your keyword and repeat the copying process.

Manually Search and Copy Sentences in Your PDF Editor

Alternative Text Extractors: If you have hundreds of matches, consider using dedicated text-mining software or Python scripts (like PyPDF2) that can programmatically extract sentences containing specific strings.

Solution 2

Convert the PDF to a Word Document for Advanced Editing

Converting the PDF to a Word document allows for easier mass-editing and more advanced text manipulation compared to rigid PDF viewers.

Efficient PDF Editing and Conversion

Use WPS Office for Fast PDF to Word Conversion

Since directly extracting all matching sentences in a PDF viewer is restricted, converting your large PDF to Word is the best workaround. WPS Office features a lightning-fast PDF to Word converter that handles large files smoothly without freezing, allowing you to easily search and extract the text you need in WPS Writer.

1. Open PDF to Word Tool: Launch WPS Office and click on 'PDF to Word' from the main dashboard or the PDF tools tab.
2. Convert Your Large PDF: Drag and drop your large PDF file into the converter window and click 'Start'. WPS Office will quickly process the file without freezing.
3. Search and Extract in Writer: Once converted, open the document in WPS Writer. Press Ctrl+F to search for your keyword, easily select the surrounding sentences, and copy them.

Fast and stable PDF to Word conversion, even for 50MB+ documents.Advanced text search and highlighting capabilities within WPS Writer.Seamless format compatibility with Microsoft Word and PDF files.Lightweight, user-friendly interface for effortless document management.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I automatically copy all highlighted text in a PDF at once?

Most standard PDF editors do not have a native one-click feature to extract all highlighted text simultaneously. You usually need to copy each highlighted section manually, or export the document's comments and annotations if your software supports summarizing highlights.

Why is my PDF to Word conversion taking so long or freezing?

Large PDF files (especially those over 50MB), documents with complex formatting, or high-resolution scanned images can cause standard converters to stall or run out of memory. Switching to a dedicated and optimized converter like WPS PDF to Word can resolve these timeout issues.

How do I highlight text in a PDF document?

Open your PDF in a reader like WPS Office, navigate to the 'Comment' or 'Annotate' tab, select the 'Highlight' tool, and drag your cursor over the text you wish to emphasize. The text will instantly be highlighted in your chosen color.

Can I search for multiple words at the same time in a PDF?

Basic PDF search tools typically look for one exact phrase at a time. To search for multiple distinct keywords simultaneously, you would need an application that supports 'Advanced Search' with regular expressions (RegEx) or boolean operators (AND/OR).

PDF Troubleshooting