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content Search within PDF Files Stored in SharePoint Document Library from Power Apps

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Posted on 17 Aug 2024 21:45:17 by BA24

Is there a way to search within the content of existing PDF files stored in a SharePoint document library, after applying certain metadata filters in a Power Apps gallery? I have seen two videos where Power Automate and SharePoint REST API are used to search directly from the document library using selected properties (managed metadata), but they don't address searching custom metadata.

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Robu1 1,218 Super User 2025 Season 1 on 20 Aug 2024 at 21:43:28

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content Search within PDF Files Stored in SharePoint Document Library from Power Apps

Hi BA24,

Thank you for choosing Microsoft Community.

Yes, you can search within the content of PDF files stored in a SharePoint document library after applying metadata filters.

Here’s a general approach to achieve this:

Metadata Navigation and Filtering:
Activate Metadata Navigation: First, ensure that the Metadata Navigation and Filtering feature is activated at the site level. Go to Site Settings > Manage Site Features and activate it.

Configure Metadata Navigation: In your document library, go to Library Settings > Metadata Navigation Settings. Here, you can set up filters using both default and custom metadata.

Using Microsoft Syntex:
Syntex Content Query: Microsoft Syntex allows you to perform metadata-based queries on SharePoint document libraries. You can search for specific metadata column values, which can include custom metadata.

Search Fields: Syntex supports various metadata search fields, such as keywords, file names, people, modified dates, file types, and custom site columns.

Combining Filtered and Keyword Search:
Filter First, Then Search: Apply your metadata filters first. After filtering, use the search box in the document library to search for keywords within the filtered results. This method allows you to search within the content of PDF files that match your metadata criteria.

Power Automate and SharePoint REST API:
Custom Solutions: You can create a custom solution using Power Automate and the SharePoint REST API to search within PDF content. This involves setting up a flow that applies metadata filters and then searches the content of the filtered documents.

Here's some documentation on this.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/set-up-metadata-navigation-for-a-list-or-library-c222a75d-8b18-44e2-9ed8-7ee4e0d23cfc

If this fixes the issue, please mark as resolved to help others with find it.

Happy to help

Robu 1
Michael E. Gernaey 41,944 Super User 2025 Season 1 on 18 Aug 2024 at 06:34:34

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content Search within PDF Files Stored in SharePoint Document Library from Power Apps

Hi,

Apologies, but your question asked if you could search within PDFs, but then you swap it to searching custom metadata

Which one are you wanting as I was planning to answer the PDF Subject one.