QQuantumSteel Design

Your browser. Your workspace.

Search a local drawing set

Find words and drawing references across selected PDF files, read matching snippets, and open the matching page without uploading your drawing set.

PDFs, extracted text, search terms, filenames and passwords stay in this browser tab. Nothing is uploaded or saved. Reloading or clearing the set releases them. This searches embedded text; scanned sheets without a text layer need OCR in another tool first.

Choose the drawing set

Up to 20 PDFs, 50 MB each and 150 MB combined. Indexing stops at 1,000 pages or 8 million extracted characters. Large or complex sheets may take longer.

Choose PDFs to build a temporary text index.

    Find text

    Search matches the exact phrase without regard to capitalization. PDF text order and spacing can differ from the visible drawing; try a shorter term if needed. Results are limited to 200 matching pages.

      Continue the review

      Open matching source issues in the drawing revision viewer to align pages, add review marks, and export a comparison. Track questions and drawing references in your project workspace.

      PDF password

      Search drawing references and verify each match

      Use this tool when a note, detail reference, or piece identifier may occur on several PDFs. It builds a temporary index of embedded PDF text and opens the matching pages so you can check their surrounding information.

      Build a useful search set

      1. Select the relevant PDF files together and wait for the indexed-page summary. Use a smaller, clearly identified issue set when the files are large.
      2. Search for a short distinctive term or exact phrase. Capitalization does not matter, but the extracted text must contain the phrase in that order.
      3. Open a matching result, verify its sheet identifier, and read the note in context. The result's page number is the position within the PDF, which may differ from its printed drawing number.

      Example: follow a base-plate reference

      Start with “base plate” to find pages whose embedded text contains that phrase. If the set contains many results, try a specific reference such as “A201.” A result shows the first matching snippet on a page; it does not list every occurrence on that page. Use the displayed sheet and extracted-text panel to continue your review.

      When a visible note is not found

      Try one distinctive word instead of the full phrase. PDFs can split words or arrange extracted text in a different order from the visible layout. Scanned pages may contain only images and need OCR in another tool before their words can be searched here. A zero-result search therefore does not establish that a note or requirement is absent.

      If indexing reaches its limit, only the indexed portion is searchable. Divide the files into smaller sets and repeat the search. Stopping indexing keeps the pages already indexed available; selecting another set replaces that temporary set. The result list caps matching pages, so narrow a broad query instead of assuming the visible list is exhaustive.

      Reloading or clearing the drawing set removes this tool's temporary index. No bookmark to the search can reopen your private PDFs. Keep the source references in a drawing register or project note, and use the revision viewer when you need to compare two identified issues.

      A few practical answers

      Frequently asked questions

      Why is a visible label missing from search results?

      The label may be a raster image or outlines rather than embedded text. This search reads available PDF text and does not perform OCR.

      Can a text match confirm that a detail applies?

      No. Open the page, read the context, and check the sheet, revision, and applicability. A search hit locates text; it does not establish a controlling requirement.

      Will my PDFs be sent to a server?

      PDF reading and searching happen in the browser. A project backup can preserve related records, but you must retain the actual PDF files separately.