How to Find Pages in Google That are Created in a Certain File Format

Google supports 13 file types other than the standard HTML web format. These are Adobe Portable Document Format (pdf), Adobe PostScript (ps), Lotus 1-2-3, Lotus WordPro, MacWrite (mw), Microsoft Excel (xls), Microsoft PowerPoint (ppt), Microsoft Word (doc), Microsoft Works, Microsoft Write, Rich Text Format (rtf), Shockwave Flash and Text. Depending upon the relevance to your search query, these file formats appear in the search results. Google search also offers you the facility of limiting your search to a particular file format. Here is how to do it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Go online and visit the Google home page (see resources).
2. Click on the "Advanced Features" link beside the search box.
3. Select the file format you’re looking for in the "File Format" section.
4. Alternatively, you can specify the file type in the search box directly. For example, if you want to search for match reports in the pdf format, your search key should be "match reports filetype:pdf."

Tips & Warnings

• The number of file formats supported by Google could change from time to time.
• Google also supports certain rare file types that could figure in your search results.
• Choosing non-HTML formats could result in the spreading of viruses, so it is better to scan every document using any reliable Virus scan software before downloading. Alternatively, you can avoid viruses by clicking on the "View as HTML" link.