Whirlpool PDF Search
Online and offline use
The app is saved in the background while you use it, so you can also open it offline.
Installation
In Chrome, click the install icon in the address bar and select Install. Open the app from its desktop shortcut.
On Android, choose Install app from Chrome's menu. On iPhone or iPad, open the app in Safari and choose Share → Add to Home Screen.
Uninstallation
On your computer, open chrome://apps, right-click the app, and select Uninstall.
On mobile, touch and hold the app icon, then select Uninstall or Delete.
Chrome extension
The Chrome extension includes the application files locally inside Chrome, so the app can open offline. These files do not sync with the website or depend on its online or offline mode. They are updated only when Chrome updates the extension.
How do the free version and trial work?
You can try Whirlpool with 10 free searches with full results to see how the application works. After the trial, the free version keeps the first 20 results visible and unlocked for each search. Whirlpool still finds the remaining results, but they appear blurred and locked and cannot be opened.
If you enjoy Whirlpool, purchase the full license to unlock all search results. The license provides lifetime access with a one-time purchase. There are no subscriptions.
How do I open the application?
After installing the Chrome extension, click the Extensions button (the puzzle icon) next to Chrome's address bar. Find Whirlpool and click the pin icon to keep it on your toolbar. Click the Whirlpool toolbar icon to open the application in Chrome's side panel.
Choose Add File or Add Folder to select documents, or drag files into the application. If you use the web app, open Whirlpool here.
Which technologies does Whirlpool use? Where do my files get processed?
Whirlpool uses open-source technology packaged to run locally inside the browser's sandboxed environment. Document parsing, OCR, and search run on your computer, not on a processing server operated by us. Your documents are not uploaded for these operations.
- Tesseract: optical character recognition (OCR) to read text from scanned documents and images.
- PDF.js: reading PDFs and extracting their text and images.
- FastText: local word vectors used to find related search terms.
OpenCV and the browser's built-in AI are used for language recognition and document classification.
OCR language files and search models may need to be downloaded before use. Downloading these resources does not upload your documents. Other connections, such as license checks and opening statistics, are explained in the privacy policy.
I changed the settings. Why are the results still the same?
After every settings change, click Refresh Indexing at the bottom right of the application. This processes the saved documents again using your current settings. Changing a setting alone does not rebuild existing results.
During processing, the same button shows Stop or Resume. Let the current scan finish, then use Refresh Indexing. If Whirlpool asks for a file again, reopen it and refresh.
Why is scanning taking so long?
Large folders and documents with many scanned pages take longer to process. The first scan may also need time to download language files or load the local search model.
In Settings, turn off Document Classification if you do not need document classification. You can also turn off Optical Character Recognition if your documents already contain selectable text and you do not need to search text inside images.
Keep OCR enabled for scanned documents, even if there are only a few images: their text may otherwise be missing from search results. After every settings change, click Refresh Indexing at the bottom right.
The file or folder picker says “Upload”. Will my files be uploaded?
No. When you choose Add File or Add Folder, Chrome may display a confirmation that uses the word “Upload”. This is standard browser wording for file selection, also used by websites that send files to a server. It does not mean that a transfer has taken place.
Whirlpool reads and processes the selected files entirely locally on your computer. The confirmation grants the application access to the files you select. The dialog belongs to Chrome, and Whirlpool cannot change its wording.
Can I add more files while documents are being processed?
Yes. You can keep adding files or folders while processing is running. Additional files join the processing queue, and background processing continues while you use the application. You do not need to wait for the current batch to finish.
Is my session saved when I close the application?
Yes. Whirlpool saves your session in local browser storage, including your opened documents and search index. When you reopen the application or sidebar, you can continue where you left off without selecting everything again.
Your saved session remains available unless you delete the application's data or clear its browser storage.
Can I search every file on my computer?
The additional Computer Access application lets you search across your entire computer. Without it, you can search the files and folders you select in the browser.
Why are some files missing from search, or why do I see red error messages?
Occasionally, saved application data may become incompatible after an update. This can cause incomplete search results or error messages.
Open Settings and select both Delete Cache and Delete Database to clear the application's cached data and search database and start fresh. This removes your saved session and indexed content, but does not delete the original files on your computer. Open your files or folders again to rebuild the search index.
If the problem persists, please contact us for support.
How can I get more help?
Send a bug report with your browser version, the file type, and any error message. You do not need to send your private documents.