"Search" function not working in Preview

It seems that many have experienced a similar problem across various macOS versions (see links below)

The typical solutions range from "restart your machine" to "install the latest OS version."

However, I found that the search function appears to be disabled when Preview's sidebar is set to display "Highlights and Notes" (which can be selected from the "View" menu).

With all other settings ("Thumbnails", "Table of Contents", "Bookmarks", etc.), the search function works as expected.

In my opinion, this looks like a bug. I'm on Monterey 12.6, Preview 11.0 (1033.4)

It might be worth checking this setting before rebooting/upgrading OS if you experience the same issue.

PDF search function not working in Preview - Apple Community

Preview search function not working - Apple Community