A method of computerized searching for visual objects on an electronic document, the method comprising: receiving a selection of a template visual object ; generating from the template visual object a template raster image including a set of one or more connected sequences of adjacent pixels; deriving a template object symbol from the template raster image , the template object symbol comprised of one or more template object components each corresponding to a respective one of the connected sequences of adjacent pixels of the template raster image and being representative of a subsection thereof; generating from the document a document raster image including sets of one or more connected sequences of adjacent pixels, each of the sets corresponding to a document object symbol and each of the connected sequences of adjacent pixels therein corresponding to a document object component; generating in a first pass a broad match candidate subset of document object symbols based upon a first comparison of an entirety of the template object symbol to sequences of pixels of the document object symbols in the document raster image; and generating in a second pass a narrowed match candidate set of document object symbols from the broad match candidate subset based upon a second comparison of the template object components that have been deconstructed and comprising parts of the template object symbol to the document object components that have been deconstructed and comprising subsections of the corresponding document object symbols of the broad match candidate subset and the dominant features of the document object symbols and of the template object symbol are minimized in the second comparison. receiving a selection of a template visual object ; generating from the template visual object a template raster image including a set of one or more connected sequences of adjacent pixels; deriving a template object symbol from the template raster image , the template object symbol comprised of one or more template object components each corresponding to a respective one of the connected sequences of adjacent pixels of the template raster image and being representative of a subsection thereof; generating from the document a document raster image including sets of one or more connected sequences of adjacent pixels, each of the sets corresponding to a document object symbol and each of the connected sequences of adjacent pixels therein corresponding to a document object component; generating in a first pass a broad match candidate subset of document object symbols based upon a first comparison of an entirety of the template object symbol to sequences of pixels of the document object symbols in the document raster image; and generating in a second pass a narrowed match candidate set of document object symbols from the broad match candidate subset based upon a second comparison of the template object components that have been deconstructed and comprising parts of the template object symbol to the document object components that have been deconstructed and comprising subsections of the corresponding document object symbols of the broad match candidate subset and the dominant features of the document object symbols and of the template object symbol are minimized in the second comparison. <EOS>