Hi Brad,
Is this still an issue for your? No one answered before, and you may have already resolved this.

When I run Planner independently of ACP, I don't have any problem entering a named object and searching the Deep Sky catalog. To be honest, I don't know how the catalog is actually linked to Planner, so I can't help you if the problem is related to the existence of, or link to, the catalog.

But the Planner help file has pretty clear instructions on how to search the catalog. In the help file, look in Contents, and select Checking Deep Sky Names, under the Stand-Alone Use folder.

Installing ACP should have installed Planner and connected things properly. If you're still having a problem, please ask for more help.