Make a PDF searchable
Add a hidden text layer to a scanned PDF so you can search and copy its text.
I want to
my scanned PDF.
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Works well with OCR PDF
Explore all Convert tools- Redact PDFPermanently black out and remove sensitive text and areas from a PDF.
- Compress PDFReduce the file size of your PDF, with control over image quality.
- PDF to WordTurn a PDF into an editable Word document (DOCX) you can change.
- Edit PDFAdd text, shapes and drawings to a PDF, then save an edited copy.
- PDF to textExtract all the text from a PDF into a plain .txt file.
- PDF to ExcelPull tables out of a PDF into an Excel spreadsheet (XLSX).
Lock it before you share it
Protect PDF adds a password, Redact PDF removes what others shouldn’t see, and Compress PDF makes it easier to send.
Runs in your browser, so your file is not uploaded. An optional server mode exists but is off.
Also searched as: pdf ocr, make pdf searchable, searchable pdf, recognize text in pdf, extract text from scanned pdf.
Questions
Which languages does OCR read?
English, French and Arabic. The language data downloads once and is then cached on your device.
What is OCR?
Optical character recognition: software reads the text in a picture of a page so you can search and copy it.
Are my files uploaded?
Runs in your browser, so your file is not uploaded. An optional server mode exists but is off.
Is OCR PDF free?
Yes. No signup and no watermark.
Will it work on an old phone?
Yes for most files. On low-memory phones files up to 20 MB are safest; above your device's limit you get a warning and can try anyway.
Does it work on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android?
Yes. It runs in any current browser, so there is nothing to install on any of them.