How to make a scanned PDF searchable with OCR
Scanned documents and photos of paper are just images, so you cannot search, select or edit their text. OCR (optical character recognition) recognizes the words and adds a real text layer to those pages.
Step by step
Open the scanned PDF
Open the file in the editor as usual.
Choose OCR
Click OCR in the tool rail or press O.
Pick the document language
Choose English, Spanish, French, German or Russian so the recognition matches the text on the page.
Run it
Start OCR and wait while the pages are processed. Afterwards the text can be searched, selected and highlighted.
Tips
- OCR runs on pdfty servers, so the file is uploaded for processing and deleted within 1 hour.
- After OCR you can use Search (Ctrl/Cmd+F), Highlight and Edit text on the recognized words.
- Cleaner, straighter scans give noticeably better results.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether my PDF needs OCR?
Try to select a word or hover with the Edit text tool. If nothing can be selected, the page is an image and needs OCR.
Which languages are supported?
English, Spanish, French, German and Russian.
Is my file uploaded for OCR?
Yes. OCR is one of the few features that runs on pdfty servers. Uploaded files are deleted within 1 hour.
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