OCR · free, in your browser
Turn a scanned PDF into a searchable PDF
A scan is just pictures of pages, so you cannot search it or copy from it. OCR reads every page and saves a PDF with the text hidden under each picture.
How to do it
- Drop the scanned PDF on the page. Every page is listed.
- The first time, choose Get more and accept the licence to download the OCR model.
- Choose Read text and wait while each page is read at 200 dpi.
- Check and correct the text of each page with Previous and Next.
- Choose Searchable PDF to download the new file.
Your files stay on this device: OCR runs in your browser, with no upload, no account and no watermark.
Questions
Does the PDF still look the same?
Yes. The picture of each page is kept, and the text sits in an invisible layer on top of it, where search and selection find it.
Which characters go into the text layer?
The PDF's standard font draws Latin letters only, so English text works best. Characters it cannot draw, such as Chinese, are left out of the layer; the picture still shows them.
Can I get a Word file instead?
Yes. Save as Word (.docx) to get the text with each page starting on a new page, or as plain text or Markdown.
Is the scan uploaded?
No. Every page is read in your browser with a model stored on your device.
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