How to make a scanned PDF searchable and copyable
A scanned page is a photo. You cannot search it, copy a sentence or convert it to Word, because there is no text inside, only pixels. OCR (optical character recognition) reads the letters and adds an invisible text layer on top of the image.
Open OCR PDF →Steps
- Open OCR PDF on PDFoxen.
- Select the scanned PDF.
- Choose the document language for better accuracy.
- Click Run OCR. Each page is read in turn, which can take a little while for long files.
- Download the searchable PDF. It looks the same, but you can now search and select text.
Better accuracy
Clear, straight scans at 300 dpi give the best results. Faint photocopies, handwriting and tiny print are harder to read. Rotate sideways pages with Rotate PDF before running OCR.
What to do next
Once the text layer is there, PDF to Word and PDF to Excel can work with the document as well.
Common questions
Does OCR change how the page looks?
No. The original image stays. The text layer is invisible.
Can it read handwriting?
Neat print may be recognised. Joined-up handwriting usually is not.
Is my scan uploaded?
No. Recognition runs on your device.
Try OCR PDF free →