OCR PDF
Make a scanned PDF searchable, or save the text read from it as a .txt file. Ten languages, Arabic and English among them.
About This Tool
OCR PDF reads the words on scanned pages. It gives you either the same PDF with an invisible layer of text over each page, so that the words can be searched, selected and copied, or a plain text file of what it read.
Ten languages can be read: English, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. Pick every language that appears in the document. In the searchable PDF the pages themselves are not changed; the text is laid over them. The tool does not check whether a page already has text, so use it on scans.
Your pages are read on your device and are not uploaded. The OCR engine and the data for each language you pick are downloaded from this site the first time you use them, and no other service is contacted. The data for a language is kept in your browser after that.
How to Use
Upload Scanned PDF
Drag and drop your scanned PDF or click to select.
Choose Languages and Output
Pick every language in the document. Then choose the output, "Double-Layer Searchable PDF" or "Extract Plain Text File (.txt)", the accuracy, and the pages to read if you do not want them all.
Process and Download
Click "Start Character Recognition". When it has finished, click "Download" to save the searchable PDF or the text file.
Use Cases
Digitize Archives
Make scanned document archives searchable.
Document Search
Enable text search in scanned documents.
Text Extraction
Extract text from scanned documents for editing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What languages are supported?
Ten: English, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. You can pick several at once for a document that mixes them. English is picked to begin with.
Will the original layout be preserved?
Yes, in the searchable PDF: the pages are kept as they are and an invisible layer of text is laid over them. One thing does change: the file's title, subject and keywords are replaced with notes about the OCR. The text file has no layout; it holds the words of each page under a line that gives the page number.
How accurate is the OCR?
It depends on the scan, and no figure can be promised. Clean, straight, sharp pages read best. Pick the right language, and for small or faint print choose "Ultra Resolution (Deep scanning, faint ink)" under "OCR Engine Accuracy Resolution": the page is then read at three times its size, which takes longer. Read the result through before you rely on it.