PDF OCR

Make a scanned PDF searchable and copyable with OCR. Adds an invisible text layer in seven languages, or exports the text as .txt.

Reviewed by Dany, RightSums team · Updated

Runs in your browser. Your files are not uploaded.

pdf-optimize · PDF tool · UK & US

The tool renders each scanned page at 200 or 300 DPI, reads the text with the Tesseract OCR engine, and adds the recognised words as an invisible layer lined up with the scan. The pages themselves are not altered, so image quality stays the same, and you can then search, select and copy the text. Choose one or more of English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch. Pages that already contain text are skipped by default. You can download a searchable PDF, a plain .txt file of the recognised text, or both. Language data is downloaded once on first use and then cached, so an internet connection is needed the first time, but your PDF is never uploaded. Accuracy depends on scan quality.

Accepted inputs

  • PDF (scanned or image-based)

Outputs

  • Searchable PDF
  • TXT

How to use the PDF OCR

  1. Drop your scanned PDF into the box, entering its password if asked.
  2. Pick every language that appears in the document and choose 200 or 300 DPI.
  3. Choose a searchable PDF, a .txt file or both, and whether to skip pages that already have text.
  4. Click Run OCR, wait a few seconds per page, then download the results.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a scanned PDF searchable?

Load the scan, choose its language and click Run OCR. The tool recognises the words on each page and adds them as an invisible text layer, so the downloaded PDF looks the same but can be searched and copied from.

Which languages does the OCR support?

English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch. Select every language in the document, although each extra one slows recognition. Other scripts and handwriting are not supported.

Is my scan uploaded for OCR?

No. Recognition runs in your browser. The OCR engine and language data are downloaded once the first time you use a language and then cached, but your PDF and its text never leave your device.

Why is OCR slow on large files?

Each page is read by your own device, which typically takes a few seconds per page at 300 DPI. Choose 200 DPI for faster results on clear scans, and keep 300 DPI for small print or poor-quality scans.

Do I need OCR before converting a scan to Word?

Yes. A scanned PDF holds only pictures of text, so converters have nothing to extract. Run OCR first, then use PDF to Word or PDF to Text on the searchable file for much better results.

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