OCR PDF
Perform optical character recognition on scanned PDF documents to make text searchable and selectable. Perfect for digitizing paper documents and making scanned PDFs editable.
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Complete Guide: OCR PDF
Everything you need to know about using this tool effectively
This OCR tool runs entirely in your browser. Upload a scanned PDF or image-based document and it applies optical character recognition to detect and extract text, producing a searchable PDF with an embedded text layer. No server upload, no account, no watermarks.
A client-side OCR (optical character recognition) tool that processes scanned PDF documents and images to extract text content. It uses a JavaScript-based OCR engine running in the browser to analyze each page image, detect character shapes, and convert them into machine-readable text. The extracted text is then layered over the original image in a new PDF, creating a searchable and selectable document. The tool supports multiple languages for recognition and allows you to select the appropriate language for your document before processing. All OCR computation happens locally, so sensitive scanned documents never leave your device.
Making scanned contracts searchable
Run OCR on scanned legal contracts, agreements, and filings so you can search for specific terms, names, and clauses instead of reading through every page manually.
Digitizing paper archives
Convert scanned historical documents, letters, and records into searchable PDFs for indexing, cataloging, and easier retrieval in digital archive systems.
Extracting text from receipt scans
Apply OCR to scanned receipts and invoices to extract vendor names, amounts, and dates for expense reporting and bookkeeping without manual data entry.
Enabling text selection on image PDFs
Add a text layer to image-only PDFs so users can select and copy text content instead of retyping it from the screen.
Upload scanned PDF
Click the upload area or drag a scanned PDF onto it. The tool accepts multi-page documents and processes them entirely in your browser without uploading to any server.
Start OCR process
Select the primary language of the document text from the dropdown. The tool scans each page, recognizes characters, and builds a searchable text layer over the original images.
Download searchable PDF
Review the preview to confirm text was recognized correctly across all pages, then click download to save the searchable PDF with an embedded text layer for copying and searching.
For best OCR accuracy, use high-resolution scans at 300 DPI or higher with clear contrast between text and background.
Select the correct language before processing - wrong language selection will produce garbled or inaccurate text recognition.
Deskew and clean up scanned images before uploading if possible, as tilted or noisy scans reduce recognition accuracy.
OCR processing is CPU-intensive and may take longer on large documents - process one document at a time for best performance.
How accurate is the text recognition?
Accuracy depends on scan quality, document language, font clarity, and image resolution. Clean scans of printed documents at 300 DPI or higher typically achieve 95% or better accuracy. Handwritten text, low-resolution scans, and degraded documents will produce lower accuracy.
What languages are supported?
The tool supports recognition for a wide range of languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and many others. Select the correct language before processing for best results.
Is my file uploaded to a server?
No. All OCR processing happens locally in your browser using a JavaScript-based recognition engine. The file never leaves your device, which is important for confidential scanned documents.
Can it recognize handwriting?
The tool is optimized for printed text recognition. Handwritten text may be partially recognized if the handwriting is very neat and clear, but accuracy will be significantly lower than for printed content.