Turn scanned PDF pages into searchable, selectable text. Copy recognized content, preserve the original scan with a text overlay, or create text-only output.
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How to Make a Scanned PDF Searchable
Upload Scanned PDF
Open the scanned PDF you want to make searchable or copy text from.
Configure OCR
Choose whole-page OCR or mark repeated regions, select the document language, keep auto-align enabled for crooked scans, and choose overlay or text-only output.
Review and Download
Check the recognized text, click any detected text block that needs correction, and download the searchable PDF. Corrections are used in the preview and exported PDF.
Chain with Other Tools
Run OCR first to make text searchable, then chain to Hide, Crop, or Merge to continue working with the PDF.
Why use our OCR PDF tool?
Local PDF Processing
OCR runs in your browser instead of uploading the scanned PDF for document processing.
100+ Languages
Recognize documents in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and 100+ other languages.
Batch-Friendly Regions
OCR only the relevant areas and reuse the same region setup across pages for recurring forms, invoices, or scans.
Auto-Align Scans
Straighten crooked scanned pages automatically before OCR so recognition starts from aligned content.
Searchable or Text-Only Output
Overlay mode keeps the original scan while adding selectable text. Text-only mode creates a reconstructed searchable document.
Common Use Cases
- •Make scanned contracts searchable so you can find clauses fast
- •Copy text from PDF scans instead of retyping invoices and receipts
- •Convert scanned books and reports into searchable PDFs
- •Make text selectable in archived paper records
- •Make scanned legal and medical records searchable without uploading them
- •Recognize multilingual documents with support for 100+ languages
- •Batch process repeated invoice or form regions across many pages
- •Build searchable archives from scanned reports and paper records