OCR PDF
Make a scanned PDF searchable.
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Runs on your device. No upload wait.
What you get
- Searchable and copyable
- Pages unchanged
Questions
How does it work?
Each scanned page is read at 300 DPI by Tesseract (Apache 2.0), the open-source text recognition engine, in your browser. The words are then written into the PDF as invisible text over the words in the picture, the same way Tesseract’s own searchable PDFs work. Language files (1 to 12 MB) download once from this site, then stay in your browser.
How long does it take?
Usually a few seconds per page, more for dense pages and slower devices. The page shows how long is left, and you can stop and try again later.
Can I get just the text?
Yes: after reading, “Download .txt” saves the recognized text. For PDFs that already have text, PDF to Text is instant.
Why are some words wrong?
Recognition depends on the scan: choose the document’s language, and prefer straight, sharp scans. Handwriting mostly can’t be read. The invisible text follows what was recognized, so a misread word won’t be found by search.
Are my PDFs uploaded anywhere?
No. Your PDFs are opened and processed on your device, and the results are saved straight back to it. Nothing is uploaded. How to check.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
It is free to use and there is nothing to sign up for. There are no watermarks and no daily limits.
Missing something, or not working as it should? Tell us