Make PDF searchable (OCR)
Recognize the text in a scanned PDF, so you can search, select and copy it. The pages keep their look.
- 1 Choose files
- 2 Adjust
- 3 Download
or drag and drop here
PDF · 30 MB · up to 50 pagesProcessed on this device. Your files are never uploaded.
- ✓ Free
- ✓ No account
- ✓ Files stay on your device
Prove it’s private
This panel counts the network requests this page makes after you choose a file, and how much each one sends. Your file is read and changed on this device. Our code never sends it anywhere.
- Requests since you chose a file –
- To pdfreadygo.com, for tool code and fonts –
- To ad and analytics services –
- Requests that sent a file or binary data –
- Most data sent in one request –
Ads and analytics can keep making small requests while you work, and they are counted above. Compare the largest one with the size of your file.
Before you chose a file, this page made 0 requests to load itself, its ads and its analytics. This counter can’t see inside ad frames, and ad frames can’t read your file. It also doesn’t list the tool’s background workers, which only load code from this site.
Test it yourself with airplane mode
- Open this page while you are online and wait a few seconds, so it can save itself for offline use.
- Turn on airplane mode, or turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data.
- Choose your file and run the tool. It still works, because nothing has to be sent.
The text recognition engine and each language are only saved after you first use them. Offline, they show an error instead of sending anything.
A scanned PDF is a set of pictures, so a PDF reader cannot search it and you cannot copy from it. This tool reads the text in each picture with text recognition (OCR) and lays it, invisible, exactly over the words on the page. The page still looks the same, but search, select and copy now work. You also get the text as a plain .txt file. Recognition runs on this device with Tesseract, an open-source engine, and your file is never uploaded.
Good to know before you begin
It reads English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hindi, Indonesian and Swahili. The first time you use a language, the engine and that language’s data are downloaded from this site, about 4 to 6 MB, and saved for offline use. Up to 50 pages at a time. Each page takes a few seconds, more on older phones. Recognition is not perfect, especially with handwriting, small or faded print, tables and photos taken at an angle, so check names, numbers and dates. Adding text changes the file, so any digital signature in it will no longer be valid. Password-protected PDFs need to be unlocked first.
How to make a scanned PDF searchable
- Select Choose a PDF, or drag your scanned PDF onto this page.
- Pick the Language of the text. It starts on the language of this page.
- Leave Skip pages that already have text ticked, so only scanned pages are read.
- Select Make searchable → and wait while each page is read. The bar shows which page it is on.
- Select Download result ↓. To get the text alone, use Download text (.txt) ↓ or Copy text.
Getting the best results
- Choose the language the document is written in. A wrong language gives poor results.
- Clear, upright scans work best. Turn sideways pages first with Rotate PDF.
- Scans of about 300 DPI read best. Very small or blurry print may come out with mistakes.
- To scan paper with your phone, use Scan to PDF and tick Make text searchable (OCR).
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The pages are read in your browser on your own device. Only the recognition engine and the language data are downloaded from this site. You can check this with the Prove it’s private panel above.
Will the pages look different?
No. The original page content is kept as it is. The recognized text is added as an invisible layer on top, in the same place as the words you see.
Which languages can it read?
English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hindi, Indonesian and Swahili. Only the language you choose is downloaded, and it is saved after the first use.
Does it work offline?
Yes, after you have used a language once while online. The engine and that language are saved by your browser. Clearing your browser data removes them, and they are downloaded again next time.
How accurate is it?
On a clear printed scan, most words come out right. Handwriting, very small print, stamps, tables and blurry or tilted photos give more mistakes. The result shows an average confidence for the recognized pages. Always check names, numbers and dates.
Can I edit the text in Word?
Yes. Make the PDF searchable here, then use PDF to Word to put the text in a Word document. Or copy the text, or download the .txt file.
Is there a page limit?
Up to 50 pages at a time. For a longer document, split it with Split PDF, make each part searchable, then join them with Merge PDF.
Having trouble? Read the FAQ or visit help and contact.