OCR PDF
Make a scanned PDF searchable: the text is read on your device and added invisibly, so the pages look the same.
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing is uploaded
- No account
- No watermark
Drop a scanned PDF
or · paste with ⌘/Ctrl + V
About
What OCR PDF does
OCR reads the text in a scanned PDF and adds it to the pages invisibly, so the document looks exactly as it did but can be searched, selected and copied from. It reads English text, and it runs on your device, so the scan is never uploaded.
Everything happens on your own machine: the file is decoded, processed and re-encoded by your browser, and never leaves your device. There is no upload, no queue and no account.
Why this one
Why use OCR PDF here
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Read on your device
Recognition runs in your browser, so a scanned contract, statement or ID is never uploaded to be read.
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The pages look the same
The recognised text is laid invisibly over each page, so the scan keeps its look and gains words you can search and select.
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No page limit
Recognise a whole document at once, not ten pages at a time. Pages that already have text are left as they are.
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Then find or redact
Once the text is recognised, search the document for any word, and redact what should not be there, in the same editor.
How it works
How to use OCR PDF
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Drop the scanned PDF here. The editor opens over this page with OCR chosen.
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Start recognition. Pages that already have text are left as they are.
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When it finishes, search the document or select its text as you would in any PDF.
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Export to download the searchable PDF.
Questions
Frequently asked
How do I OCR a PDF?
Drop the scanned PDF here and start recognition. The text on each page is read on your device and added invisibly; then Export to download a PDF you can search and copy from.
What languages does it read?
English. It is set up for English text only, so other languages are not recognised reliably yet.
Will the pages look different?
No. The recognised text is added invisibly behind the picture of each page, so the document looks exactly as it did.
Can I edit the text after OCR?
You can search, select, copy and redact it. The page itself is still a picture of the text, so its words can't be retyped in place.
Is there a page limit?
No. Recognise a whole document at once; a long one takes longer, since the reading happens on your device.
How accurate is it?
Clean, straight scans read very well; blurred, skewed or low-resolution ones less so. Search for a word you can see on the page to check a document's result.
Is my scan uploaded?
No. The text is read in your browser and the searchable PDF is made on your device; nothing is sent anywhere.
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