Searchable PDF OCR
Turn scanned PDFs into searchable documents with an OCR text layer
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How to use this tool · examples & limitations
Turn scanned PDFs into searchable documents with an OCR text layer.
Getting a reliable result
Use a clear, upright scan and select the document language. Compare extracted text with the source image.
Worked example
Use a clear scan with a short heading, select its language and create the PDF. In your PDF reader, search for that heading and copy a sentence. A visually correct scan can still have OCR spelling errors in its text layer.
Limitations to check
Handwriting, tables, low contrast and small print reduce accuracy. PDF OCR is limited to 20 pages per run.
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