OCR PDF: Make Scanned PDFs Searchable
Upload a scanned PDF, choose the document language(s), pick Searchable PDF or Text File output and click Start OCR. Text recognition runs in your browser with Tesseract; the finished file is then saved to PDFYork so you can download it.
Before you start
- Where your file is processed
- Processing runs in your browser. The finished file is then uploaded to PDFYork so you can download it. Stored copies are set to be deleted about 30 minutes after processing.
- Account
- Not required. Without an account you can run 3 tasks per day across all tools. A free account raises the limit.
- Cost
- Premium tool. Free accounts get 3 premium tasks per day. After that, each task uses 100 credits, deducted when you download the result.
How to Use
Upload a scanned PDF
Drop a PDF made from scans or photos onto the upload area.
Select languages
Choose every language that appears in the document. The right language matters more than any other setting.
Choose output and quality
Pick Searchable PDF or Text File (.txt), a quality level, and optionally a page range.
Run OCR and download
Click Start OCR, check the text preview, then download the result.
What OCR does
A scanned PDF is a picture of a page, so you cannot search it, select text or copy it. OCR (optical character recognition) reads the letters in the image and adds a hidden text layer behind it. The page looks the same, but you can now search with Ctrl+F, select and copy text, and use other tools that need real text.
Searchable PDF or text file?
- Searchable PDF keeps the original page images and adds the text layer. Best for archiving and sharing.
- Text File (.txt) gives you only the recognised text, without layout. Best for quoting or reusing the content.
Supported languages
English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Arabic. You can select several languages for mixed documents. Language data is downloaded to your browser the first time you use a language.
Getting accurate results
- Scans at 300 DPI give much better recognition than low-resolution phone photos.
- Straight, evenly lit pages work best. Rotate sideways pages first with Rotate PDF.
- Handwriting, stylised fonts and very small print are often misread. Always proofread important text.
- High quality is slower; Medium is a good balance for most documents.
After OCR, you can convert the searchable PDF with PDF to Word to edit the text.
Use Cases
Searchable archives
Make years of scanned letters and contracts searchable by keyword.
Quoting from old documents
Copy passages from scanned books or articles instead of retyping them.
Preparing scans for conversion
Add a text layer before converting a scanned PDF to Word or Excel.