Make a scanned PDF searchable (OCR)
Recognise the text in your scans so you can search, select and copy it, read on your own device.
Sealed on this device
Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Sealed
Your PDF
How it works
-
Add your scanned PDF
Drop the PDF or pick it from your device. Pages that already contain text are spotted for you.
-
Choose the language
Pick the language the document is written in, then select Make searchable. Pages are read one after another.
-
Download
Get a PDF that looks exactly the same but whose text you can search and copy, plus the text on its own if you need it.
Frequently asked questions
Is my document uploaded to a server?
No. The text recognition runs in your browser, on your device. Only the language data is downloaded from our site, once; your document never leaves your device.
Does the PDF look different afterwards?
No. The pages stay exactly as they were. An invisible layer of text is added on top, so you can search, select and copy.
How accurate is the recognition?
Very good on clean, straight scans of printed text in the right language. Blurry photos, handwriting, unusual fonts or very small print give more mistakes.
Which languages are supported?
The 20 languages of this site, including Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Thai. Choose the main language of the document.
Why does it take a while?
Reading text from images is demanding work, and it all happens on your device. Count a few seconds per page on a computer, a little more on a phone.