OCR PDF (Make Text Searchable)
Scanned pages are just images — you can't select, search, or copy the text on them. Upload one and we'll recognize the text on every page and rebuild the PDF with an invisible, searchable text layer laid over the original image.
100% private — your files never leave your device
Drop a scanned PDF here, or click to browse
We'll make its text selectable and searchable, page by page.
How it works
- 1Upload the scanned PDF.
- 2Choose the document's language for the most accurate recognition.
- 3Click "Make text searchable" and wait for every page to finish — the searchable PDF downloads automatically.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this change how my PDF looks?
- No — the original page images are kept exactly as they are. We only add an invisible text layer behind them, so the file looks identical but its text becomes selectable, searchable, and copyable.
- How accurate is the recognized text?
- It depends on scan quality and how closely the selected language matches the document — clean, high-resolution scans in the right language recognize best. Blurry scans, unusual fonts, or handwriting will have more errors.
- Why does this take so long?
- OCR runs entirely on your device rather than a server, page by page, so it takes real computing time — especially on longer documents. Keep the tab open until it finishes.
- Does this need an internet connection?
- Yes, briefly — the first time you use it, your browser downloads the open-source OCR engine and language data from a public CDN (cached afterward). Your actual PDF is never uploaded anywhere; only that one-time engine download touches the network.