How OCR works (3 steps)
1) Upload a PDF or image
Upload a scanned PDF, screenshot, photo, or image document. If the PDF is long, split it first so you OCR only the pages you need.
2) Choose language for accuracy
Picking the correct language often improves OCR accuracy—especially accents and special characters.
3) Get searchable output / copy text
After OCR, your document becomes searchable/selectable. Download searchable PDF output or copy the extracted text.
Quick checks (confirm OCR worked)
- Select a single word — if it highlights, OCR created real text.
- Press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) and search a visible word.
- Copy a paragraph into Notes/TextEdit — it should paste readable text.
- If it’s wrong: try a cleaner scan + correct language, then rerun OCR.
PDF-specific? Start with Make PDF searchable or OCR PDF.
OCR accuracy playbook (this is what top users do)
OCR is not magic—it's pattern recognition. These are the highest-impact changes that improve results fast.
Scan quality matters more than anything
If your scan is blurry or low resolution, OCR will guess. For documents, ~300 DPI is a common recommendation for clearer OCR on small text.
Scan & OCR tipsChoose the correct language (big accuracy boost)
Selecting the correct language can significantly improve OCR accuracy (especially accents/special characters).
Supported languagesFix long PDFs by splitting first
If you hit a page cap or only need a few pages, split the PDF and OCR only the relevant pages. Faster, cheaper, cleaner.
Split PDFCompress before upload (speed boost)
Huge scans upload slowly. Compress the PDF before OCR to speed up processing and reduce failures.
Compress PDFWhen OCR usually fails (so you don’t waste time)
- Heavy handwriting (especially cursive) or very stylized fonts
- Photos with glare/shadows, curved pages, or strong motion blur
- Very low resolution scans (tiny text becomes unreadable)
- Complex layouts where text overlaps background graphics
If the scan itself is unreadable, OCR cannot “guess” correctly. Improve the scan first, then rerun.
OCR use cases (why people come back daily)
OCR is addictive once you realize how much time it saves—especially for scanned PDFs and images you deal with every day.
Invoices & receipts
Extract vendor names, totals, dates, tax IDs, line items.
Contracts & legal PDFs
Search clauses, copy paragraphs, find names and dates fast.
Forms & certificates
Turn printed forms into selectable text for reuse.
Notes, books, study material
Copy text for summaries, flashcards, translation, rewriting.
Screenshots & UI text
Grab text from dashboards, chats, error screens, slides.
Archived scans
Make document archives searchable (massive time saver).
After OCR, need to edit the PDF? Use Edit PDF.
All OCR pages
Pick the exact page that matches your goal (PDF OCR, extract text, screenshots, languages, Word/Excel output).
OCR PDF
Most usedMake scanned PDFs searchable with an invisible text overlay (Ctrl+F works).
OpenMake PDF Searchable
High intentFix non-searchable PDFs by adding a text layer (best for scanned PDFs).
OpenPDF to Text
Copy textExtract text from PDFs (including scanned PDFs via OCR).
OpenScanned PDF to Word (OCR)
EditableConvert scanned PDF into an editable Word document.
OpenScanned PDF to Excel (OCR)
TablesConvert scanned tables and forms into Excel.
OpenImage to Text
Core toolExtract text from images instantly (OCR image).
OpenJPG to Text
FormatExtract text from JPG/JPEG images with OCR.
OpenPNG to Text
FormatExtract text from PNG images with OCR.
OpenPhoto to Text
MobileExtract text from phone photos (receipts, documents, notes).
OpenScreenshot to Text
FastExtract text from screenshots (UI, chats, dashboards, slides).
OpenOCR Languages
AccuracySupported languages + how to choose the best one for accuracy.
OpenOCR French
LanguageFrench OCR for scanned PDFs and images.
OpenOCR Spanish
LanguageSpanish OCR for scanned PDFs and images.
OpenOCR German
LanguageGerman OCR (ä/ö/ü/ß) for scanned PDFs and images.
OpenRelated PDF tools (support OCR workflow)
These tools make OCR faster and more successful (split long PDFs, compress scans, convert formats).
FAQs
What is OCR?
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) converts text inside scanned images or scanned PDFs into machine-readable text so you can search, select, and copy it.
Why doesn’t Ctrl+F work in my PDF?
Most of the time it’s a scanned (image-only) PDF with no real text layer. OCR adds a hidden text layer so search works.
How do I know if my PDF is scanned?
Try selecting a word. If nothing highlights and the page behaves like a single image, it’s likely scanned. You can also zoom in—scans often look slightly blurry compared to real text PDFs.
How do I make a scanned PDF searchable?
Run OCR on it. OCR creates an invisible text overlay under the scan so you can search and copy text.
Should I choose a language?
Yes if you can. Choosing the correct language often improves accuracy (especially accents/special characters). For bilingual pages, pick the dominant language.
What if my PDF is too long?
Split the PDF and OCR only the pages you need. This also speeds up processing.
Can OCR convert scanned PDFs to Word or Excel?
Yes. OCR is the recognition step; conversion formats the result for editing (Word) or tables (Excel).
Ready to turn scans into searchable text?
Upload your PDF/image, choose language for accuracy, and get searchable output you can copy and reuse.
Start OCR