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OCR PDF: make a scanned PDF searchable

Turn a scanned PDF into one you can search and copy text from, in English and Hindi.

Preparing your workspace

Loading the controls for this tool. Your files stay on this device.

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How it works

  1. 1

    Choose a scanned PDF and the languages it is written in.

  2. 2

    Each page is read on this device, one at a time. You can cancel at any point.

  3. 3

    Save a searchable PDF that looks the same as before, or a text file.

Files and limits

Accepts
PDF
Files
One file
Size
200 MB per file (50 MB per file on phones, tablets and low-memory computers)

Good to know

  • Pages are read on this device, so a long scan takes a while: a few seconds a page on a laptop, longer on a phone.
  • The first time, the reading engine and the language data (English 3 MB, Hindi 1.4 MB) download from this site. After that they are kept on this device.
  • Pages that already have text are kept as they are, unless you choose to read them too.
  • Printed text reads best. Handwriting, tiny print and blurry photos come out with mistakes, so check anything that matters.

Why it's private

  • Processed in your browser

    The tool runs on your device. There is no upload step and no server that receives your files.

  • Works offline

    Wait for Offline ready before disconnecting. OCR and Office conversion also need their engines saved on this device.

  • No ads or trackers

    Tool pages load no ads, no analytics scripts and no third-party code.

Questions

What does OCR do to my PDF?

A scanned page is a picture, so you cannot search it or copy its words. OCR (optical character recognition) reads the words in the picture and adds them to the page as invisible text, in the right places. The page looks exactly the same, but search, copy and screen readers now work.

Which languages can it read?

English and Hindi. Choose both for pages that mix the two. Reading with both is a little slower, so choose only the languages the scan uses.

Why are some words wrong?

OCR guesses each word from its shape. Clear, straight, printed pages read well; handwriting, very small or faint print, stamps over text and photos taken at an angle cause mistakes. The picture of the page is never changed, so nothing is lost when a word is misread.

Can I get just the text?

Yes. Choose "Text file" to save the words of every page as plain text, with pages that already had text included as they are.

Does it work with password-protected PDFs?

Yes. Enter the file's password when asked; it is used on this device only. The new file is not password-protected.

Are my files uploaded anywhere?

No. Your browser does the work on this device, and the tool keeps working offline once the page has loaded. Nothing is sent to a server.