OCR a Scanned PDF into Searchable Text
A scanned PDF is a picture of a page: you cannot select the text, search inside it, or copy an address out of it. OCR recognises the characters and stores them underneath the image, so the document stays visually identical while becoming searchable.
When OCR is worth running
Contracts, receipts, statements and old reports are worth the wait because you will search or quote from them later. A single page you only need to read once usually is not worth the processing time.
Accuracy depends on the scan
A straight, well-lit scan at around 300 DPI recognizes almost perfectly. Skewed pages, faint printing and handwriting are recognised far less reliably, so proofread names, numbers and reference codes before relying on the result.
Frequently asked questions
- Does OCR change how the document looks?
- No. The page image stays exactly as it was; the recognised text sits invisibly underneath so it can be selected and searched.
- Is OCR available on the free plan?
- OCR is compute-heavy, so it runs on the paid plans. The free plan covers splitting, merging, compressing and converting documents.
- How well does it handle handwriting?
- Printed text is reliable; handwriting is often misread. Treat a handwritten result as a draft and check it against the page.