Convert PDF

OCR PDF (Make Scans Searchable)

Read text from a scanned PDF and add an invisible, selectable text layer — turning images of pages into a searchable document.

PDF file

Choose a file to convert. It's processed locally — never uploaded. Tip: add several files to convert them all at once.

Settings

Output

Result appears here after you select

{ } How to use

  1. Upload a scanned PDF (images of pages).
  2. Pick a detail level and Process — the first run downloads the OCR engine and English data.
  3. Download the searchable PDF; the text is selectable and copyable.

{ } What you get

A new PDF in which each page keeps its appearance — the page as an image — and gains an invisible text layer positioned over the words. You can search, select and copy the text in any viewer, and PDF to Text or PDF to Markdown can extract it afterwards. The summary reports how many characters were recognized.

{ } How it works

Each page is rendered in your browser at the detail level you choose (1.5×, 2× or 3×), recognized by Tesseract.js, and written as a one-page searchable PDF; the pages are then merged into one document. Tesseract, its WebAssembly core and the English training data — about 11 MB in total — are served from this site, downloaded on first use and cached by your browser. No page image or recognized text is sent anywhere.

{ } Accuracy and speed

  • Clean, straight, high-contrast scans at around 300 dpi read well; skewed, low-resolution or handwritten pages read badly. OCR is a best-effort transcription.
  • Higher detail improves recognition of small print and costs time; 2× is a good default.
  • Expect a few seconds per page on a laptop and longer on a phone; the first run also includes the download.

{ } Limits

  • English only — text in other languages will be mis-recognized.
  • Only the first 30 pages are processed; a longer scan is truncated and the summary says so. Split the PDF first and OCR the parts.
  • The output pages are images plus a text layer: any selectable text, links or form fields the input already had are not preserved. If your PDF already has real text, you do not need OCR.
  • The text layer follows the recognizer’s word positions; copying can occasionally give misplaced spaces or joined words.

{ } How it works

OCR PDF (Make Scans Searchable) works on the file you upload. Adjust the options, then select Process ▸ and it runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded to a server — then shows the result in the Output panel.

Inputs

  • PDF file — upload a file (.pdf); it is read locally in your browser
  • Recognition detail — choose one — Faster (lower detail), Balanced (default), Best (slower) (default: Balanced (default))

Output

A downloadable PDF file — use the Download button in the Output panel.

{ } Common uses

  • Make a scanned contract or receipt searchable and copyable.
  • Turn a photographed document into text you can select.
  • Prepare scans so their text is findable.

{ } Limitations

  • English only. Accuracy depends on the scan: clean, straight, high-contrast pages read well, and anything less reads worse.
  • Processes up to the first 30 pages of a document; longer scans are truncated (the summary says how many were done).
  • The OCR engine and English training data (~11 MB) download on first use, then are cached. OCR can take a while on large scans.
  • Recognized text is added as an invisible layer over the page image — it is a best-effort transcription, not a perfect one.

{ } FAQ

Is my data uploaded to a server?

No. Everything runs locally in your browser — your files never leave your device.

Can I process more than one file at once?

Yes — add several files and they’re all processed and downloaded together as a ZIP.

Is this tool free?

Yes — it’s completely free and needs no sign-up.

Do my scans get uploaded?

No. Recognition runs entirely in your browser using a self-hosted engine; your file never leaves your device.

Why is the first run slow?

It downloads the OCR engine and English language data once (~11 MB). Later runs reuse the cached copy.

The PDF already has real text — do I need this?

No. OCR is for scanned/image PDFs. If text is already selectable, use PDF to Text or PDF to Markdown instead.

{ } Guides