Searchable PDF (OCR)
Make scanned pages searchable and copyable.
Free, no sign-up. It runs inside your browser: your files never leave your device.
Make a scanned PDF or a photo searchable with OCR. The text on the page is read and added to the file, so you can search, select and copy it.
How to use Searchable PDF (OCR)
- Drop a scanned PDF or a photo (JPG or PNG).
- Pick the language of the text.
- Type pages if you only want some, and choose whether to also read pages that already have text.
- Click "Make searchable".
Questions
Which languages can it read?
English; Hindi, Marathi and Nepali; Tamil; Telugu; Chinese and Japanese; Korean; French, German, Spanish and other Latin-script languages; Russian, Ukrainian and other Cyrillic-script languages; Arabic, Persian and Urdu; Greek; and Thai.
Does it read handwriting?
It reads printed text. For handwriting, use Handwriting to PDF.
Do I need to download anything?
The reader for each language downloads once (8 MB, or 13 to 16 MB for Korean and Chinese), then runs on your device.
Is my scan uploaded?
No. The text is read on your device. It is free with no sign-up.
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