Make scanned PDFs searchable with browser OCR

Recognize text in scanned pages and add a searchable layer while processing the document locally.

✓ No account✓ Browser processing✓ Free to use

OCR turns page images into selectable and searchable text. It is helpful for scanned letters, invoices and archives, but it is an estimate rather than a perfect transcription.

Accuracy depends on language, resolution, contrast, skew and typography. Names, account numbers and legal clauses always deserve a manual check against the visible scan.

Tool workspace

OCR PDF

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How to use OCR PDF

1
Add the scanned PDF and choose the document language.
2
Select a model and resolution; start around 150–200 DPI.
3
Run OCR, then test search and copy several difficult passages in the result.

Language selection

Choose only languages actually present. A large mixed-language set can slow recognition and increase ambiguous character choices.

Resolution trade-off

Higher DPI can help small print but uses more memory and time. It cannot restore detail missing from the original scan.

Proofread critical data

OCR commonly confuses O/0, I/1, punctuation and accented characters. Never rely on it alone for financial or legal data entry.

Important limitation

Handwriting, decorative fonts, tables, multi-column layouts and poor scans may produce incomplete or misplaced text. OCR models are downloaded by the browser when needed.

Questions about OCR PDF

Does OCR change the page image?

The tool keeps the page appearance and adds an invisible text layer to the exported PDF.

Why is recognition slow?

Each page is rendered and analyzed on your device. Resolution, page count and available memory all affect speed.

Can I trust extracted numbers?

Treat OCR as a draft. Compare important numbers, names and dates with the original image.