OCR a PDF

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technology that converts scanned text images into machine-readable text. This enables you to search, copy, edit, and highlight the text. The definition of OCR lies in its ability to recognise text in scanned documents, transforming static PDF content into reusable text. This functionality is especially useful for digitising printed documents and preserving information in a more accessible format.

The quickest way to find out if text in a PDF document is scanned is to try to select or highlight text in it. If you are unable to select or highlight text, then you are likely dealing with a scanned PDF file. You can make text in a scanned PDF searchable by applying OCR software using the Acrobat online tool. After uploading a PDF into the tool, the OCR engine processes your document to recognize text in the file, replicating the font style of the scanned or static text as closely as possible for text consistency throughout the PDF document. Once the OCR workflow is complete, sign in to download and open your new PDF. You’ll be able to search your PDF document for words or phrases or share it with others by email. This process ensures that even older scanned files can be converted into interactive, editable documents.

The Acrobat OCR online tool lets you recognise text in a PDF document for free. To make text editable, searchable, and selectable in other file formats, including image documents like PNG, JPG, and TIFF images, you can start a seven-day free trial of Adobe Acrobat Pro.

With Acrobat Pro, you can also edit recognised text in documents on your Microsoft Windows, Mac, or Linux. By using OCR technology to create editable text, you can reuse existing content instead of starting from scratch, saving time and money.

In addition, the Acrobat Pro free trial gives you access to advanced PDF features to keep your business workflows moving. Edit PDF text and images, collect e-signatures, create fillable forms, and convert to and from PDF, including converting text files (TXT) and Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word docs.

Adobe supports several global languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and more. However, support for Indian languages is currently limited. Therefore, ensure that all scanned PDFs you upload are in English for now.

Yes, our OCR technology is equipped to detect legible handwritten documents and convert them into editable text for you. The letters, numbers, and symbols are made machine-readable, making your work faster and more efficient. To get high-quality conversion, ensure that your scanned PDF has uniform handwriting.

Currently, the Acrobat online OCR tool processes one document at a time. However, if you need to convert multiple scanned PDFs in one go, you can use Adobe Acrobat Pro, which supports batch processing. This feature allows you to apply OCR to multiple files simultaneously, saving time and streamlining document management.

Yes, Adobe Acrobat’s OCR technology can accurately extract tables and structured data from scanned PDFs. After running OCR, you can copy and paste the extracted data into applications like Microsoft Excel for further analysis. For complex tables or large datasets, using Adobe Acrobat Pro offers advanced options to preserve the table layout and maintain data integrity.

Yes, the Adobe Acrobat online OCR tool has a file size limit to ensure optimal performance. For larger documents, consider compressing the file before uploading or using Adobe Acrobat Pro, which can handle larger files and offers more advanced OCR capabilities. This ensures that even lengthy scanned documents can be accurately converted into searchable text.