How to make a scanned PDF searchable

Scanned pages are images, so normal PDF text tools cannot select their words. OCR adds a text layer that search tools can read.

Recognize the source

Try selecting a sentence. If nothing highlights, the document may be a scan. Keep the original because OCR can misread handwriting, tables and low-quality images.

Use OCR carefully

Review names, numbers and dates after OCR. For sensitive documents, choose a local OCR tool so the file does not leave your device. PDF Tools Club does not claim to provide OCR in the current release.

Check the result

Search several words, inspect page order and compare important passages with the scan.