Make PDF Searchable (OCR)
Convert scanned PDFs into text-selectable documents.
Browser-based Processing. 100% Private.
Drag & Drop Scanned PDF
or click to browse
⚠️ Note: Large files take time. Please keep this tab open.
Text Recognition Complete!
Your document is now searchable.
Download Searchable PDFWas the OCR accurate?
How to Make a PDF Searchable Online
Scanned documents are often just images, meaning you can't highlight text or search for keywords. Our Free OCR Tool fixes this by adding a text layer to your document.
- Upload: Select your scanned PDF file.
- Processing: Our engine uses Tesseract.js to scan every pixel of your document and recognize characters.
- Wait: Since this happens safely on your device, it might take a few moments depending on file size.
- Download: Get a new PDF where you can search (Ctrl+F), copy, and paste text.
What is Optical Character Recognition (OCR)?
OCR technology turns images of typed, handwritten, or printed text into machine-encoded text. Historically used by libraries to digitize books, we now bring this power to your browser.
Unlike simple converters, our tool reconstructs the layout of your document. This is essential for:
- Students: Converting textbook scans into searchable notes.
- Business: Digitizing invoices to copy data into Excel.
- Archiving: Making old records discoverable.
Learn more about the history of OCR technology on Wikipedia.
Why Client-Side OCR is Safer
Most OCR tools upload your document to a remote server to process it. This is risky for confidential data. At InstantConvert, we process everything locally.
Whether you are handling legal contracts or financial statements, your data never leaves your browser memory. If you need to organize these files later, use our Merge PDF Tool or Split PDF Tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it support handwriting?
OCR works best with printed text. Handwriting recognition is experimental and may not be 100% accurate.
Why is it slower than other tools?
Because we value your privacy. Instead of using a super-computer server, we use your device's processor to read the text, ensuring no one else sees your file.
Is this compatible with Adobe Acrobat?
Yes, the output is a standard PDF/A file readable by Adobe Acrobat and all other PDF viewers.