Make a scanned or photographed PDF searchable. Turn a scanned PDF into a searchable PDF by adding an invisible OCR text layer while the original page images stay pixel-for-pixel the same. After conversion you can search for words, select sentences, and copy text from pages that were previously just pictures.
How to make a PDF searchable
- Upload a scanned or image-based PDF up to 80 MB.
- There is nothing to configure — the invisible text layer is added automatically.
- Press Convert file and download the searchable PDF.
What you get
The output is the same PDF with the same page images, page order, and layout, plus a hidden OCR text layer that makes every word searchable and selectable. Pages that already contain real text are preserved as-is instead of being re-read.
When this helps
- You have a scan of a signed contract or document and you need to find a phrase inside it.
- You want to copy a quote from a photographed book or article.
- You are preparing scanned documents so others can search them.
This is not a PDF-to-text export: the result is a searchable PDF, not a plain text file.
Operation details
What happens: OCRmyPDF runs Tesseract OCR on each page image, embedding an invisible text layer over the original raster. Pages that already contain real text are skipped (--skip-text).
Engine: OCRmyPDF 16.7.1 with light PDF optimization.
Inputs: Scanned or image-based PDF up to 80 MB.
Output: Searchable PDF — same page images, plus selectable/searchable text underneath. Not a .txt export.
Lossy? OCR recognition may misread low-quality scans; page images themselves are not recompressed aggressively.
Common failures: Empty PDFs, unsupported encryptions, or scans too low-resolution for OCR.
Use when: You need to search or copy text from a scan without changing how the document looks when printed.