PDF Searchable PDF

PDF to Searchable PDF (OCR)

Add a searchable text layer to scanned or image-based PDFs using Tesseract OCR — entirely in your browser. No file upload, no server, no account.

Drag & drop your PDF file here

or

Max ~50 MB · Processing time depends on page count and scan quality

Your file is processed locally in your browser — nothing is ever uploaded.

Why Make a PDF Searchable?

Scanned documents, photographed pages, and image-based PDFs look like PDFs but are really just pictures. You cannot search the text, highlight words, or copy content. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) reads the image and adds an invisible text layer so the document becomes truly usable.

Common use cases

  • Scanned contracts, invoices, or receipts you need to search through.
  • Digitised books, articles, or historical documents.
  • Making archived documents accessible to screen readers.
Honest limitation: Tesseract OCR accuracy depends heavily on scan quality. Blurry, skewed, or very small text will produce imperfect results. This tool is best for clean, straight scans at 150 dpi or higher. Handwriting is not reliably recognised.

How to Make a PDF Searchable

  1. Upload your scanned or image-based PDF using the drop zone above.
  2. Select the main language of the document for better OCR accuracy.
  3. Click Create Searchable PDF and wait while each page is processed.
  4. Download the resulting PDF — it now has a searchable, copy-paste-able text layer.

What This Tool Does

Image-Only PDFs

If your PDF was created by scanning paper or photographing pages, it contains only images. Search, copy, and accessibility tools cannot find any text — because there is no text in the file, only pixels.

Searchable PDFs

A searchable PDF keeps the original page image as a visual background and adds an invisible text layer on top. PDF viewers use that layer for search, selection, and copying — while the document still looks exactly as scanned.

100% Private & Browser-Based

Your PDF never leaves your device. Tesseract OCR runs entirely in your browser as a Web Assembly module. No data is uploaded anywhere. No account required.

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — this tool is specifically designed for image-based and scanned PDFs. It renders each page and runs Tesseract OCR in your browser to extract the text.

Approximately 3–15 seconds per page depending on page size, scan quality, and your device speed. A 10-page scanned PDF typically takes 1–2 minutes.

No. The entire process runs in your browser using Tesseract.js. Your file never leaves your device.

The tool checks for existing text first. If your PDF already contains selectable text, it will tell you so and allow you to download the original without OCR processing.

English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese Simplified, Japanese, and Arabic. Select the correct language before processing for best accuracy.