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.

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.

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

With Acrobat Pro, you can also edit recognized 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.

Although Adobe supports several global languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and more, it is limited when it comes to Indian languages. Hence, 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.