OCR (searchable PDF)
Make a scanned PDF searchable and its text selectable.
To make a scanned PDF searchable, OCR recognizes the text on each page and adds an invisible text layer, so you can search and copy the content. Everything runs in your browser: the file is never uploaded to a server.
- 100% local processing
- 100% free
- No sign-up
How to
- Drop your scanned PDF.
- Choose the document language.
- Wait for recognition, then download the searchable PDF.
Features
Text recognition (OCR)
The text on each scanned page is recognized by tesseract.js, a proven OCR engine that runs entirely in the browser.
Invisible text layer
Recognized text is added over the original image: the look is unchanged, but the content becomes searchable and copyable.
Multilingual
Select the document language to improve recognition accuracy.
Private by design
Unlike online OCR, no page is sent: the engine runs locally after a first cached download.
Use cases
- Make a scanned contract searchable by keyword.
- Copy the text from an old digitized document.
- Prepare scans for indexing in a document system.
- Make an image-only PDF accessible to screen readers.
Your files never leave your device
Unlike most online PDF tools that upload your files to their servers, all processing happens right here, in your browser. No document is ever sent, stored or analyzed remotely: it's free, no sign-up, and private by design.
Frequently asked questions
- Does OCR need the internet?
- On first run the engine and language data are downloaded then cached. After that, everything is local.
- Which languages are recognized?
- The main Latin-alphabet languages, plus others depending on loaded data; choose the document language for best results.
- Does the document's look change?
- No: the original image is kept, and the recognized text is simply added as an invisible layer on top.
- Are my files uploaded to a server?
- No. All processing happens in your browser: your files never leave your device.