How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF

Elise Williams

2023-04-13 17:06:35 • Filed to: How-To-Windows • Proven solutions

Copying texts from scanned PDF is an impossible mission without an OCR tool. Fortunately, there are multiple OCR tools out there, yet finding the appropriate tool to copy text from a scanned document can prove troublesome. If you have been searching for how to copy text from scanned pdf without success, then this article is here for you. In this guide, we shall take you a through on how to copy text from a scanned pdf.

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Method 1: How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF with Wondershare PDFelement
Method 2: How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF with Wondershare PDF Converter Pro
Method 3: How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF in Google Drive
Method 4: How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF With HiPDF

How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF

Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor is a powerful and complete PDF solution used by millions of people across the globe. The program has myriads of excellent features, which makes it ideal for all types of tasks and organizations. The program allows users to convert, edit, annotate, print, organize, view, create, perform OCR, protect, and share their PDF documents on a single platform.

Step 1. Upload PDF

Open PDFelement on your computer and navigate to the main interface. At the bottom left, click the “Open files” icon. You will be directed to the file explorer window where you will choose the scanned pdf file you want to copy its texts. Highlight the target scanned pdf file and click “Open” to upload it.

Step 2. OCR PDF file

Once uploaded, the program will automatically detect that you have uploaded a scanned PDF file and will recommend that you perform OCR. Click the “Perform OCR” link and then the “Click to download” button on the small “OCR Component Download” window.

After downloading the OCR component, go to the “Tool” tab and select “OCR” from the sub-menu. Again click the “Perform OCR” link on the notification below the menu bar. Then the "OCR PDF" window pops up, and you can choose to "Scan to editable text". After that click the "Apply" button to turn the file into editable.

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Step 3. Copy text from scanned PDF

At the top-right of the window, choose whether you want to edit a line or a paragraph by selecting the “Line Mode” or “Paragraph Mode,” respectively. The program will enclose the section you can copy in a rectangular boundary. Click inside and scroll to copy the target texts.

How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF

Wondershare PDF Converter Pro is an affordable and highly-rated PDF converter. It supports the conversion of PDF to and from other formats, including Word, Excel, PPT, image formats, among others. Create PDF, edit, sign, compress, perform OCR, and merge multiple PDFs with ease using Wondershare Converter Pro.

Step 1. Add PDF file

Open Wondershare Converter Pro and then click the “Add” button. Browse for the scanned pdf file and then hit the “Open” button to import the file to the Wondershare Converter Pro interface. Alternatively, use the drag and drop method.

Step 2. Enable OCR

Click the “PDF to File” tab and then hit the “Convert” button at the bottom. The program will automatically recommend that you perform OCR on the file. Click “Try OCR” to open the “OCR Settings” window. Select your preferred language and hit the “Submit” button.

Step 3. Convert PDF to Word

Once the OCR process is complete, click on the “PDF to File” tab, select word as your output format. Click “Convert” to trigger the conversion. When the conversion is complete, locate the file and copy the contents you wanted.

How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF in Google Drive

Step 1. Navigate to Google Drive.

Step 2. Upload your scanned PDF file, right-click the PDF file you want to copy, then go to "Open with" > "Google Docs". Now the PDF file will open in Google Docs automatically.

Step 3. After your PDF file is converted to Google Doc, you can copy text from a scanned PDF file easily.

How to Copy Text from Scanned PDF With HiPDF

HiPDF is an excellent online pdf conversion tool that also supports the OCR feature. It has a user-friendly interface and a simple conversion process. The following steps show how to copy text from scanned pdf with hipdf.

Step 1. Visit the hiPDF OCR page using your browser and log in.

Step 2. Next, head to the “CHOOSE FILE” button to upload the scanned pdf file. You can also drag and drop it on the interface instead.

Step 3. When the scanned file is uploaded, the program will automatically detect and will prompt you to perform OCR. Accept the prompt to access the “OCR” settings window. Choose the right language and select “Docx” as the output format. Click “Submit” to trigger OCR. When the OCR is complete, you can now copy your texts.