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Convert Scanned Files to Editable
and Searchable PDFs

Accurately recognize text on images or scanned PDFs and edit scanned files in one click.

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Fast, reliable, and powerful
OCR engine in the industry.
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High quality and
accuracy.
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Recognize 20+
languages.
convert scanned pdf
What is OCR

What is OCR?

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is a widespread technology that allows optical recognition of text inside images, such as scanned documents and photos.

With its built-in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, PDFelement features a useful OCR converter that can recognize text from PDF documents. It preserves and reproduces document layout and formatting elements - headers, footers, graphics, footnotes, page numbering, and captions.

One-Click to turn PDF scans editable and
searchable in HD quality.

Secure, Compliant, and Professional PDF Software - Award-Winning.

PDFelement has won G2 Best Software Awards 2024 - Top 50 Office Products, received ISO 27001 - Information Security Management certification, and is a recognized member of the PDF Association.

PDFelement G2 award
PDF association
ISO 27001

Wondershare PDF Document Organizer
Vs. PDF Organizer online.

desktop ocr editor

Is Wondershare OCR PDF to Word Software Better than OCR Online?

formats supported

Supports professional file types beyond online tools, including DWG, ICO,
PUB, and scanner files.

Rapid processing

Maintain your PDF files' original quality and formatting.

No quality loss

Convert PDFs in seconds even large files.

Work offline

OCR PDFs without internet access.

Security and privacy:

Files stay secure and safe on your desktop.
online ocr editor

Are OCR Converters Online Better?

free to use

Convert non-searchable PDF documents into searchable and selectable online for free, with no cost.

cross-platform

OCR PDF files on any device.

no installation

Browser-based OCR—requires no downloads or installations.

use with ease

Easy to recognize text via OCR.

Made for small files

Ideal for processing small PDF files.

A smart OCR reader for everyone.

ocr editor for it service
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IT Service

Use OCR PDF feature to convert PDF scans to searchable files, to save as Office editable formats in order to manage and categorize different kinds of collected data.

-- Preston, Programmer

ocr editor for creative service
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Creative Service

Batch convert downloaded web pages with OCR to make them searchable and extract data.

-- Edna, Artist

ocr editor for education
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Education

Read academic journals, many of which are pictures, use PDFelement OCR function to highlight sentences and search keywords in articles to improve research efficiency.

-- Marty, Researcher

Choose the PDFelement plan that works for you.

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PDFelement
PDFelement for Windows
PDFelement for Mac

Digitize paper files on Windows - Create, edit, print, read, and eSign PDF documents.

Digitize paper files on Mac - Create, edit, print, read, and eSign PDF documents.

Windows macOS
79% OFF
PDFelement for Multi-Platform
Available for:

Digitize paper files on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and PDFelement Cloud - Create, edit, print, read, and eSign PDF documents.

  • Perpetual Plan of PDFelement for Windows and Mac.
  • 3-Year Plan of PDFelement for iOS, Android, and PDFelement Cloud.
$139.99 $695
$139.99 $695
70% OFF
PDFelement for Multi-Platform
Available for:

Digitize paper files on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and PDFelement Cloud - Create, edit, print, read, and eSign PDF documents.

  • 1-Year Plan of PDFelement for Windows and Mac.
  • 1-Year Plan of PDFelement for iOS, Android, and PDFelement Could.
$89.99 /yr $304
$89.99 /yr $304
Get Get Team Licenses here or Edu Licenses here.

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FAQs about OCR PDF.

How to make PDF searchable?
It’s quick and easy to convert a PDF file into searchable and editable text using Wondershare PDFelement. Follow these steps:
Step 1. Install and run the original version of PDFelement on your Windows or macOS computer.
Step 2. Next, tap OCR PDF to browse and upload your PDF file. You’ll see a pop-up window where you’ll set the Scan Option as “Scan to searchable text in image.” You can also select the Page Range and Language Recognition before clicking Apply.
Step 3. PDFelement will scan and analyze your PDF document. Now, edit your PDF with more text, image overlays, website links, signatures, feedback, and more.
Many OCR programs can be installed online. However, most of these OCR services are not free. So, if you’re looking for a free OCR service, install Wondershare PDFelement and OCR all your PDF files, including scanned images. PDFelement is amazingly simple, as you don’t need special OCR skills to scan and edit your OCR file. Give it a try!
Wondershare PDFelement lets you convert scanned PDF to an editable Word file. Here are the steps:
Step 1. Run PDFelement and then click OCR PDF to upload PDF and OCR it.
Step 2. After scanning and editing your PDF file, click the Convert button at the top menu bar. You’ll see multiple output options, including Word, Excel, Text, PPT, and more. In this case, choose Word.
Step 3. Name your file, choose a destination path, and convert it to PDF. It’s that easy!
To perform OCR on a PDF file without Adobe on Windows and Mac, you can use a desktop PDF editor like PDFelement, which can scan a PDF file and make it editable and searchable. Or you can use an online OCR tool to OCR scanned PDF without downloading software.
A scanned PDF is a digital image of a physical document, meaning its text and graphics are not directly selectable or searchable. Optical character recognition (OCR) software is needed to make the text usable. In contrast, a native PDF is created digitally from electronic sources like word processors, ensuring the text is fully searchable, selectable, and editable. This inherent difference makes native PDFs more functional for text manipulation and typically results in smaller file sizes than scanned PDFs.
You can perform a few simple checks to determine if a PDF is OCR-processed. First, try selecting the text with your cursor; if you can highlight individual words or characters, the PDF likely has been OCR-processed. Next, attempt to search for specific words within the document using the search function (often Ctrl+F or Command+F); if you can find and navigate to specific terms, this indicates the text is searchable. Additionally, in PDF viewer software like Adobe Acrobat or PDFelement, you can check the document properties under **File > Properties** and look for any mention of OCR or text recognition having been applied. If the text is not selectable or searchable, the document is likely just an image and has not undergone OCR processing.
Yes, you can edit an OCR-processed PDF. Once a PDF has undergone Optical Character Recognition (OCR), the text is converted from image format to editable text. To edit such a PDF with PDFelement, you open the software, load the OCR-processed PDF, click on the "Edit" tab, and select the text to modify, typing your changes directly into the document. Additionally, online tools like HiPDF or Smallpdf also offer editing capabilities. You upload the OCR-processed PDF to these platforms, use the "Edit" function, and click on text areas to make necessary modifications. These tools enable you to edit the text and adjust images, formatting, and other elements within the OCR-processed PDF.
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