Tools / File Converter / Make a Searchable PDF (PDF OCR)

Make a Searchable PDF (PDF OCR)

Add an invisible text layer to a scanned PDF so its text can be selected and searched.

PDFs from a scanner or phone are really photos: you can’t search them or copy their text. This tool reads each page with OCR and places the recognized text on top of the page as an invisible layer.

The pages look exactly the same, at the same quality and size. You get a PDF you can search with Ctrl+F and copy text from. Pages that already have text are skipped automatically. Images are turned into a PDF first.

How to use

1. Select the scanned PDF or images.
2. Choose the document language.
3. Press “Recognize text” and download the searchable PDF.

Frequently asked questions

Does the file get bigger?

Barely. Only a text layer is added; page images aren’t recompressed.

How long do multi-page documents take?

About 3–10 seconds per page depending on your device. Keep the tab open while it runs, since the work happens in your browser.

Is my document uploaded to a server?

No. Reading and conversion happen in your browser. The only download is the OCR engine and language data, once; your document never leaves your device, so it is safe for bank statements, contracts and ID scans.