PDF OCR

Turn scanned PDFs into searchable documents

A scanned PDF is really just a picture. The page looks like text, but your computer sees an image, so you cannot search it, select it, or copy a single word. PDF OCR fixes that. It reads the text inside the image using optical character recognition and gives it back to you in a form you can actually use, either as a searchable PDF that looks exactly like the original or as a plain text file you can paste anywhere.

The whole process runs inside your browser. Your file is never uploaded to a server, never stored, and never seen by anyone but you. For documents like contracts, certificates, tax papers, and IDs, that privacy is not a nice extra, it is the whole point. The work happens on your own device and the result is downloaded straight back to you.

Searchable PDF or plain text

You choose what you get. A searchable PDF keeps your document looking identical to the scan, because that is exactly what it is, with an invisible layer of recognized text placed precisely over each word. Open it in any PDF reader, press Ctrl+F, and the words are suddenly findable and selectable, sitting right where they belong on the page. Nothing about the look changes, the document just comes alive.

Plain text output is simpler. It pulls the recognized words out into a .txt file you can edit, search, or paste into another program. It does not preserve the layout, so it is best when you want the words themselves rather than a faithful copy of the page.

English and Hebrew, including mixed pages

PDF OCR recognizes English, Hebrew, or both at once. Hebrew reads right to left, which trips up a plain text file and can scramble word order, but the searchable PDF avoids that problem entirely. Because each recognized word is placed at its real position on the page, search and selection follow the page, not a guessed reading order. For documents that mix Hebrew and Latin letters or numbers, the combined mode handles both on the same page.

How to get the best results

OCR quality depends almost entirely on the scan. A clear, straight, high-contrast page reads well; a blurry, tilted, or shadowed photo reads poorly. Scan at a good resolution, keep the page flat, and avoid glare. Non-Latin scripts like Hebrew are inherently harder than English, so expect very good but not perfect results, and proofread important numbers and dates. Stray marks from logos or stamps, which OCR sometimes misreads, are filtered out automatically so they do not clutter your text.

Pages that already contain real text are left untouched. If you feed in a PDF that was born digital, those pages are already searchable, so PDF OCR keeps them exactly as they are and only adds a text layer to the pages that genuinely need it.

Frequently asked questions

Are my files uploaded anywhere?

No. OCR runs entirely in your browser. Your PDF never leaves your device, is never stored, and is never sent to any server.

Should I choose searchable PDF or plain text?

Pick searchable PDF when you want to keep the document looking the same but be able to search and select the text. Pick plain text when you only want the words, to paste or edit elsewhere.

Which languages are supported?

English, Hebrew, or English and Hebrew together for mixed pages. Choose the language before running OCR.

Does it work on documents that already have text?

Yes. Pages that already contain real text are kept as they are, since they are already searchable. Only scanned or image pages get a new OCR text layer.

Is the recognized text always accurate?

No OCR is perfect. Accuracy depends on the scan, and clear, straight, high-contrast pages work best. Hebrew and other non-Latin scripts may be less accurate than English, so proofread important details.