Acrobat Enhance Scan vs. Edit PDF: Which OCR Tool to Use?
Question details
The user needs to understand the functional differences between Acrobat's Enhance Scan and Edit PDF tools for Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and document editing.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Deciding which PDF tool to select when trying to extract text, clean up scanned pages, or edit text in a scanned PDF document.
- Observed behavior
- The Edit PDF tool automatically recognizes text and matches fonts, whereas the Enhance Scan tool provides manual controls for image cleanup, scanning, and OCR settings.
Ensure your scanned PDF document is legible and not password-protected against editing before attempting to run OCR or enhance the scan quality.
Choose the Right Acrobat OCR Tool Based on Your Needs
Determine whether to use the Edit PDF tool or the Enhance Scan tool depending on your document's current quality and your editing goals.
The Edit PDF tool is designed for seamless, immediate editing of scanned documents. It automatically runs OCR and attempts to match the original font, making it ideal for quick text alterations.
The Enhance Scan tool is built for comprehensive document preparation. It provides robust controls to improve image quality, deskew pages, remove background artifacts, and configure specific OCR language settings before you begin editing.
To quickly edit text, open your document and select the 'Edit PDF' tool from the right pane. Acrobat will automatically apply OCR in the background and allow you to modify the text using recognized fonts.
To clean up a scan, select the 'Enhance Scan' tool. Click 'Enhance' in the top toolbar and choose 'Scanned Document' to clean up backgrounds, remove compression artifacts, and deskew the page automatically.
Under the Enhance Scan menu, select 'Recognize Text', choose 'In This File', and click the 'Settings' gear icon. Here, you can adjust the document language and choose your preferred output style, such as 'Searchable Image' or 'Clear Text'.
Easily Recognize and Edit Scanned PDFs with WPS Office
WPS Office provides powerful PDF editing and OCR capabilities, allowing you to quickly extract text from scanned images and edit PDF documents seamlessly without navigating through complex tool menus.
- 1. Open your scanned PDF: Launch WPS Office and open the scanned PDF document you want to edit.
- 2. Access the OCR tool: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab on the top ribbon and select 'OCR' to begin the text recognition process.
- 3. Choose extraction mode: Select your preferred extraction mode, such as 'Extract Text' or 'Convert to Word', and click 'Start'.
- 4. Edit and save: Once the text is recognized, you can directly edit the text, modify fonts, and save your updated document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Edit PDF permanently alter the scanned image?
When using Edit PDF, Acrobat converts the scanned image into editable text and attempts to match the original font. This process modifies the document structure by replacing the static scanned image with editable text objects.
Can I use Enhance Scan without converting text to an editable format?
Yes, you can use the Enhance Scan tool purely to clean up the image, such as removing background noise and sharpening text, without running OCR. Alternatively, you can run OCR and set the output to 'Searchable Image', which keeps the visual appearance intact while making the text selectable.
Why does the Edit PDF tool sometimes fail to match my font?
If the original font is not installed on your system or is a highly customized typeface, Acrobat will substitute it with the closest available font or a generic fallback. You can manually adjust the font from the formatting panel on the right.
Is there a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat for PDF OCR?
WPS Office offers robust PDF tools, including a highly capable OCR feature that allows users to extract text from images and scanned documents efficiently without requiring an expensive subscription.
