How to Convert Scanned PDFs to Editable Text and Rotate Pages
Question details
The user needs to correct the orientation of incorrectly scanned PDF pages and extract the text from the scanned images to make the document editable and searchable.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Managing and digitizing scanned documents that require page orientation correction and text extraction for editing.
- Observed behavior
- The scanned PDF contains pages that are oriented incorrectly, and the content is trapped in image format, preventing text searching or editing.
Ensure that your scanned PDF document is legible and not overly blurry, as poor image quality or heavy shadows can significantly reduce the accuracy of Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
Use Acrobat Pro for OCR and Page Rotation
Utilize the built-in Scan & OCR and Organize Pages tools in Acrobat Pro to extract editable text and fix page orientation.
Adobe Acrobat Pro offers comprehensive tools for handling scanned documents. You can perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert images to text and adjust page rotations in a single workflow.
Open your scanned document in Acrobat Pro, navigate to the 'Tools' tab at the top left, and select the 'Scan & OCR' tool.
Click on 'Recognize Text' in the top toolbar, choose 'In This File', and configure the settings (such as document language and output style) to generate editable text.
Return to the 'Tools' menu and click 'Organize Pages'. Select the incorrectly scanned pages and click the rotate icons (clockwise or counterclockwise) to correct their orientation.
Easily Rotate Pages and Perform OCR with WPS PDF
WPS Office features a robust PDF editor that allows you to instantly correct page orientation and use advanced OCR technology to convert scanned images into fully editable text files.
- 1. Open the PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and open your scanned PDF document using the built-in WPS PDF editor.
- 2. Rotate Incorrect Pages: Navigate to the 'Page' tab on the top ribbon. Select the pages that are upside-down or sideways, and click the 'Rotate' button to fix their orientation.
- 3. Apply OCR to Extract Text: Go to the 'Tools' tab and select 'OCR'. Choose your desired output format, such as extracting the text to a new Word document or a plain text file, and start the conversion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the OCR output text inaccurate or filled with strange characters?
Inaccurate OCR results are typically caused by low-resolution scans, blurry text, poor lighting, or handwritten content. Re-scanning the original document at a higher resolution (e.g., 300 DPI) can dramatically improve text recognition accuracy.
Can I edit the OCR text directly inside the PDF document?
Yes, if you use a PDF editor that supports editable PDF output. After running OCR in Acrobat Pro or WPS PDF, you can switch to the 'Edit PDF' mode to click directly into text boxes and modify the content.
How do I rotate just a single page instead of the entire document?
In the 'Organize Pages' or 'Page' view of your PDF editor, simply click on the specific page thumbnail you want to fix. Then, click the rotate icon on that specific thumbnail without selecting any other pages.
