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How to Edit a Scanned PDF Using OCR in Adobe Acrobat
Question details
The user needs to edit text in a scanned PDF document but is unable to do so because the text is recognized as a flat image.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to select and modify text within a PDF that was created via scanning.
- Observed behavior
- Selecting the text-editing tool produces no result, and the text cannot be modified because it consists of image-based text rather than editable text.
Ensure you have a version of Adobe Acrobat installed that supports the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature, such as Acrobat Pro.
Run OCR to Make the PDF Editable in Acrobat
Use the built-in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool to convert image-based text into editable text.
Before you can edit a scanned document, Acrobat must analyze the image and convert it into real text.
Open your scanned PDF in Adobe Acrobat. Go to the 'Tools' menu and select 'Scan & OCR' (or 'Recognize Text' in older versions).
Choose the correct language of the text in your document from the settings to ensure accurate character recognition.
Click 'Recognize Text' to initiate the OCR process. Wait for Acrobat to analyze the pages and convert the images to text.
Once the OCR process finishes, click on the 'Edit PDF' tool. You can now click on the recognized text to modify, delete, or add content.
Easily Edit Scanned PDFs with WPS Office OCR
WPS Office provides a highly accurate, built-in OCR feature to quickly convert scanned images and PDFs into fully editable text documents. Enjoy a smooth PDF editing experience without the high subscription costs.
- 1. Open the Scanned PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and open your scanned PDF file.
- 2. Access the OCR Tool: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab and click on the 'OCR' button to analyze the document.
- 3. Convert to Editable Text: Follow the on-screen prompts to extract the text or convert the document into an editable Word file.
- 4. Edit and Save: Make your necessary edits to the recognized text and save your updated document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I edit text directly in my scanned PDF?
When you scan a physical document, the scanner captures the page as a flat image rather than individual text characters. To make it editable, you must use an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool to convert the image back into text.
Does Adobe Acrobat Reader have the OCR feature?
No, the free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader does not include OCR capabilities. You need a paid version like Adobe Acrobat Pro to use the Scan & OCR tools.
How can I improve OCR accuracy on my scanned PDFs?
Ensure your original scan is clear, straight, and has a high resolution (at least 300 DPI). Additionally, make sure you select the correct primary language in the OCR settings before running the recognition process.
