How to Fix Acrobat Redact Tool Cannot Select Text After OCR
Question details
The user is unable to manually select text using the Redact tool in Acrobat DC after performing OCR and removing conflicting OCR software.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat DC
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to redact specific text in a scanned PDF document after applying Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
- Observed behavior
- The Redact tool fails to recognize or select text manually, preventing the user from successfully applying redactions to sensitive content.
Verify that the OCR process successfully converted the scanned image into readable text by attempting to highlight it with the standard text selection tool first.
Use Manual Drag Selection and Update Acrobat
Force text selection by manually dragging over the target area and ensure Acrobat is updated to fix known tool behaviors.
In some versions of Acrobat DC, the Redact tool may lose its auto-snap text selection behavior after OCR is modified. Manually forcing a selection box usually bypasses this interface glitch.
Navigate to the 'Tools' menu in Acrobat DC and click on the 'Redact' tool to activate it.
Instead of clicking directly on a word, click and drag your cursor over the specific text block you wish to redact to force a manual selection box.
Once the text area is highlighted, the 'Apply' button will become available in the Redact toolbar. Click it to finalize the redaction.
Go to 'Help' > 'Check for Updates' to install the latest version of Acrobat, which may contain bug fixes for the Redact tool's selection mechanics.
Edit and Manage PDFs Easily with WPS Office
Avoid frustrating tool conflicts by using WPS Office to edit, manage, and secure your PDF documents seamlessly. It offers reliable OCR and straightforward PDF editing.
- 1. Open PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and open your scanned or standard PDF document.
- 2. Convert Image to Text via OCR: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab and select 'OCR' to convert the image-based document into an editable PDF.
- 3. Edit or Obscure Text: Switch to the 'Edit' tab to directly delete sensitive text, or use the shape and highlight tools to cover confidential information securely.
- 4. Export as Flattened PDF: Go to 'Menu' > 'Print' and choose 'Print to PDF' to flatten the document, ensuring hidden text cannot be recovered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I select text in my PDF even after applying OCR?
If text remains unselectable after running OCR, the process may have failed due to low image resolution, or the PDF document might have security restrictions (passwords) that actively prevent editing and copying.
How do I permanently hide text in a PDF without a dedicated Redact tool?
You can use a standard PDF editor to delete the text entirely. Alternatively, draw a black rectangle over the text and 'Print to PDF' to flatten the document, which merges the black box into the base layer so the text underneath cannot be copied.
Can conflicting OCR software break PDF editing tools?
Yes, having multiple OCR engines or background scanning software installed can sometimes corrupt system clipboards or interfere with how PDF readers interpret text layers, leading to selection failures.
