How to Perform OCR on a Scanned PDF in Acrobat.com
Question details
The user wants to know if and how they can perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on a scanned PDF file using Acrobat.com to make the text editable and searchable.
- Product
- Acrobat.com
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to extract, search, or edit text from a scanned or image-based PDF document using Adobe's web-based services.
- Observed behavior
- The user needs to convert a scanned PDF into a searchable and editable document, which requires specific OCR tools and potentially a paid Adobe subscription.
Before attempting to perform OCR, ensure that your scanned PDF is clear and legible. Verify your Adobe subscription level, as text recognition features are typically restricted to paid Acrobat Pro or Standard plans rather than the free Acrobat Reader.
Use the Acrobat.com Edit PDF Feature
If your Adobe subscription includes premium web tools, you can use the online Edit PDF tool to automatically recognize and edit text.
Acrobat.com provides online tools for users with qualifying subscriptions. When you upload a scanned document to the online editor, the system attempts to run automatic text recognition.
Navigate to the Acrobat.com website in your web browser and log in with your Adobe ID.
Click on the 'Edit PDF' tool from the main dashboard, then select and upload your scanned PDF document from your computer or cloud files.
Once the document loads, Acrobat will automatically detect that it is an image-based scanned file and process it to recognize text.
Click into the recognized text to make edits. Once finished, save the document or download the updated, searchable PDF to your local drive.
Perform OCR using Adobe Acrobat Desktop
If the web version does not support your specific needs, you can perform text recognition using the desktop application of Adobe Acrobat Pro or Standard.
Easily Recognize PDF Text with WPS Office
You don't need an expensive subscription to perform OCR. WPS Office provides a powerful built-in PDF toolkit with advanced OCR capabilities to quickly extract, edit, and search text in scanned documents.
- 1. Open WPS PDF: Launch WPS Office on your computer and open your scanned PDF document using the WPS PDF viewer.
- 2. Select the OCR Feature: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab on the top ribbon and click on the 'OCR' button to initiate the text recognition process.
- 3. Extract or Edit: Choose whether you want to extract the text to a plain document or make the current PDF fully editable, then save your changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is OCR free on Acrobat.com?
No, performing full OCR to make a PDF editable usually requires a paid subscription to Adobe Acrobat Pro or Standard. Free Adobe accounts generally only allow for basic viewing, commenting, and sharing.
Why isn't Acrobat recognizing text in my scanned PDF?
Text recognition can fail if the original scan resolution is too low, the text is heavily stylized or handwritten, or if the document contains complex backgrounds that interfere with the OCR engine.
Can I use Adobe Acrobat Reader to perform OCR?
Adobe Acrobat Reader is purely a free document viewer and does not include built-in OCR capabilities. To recognize text, you will need an upgraded version of Adobe Acrobat or a comprehensive alternative like WPS Office.
