How to Stop Acrobat from Changing Fonts When Editing Scanned PDFs
Question details
The user wants to prevent Adobe Acrobat from altering original fonts and inserting unexpected text while editing scanned PDF documents.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to modify text within a scanned PDF document using built-in editing and OCR features.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat automatically applies OCR, which misinterprets the original layout and substitutes original fonts with mismatched system fonts, leading to inaccurate text and disrupted formatting.
Ensure you have the highest resolution version of the scanned document available. A high-quality scan significantly improves OCR accuracy, reducing the chances of font misinterpretations and text errors.
Adjust Acrobat OCR and Editing Settings
Modify Acrobat's default text recognition behavior to prevent it from replacing unrecognized text with inaccurate system fonts.
By default, Acrobat tries to automatically run OCR (Optical Character Recognition) when you edit a scanned document. If it cannot perfectly match the scanned font, it generates a custom font or uses a default system font, which alters the document's appearance.
Open your scanned PDF in Adobe Acrobat, navigate to the right-hand pane, and click on 'Edit PDF'.
Look for the 'Scanned Documents' section in the right pane and click on the 'Settings' (gear) icon.
If you only need to add text over the document without modifying existing text, uncheck the 'Recognize text' option. To keep recognition but improve accuracy, ensure the document language is correctly set.
If Acrobat has already changed the fonts upon opening the Edit tool, click 'Revert to Image' in the right pane to undo the automatic OCR changes.
Improve Source Scan Quality
Re-scanning the physical document at a higher resolution minimizes OCR misinterpretation and font substitution.
Edit the Original Source File
For documents requiring heavy modifications, bypassing the scanned PDF entirely yields the most precise results.
Use WPS Office for Accurate PDF OCR and Editing
WPS Office features a robust PDF Editor equipped with advanced OCR technology. It accurately recognizes text in scanned documents while preserving the original layout and seamlessly matching fonts, allowing for frustration-free editing.
- 1. Open your PDF: Launch WPS Office and open the scanned PDF document you need to edit.
- 2. Run the OCR Tool: Navigate to the 'Tools' or 'Edit' tab and click on the 'OCR' button to initiate text recognition.
- 3. Convert to Editable Document: Select 'Convert to Editable PDF' or 'Extract Text' depending on your needs. WPS will process the image while maintaining the visual layout.
- 4. Edit Seamlessly: Click directly on the text blocks to add, delete, or modify text with accurately matched fonts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does OCR change fonts in my scanned PDF?
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) analyzes the shapes of letters in an image and attempts to match them to digital text. If the software cannot identify the exact font, or if that font is not installed on your system, it substitutes it with a default system font, altering the document's appearance.
Can I add text to a scanned PDF without using OCR?
Yes. Most PDF editors allow you to add floating text boxes, annotations, or images over a scanned document. As long as you disable the automatic OCR or 'Edit Text' feature, the background image and its original text will remain completely unchanged.
What is the best resolution for scanning documents to ensure good OCR?
For optimal OCR accuracy and reliable font matching, you should scan your physical documents at a minimum of 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch). Scanning in black and white rather than color can also improve the sharpness of the text for the OCR engine.
How do I embed fonts when creating a PDF to avoid editing issues later?
Font embedding is done during the PDF creation process. In applications like Microsoft Word, when you choose 'Save As PDF' or 'Export', click on 'Options' and ensure the setting to 'Embed fonts in the file' is checked. This ensures the PDF retains the exact typography on any device.
