How to Use a Bold Font When Editing Scanned PDFs
Question details
The user needs to add or edit bold text in a scanned PDF using the font identified by OCR, but the specific font is missing from the font list.
- Product
- PDF Editor
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Adding new text or editing existing text in an OCR-processed or scanned PDF document.
- Observed behavior
- The existing text uses a dynamically generated OCR font identifier (e.g., Verdana-Bold-10599), which is not an installed system font and is unavailable for typing new text.
Save a backup copy of your scanned PDF before making font adjustments, as replacing OCR-generated fonts with standard system fonts may alter the document layout and pagination.
Replace Scanned Text with a Standard Installed Font
Change the existing OCR-generated font to a standard system font so you can apply bold formatting to both old and new text consistently.
The font name displayed in your PDF editor (such as Verdana-Bold-10599) is an embedded font identifier created during the scanning or OCR process. Because it is not a real system font installed on your computer, you cannot select it when typing new text.
Use the Edit Text tool in your PDF editor to highlight the scanned text you want to match.
Open the font properties dropdown menu and select a widely available system font (such as standard Verdana or Arial).
Click the Bold button in the formatting toolbar to apply the standard bold style to the text.
Click where you want to add new content and type your text using the newly selected standard bold font.
Re-process the Document with OCR
Running the OCR tool again with different settings may map the scanned text directly to editable standard system fonts.
Edit Scanned PDFs Smoothly with WPS Office
WPS Office offers a powerful PDF editor with an advanced OCR engine. It intelligently recognizes text from scanned documents and easily converts it to standard, editable system fonts, letting you apply bold styling and edit content without layout issues.
- 1. Open the PDF: Launch WPS Office and open your scanned PDF document.
- 2. Run OCR: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab and select 'OCR' to convert the scanned pages into editable text.
- 3. Edit Text: Switch to the 'Edit' tab, click on the text block, and use the formatting panel to select standard fonts and apply bold styling.
- 4. Save Changes: Adjust any layout shifts if necessary, then click 'Save' to keep your updated PDF document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my PDF font have a strange name with numbers?
Fonts with names like 'Verdana-Bold-10599' are temporary identifiers created by OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software. They are embedded directly into the PDF to visually replicate the scanned text but are not actual fonts installed on your computer.
How can I type exact matching text in my scanned document?
If the exact font isn't installed on your system, you cannot use it for new text. The best workaround is to select the existing text in that section and change it to a similar standard system font, ensuring your new additions blend in seamlessly.
Will changing the font in my PDF mess up the formatting?
It might. Because OCR-generated fonts and standard system fonts have slightly different character widths and spacing, changing the font can alter line breaks and pagination. Always review your document layout after replacing a font.
