How to extract text from a scanned pdf using ocr
- Step 1Upload the scanned PDF — Drop the image-only PDF into the OCR extractor.
- Step 2Select the document language — Choose the primary language for better OCR accuracy.
- Step 3Run OCR and extract text — The tool processes each page and produces a text layer.
- Step 4Download the text output — Save as a searchable PDF or plain text file.
Frequently asked questions
What languages are supported?+
Standard OCR languages include English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and others. Select the document's language in the settings for best results.
Will OCR extract text from tables in scanned documents?+
OCR extracts the text content of tables. Use the PDF Table to JSON tool on the OCR-processed PDF to convert tables into structured data.
How do I improve OCR accuracy on poor-quality scans?+
Improve scan quality by using 300+ DPI greyscale scanning, straightening skewed pages, and removing background colour before processing.
Privacy first
All PDF processing runs locally in your browser using PDF-lib and pdf.js. No file is ever uploaded — only metadata counters are saved for signed-in dashboard stats.