Make a scanned PDF searchable

Convertol PDF reads the writing in scanned documents with optical character recognition and adds an invisible text layer over the page. The page still looks the same, but now you can search it, copy from it and convert it to Word.

Open the tool How it works

No sign-up
No watermark
Deleted after 15 min

How does it work?

Three steps, all in the browser.

STEP 01
Upload the scan
Drop a photocopied or scanned document whose text can't be selected.
STEP 02
Choose the language
Language matters a lot for accuracy — always pick the document's actual language.
STEP 03
Download the searchable PDF
Appearance is unchanged; the text layer sits behind it.

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is OCR?

Very accurate on clean scans at 300 dpi or above. Skewed, faint or handwritten pages do worse.

Does it read handwriting?

No. OCR is built for printed text and is unreliable on handwriting.

Does the page image change?

No. The text layer is added invisibly and the look is preserved.

Does the file grow?

Slightly, because of the added layer. Compress afterwards if needed.

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