OCR

Make PDF Searchable

Recognises the words on every page and writes them back as a transparent layer over the original artwork. The first run downloads the language model.

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your document is never uploaded.

Drop a scanned PDF

.PDF · up to 50 MB per file · single file

Files are processed in your browser and never uploaded.

How to make a scanned PDF searchable

Add an invisible text layer to a scanned PDF so it can be searched and indexed while still looking exactly the same.

  1. 1Upload the scanned PDF.
  2. 2Select the document language.
  3. 3Run recognition to build the text layer.
  4. 4Download the searchable PDF.

Why use Make PDF Searchable

  • Ctrl+F works in a document that used to be just images.
  • The page still looks identical — the text sits invisibly behind it.
  • Makes archives far easier to work with.
  • Recognition and rebuilding happen locally.

Privacy and how your file is handled

This tool runs in your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly. The file you choose is read locally by the page and is not uploaded to PDFSolution servers.

Read more in our security overview and privacy policy.

Make PDF Searchable — frequently asked questions

What does 'searchable PDF' mean?
It is a scan with a hidden text layer aligned to the words in the image, so search and copy work while the visual page is unchanged.
Will the page look different?
No, the original scan image is kept as the visible content.
How accurate is the hidden text?
It comes from OCR, so it inherits OCR's limitations. Poor scans yield imperfect search results.
Does the file get bigger?
Slightly, because a text layer is added, but the increase is usually small.
Can I edit that text?
Not here. For editable output use Scanned PDF to Word.

Related PDF tools

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