iTrustPDF
PDF OCR Tool
Extract text from scanned PDFs using advanced OCR technology. Convert image-based PDFs to searchable, editable text with high accuracy. 100% browser-based - your files never leave your computer.
OCR Settings
Why Use Our PDF OCR Tool?
Secure & Private
All OCR processing happens locally in your browser. Your PDF files never leave your computer, ensuring complete privacy and security for sensitive documents.
Multi-language Support
Supports OCR in multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and many more with high accuracy.
Advanced Features
Includes options to keep word spacing, adjust page segmentation, highlight low-confidence text, and choose from three output formats.
How the OCR works
A scanned PDF is a set of pictures of pages, so there is no text to copy or search. OCR (optical character recognition) looks at each picture and recognizes the letters. This tool renders each page of your PDF at about 144 DPI and reads it with Tesseract.js, an open-source OCR engine that runs inside your browser. The first time you use a language, your browser downloads that language's recognition data; the PDF itself is not uploaded.
Step by step
- Upload your scanned PDF.
- Pick the language that matches the document. Choosing the right language is the single biggest factor in accuracy.
- Choose the pages (all, first page only, or a custom range). Try one page first to check quality before running a long document.
- Choose an output: plain text (.txt), a Word file (.docx) or a PDF that contains the recognized text.
- Review and correct the text in the editor. The tool shows a confidence figure per page, and you can highlight low-confidence text to find places that need a check.
What the output formats really are
| Format | What you get |
|---|---|
| Plain text (.txt) | The recognized text, page by page, with no formatting. |
| Word (.docx) | An editable document with the recognized text, one section per page. Layout, columns and tables are not recreated. |
| A new PDF that contains the recognized text as real, selectable text. It does not keep the picture of the original scan. |
Getting better results
- Use clear, straight, high-contrast scans. Skewed, faded or shadowed pages reduce accuracy.
- Larger, standard fonts work best; very small print can be missed at this render size.
- Select only the languages you need. Mixed-language documents need the languages chosen together.
- Expect errors with handwriting, stamps, unusual fonts, tables and multi-column layouts, and always proofread important text.
When you do not need OCR
If you can already select text in your PDF, it has a text layer and OCR is unnecessary. Use PDF to Text or PDF to Word instead. If you have scans as image files, combine them into a PDF first with JPG to PDF or TIFF to PDF.
Related free PDF tools: PDF to Text, PDF to Word, JPG to PDF, TIFF to PDF, Compress PDF, Text to PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding PDF OCR Technology
Our free online PDF OCR Tool uses advanced Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology powered by Tesseract.js to convert scanned PDF documents into editable and searchable text. Whether you're digitizing old documents, extracting text from scanned forms, or making image-based PDFs accessible, our tool offers a reliable and efficient solution with professional-grade accuracy.
How to Use Our PDF OCR Tool
- Upload PDF File: Drag and drop your scanned PDF or click to browse
- Configure Settings: Select language, pages, and output format
- Start OCR Process: Click "Extract Text with OCR" to begin processing
- Preview Results: View extracted text with confidence highlighting
- Edit Text: Click the "Edit Text" button to modify extracted text
- Download Text: Choose from multiple formats: TXT, DOCX, or PDF
- Reset Tool: Use "Reset" button to clear all files and start over