A2Z Edit
A2Z Edit

OCR guide

How to OCR a scanned PDF

Updated 2026-08-25

If you cannot select text in a PDF, you are looking at page images.

Pick PDF to Text English or Arabic on A2Z Edit and run OCR on those pages in your browser.

Do this on A2Z Edit

Open the PDF to Text — English and follow the steps below.

Open PDF to Text — English

How to OCR a scanned PDF

  1. Confirm the PDF has no selectable text.
  2. Choose English or Arabic PDF OCR based on the script.
  3. Upload the scanned PDF.
  4. Run OCR and review the output.
  5. Save the text and keep the scan as the visual record.

Why it matters

Scanned archives become usable only after OCR unlocks the words.

Tips

  • Rotate pages before OCR if the scan is sideways.
  • Split huge binders so you OCR one section at a time.
  • Compress only for sharing—OCR prefers clearer page images.

Frequently asked questions

Will OCR change my PDF file?

You receive extracted text; your original upload remains your source scan.

Searchable PDF output?

Focus here is extracting text you can copy and reuse.

Empty results?

Check language choice and image quality first.

Related tools

PDF to Text — EnglishPrimary tool for this guidePDF to Text — ArabicRelated toolRotate PDFRelated toolSplit PDF ToolRelated tool

Related guides

How to convert a scanned PDF to searchable textUse PDF OCR to unlock text from scans so you can find and reuse words.How to extract English text from a PDFOCR English text from scanned PDF pages in your browser.Choosing the right OCR languagePick English or Arabic OCR on A2Z Edit so recognition matches your script.Tips for better OCR accuracyPractical habits that improve OCR results on images and PDFs.

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