How to use
- scan.pdfImage only, no text
Add a scanned PDF (one file)
- scan.pdfShows progress
Read the text one page at a time
- scan (searchable).pdfscan.txt
Save as searchable PDF or .txt
Drop a PDF here or click “Choose file” (one file). “Try a sample” shows how it works.
Under “Recognition settings”, pick the language (Japanese + English, English only, vertical Japanese). Leave the page range empty for all pages.
Press “Run OCR”. Pages are read one at a time, with progress and a “Stop” button.
When it finishes, check the characters per page before you save. If a page has no text, find out why.
Save the searchable PDF, or the recognized text as .txt.
What it does
Page images stay as they are
The text layer is invisible text (render mode 3) placed over each original page. Images are not re-encoded, so the look does not change. The file grows only by the size of the text.
Only the Japanese glyphs you need are embedded
Japanese text uses Noto Sans JP (SIL Open Font License), embedded as a subset of the characters used. Each word is stretched to its box, so a search hit lands where the word is.
Pages with text are skipped by default
Pages that already have text are skipped unless you choose “Read all pages”, which adds a text layer to them too.
Everything stays on your device
Loading the PDF, rendering, recognition and saving all run in your browser. The recognition engine and language data come from this site; no outside service is contacted.
Check before you save
The finished PDF is opened again and its characters are counted for each page. The recognized text can also be saved as .txt.
One page at a time
Each page is rendered, read and released in turn. Limits: 200 MB and 300 pages per file.
Use cases
- Search a scanned contract or report for a keyword
- Copy a passage from a scanned PDF into another document
- Keep old scanned company records in a searchable form
- Select and quote text from a scanned English paper
Supported formats
Input
Output
Capability matrix
| Feature | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Search and selection of Japanese (horizontal), English and mixed text | Supported | — |
| Vertical Japanese | Partial | Search and copy work, but the selection box may not match the vertical layout |
| Handwriting | Not supported | Often read wrongly, if at all |
| Low resolution, skewed pages, small text | Partial | Skew is not corrected; low resolution lowers accuracy |
| Complex columns and text inside figures | Partial | The reading order can be wrong |
| Table structure (rows and columns) | Not supported | Only the text in reading order is searchable |
| Changing or re-compressing the page images | Not supported | Images are kept; only a text layer is added |
| PDFs protected with a password | Not supported | Remove the password first |
| Languages other than Japanese and English | Not supported | — |
Limits & notes
- Up to 200 MB and 300 pages per file.
- A page is read at up to about 16 megapixels. Larger pages are read at a lower resolution than 300 dpi (A4 stays at 300 dpi).
- Each page takes a few seconds to a dozen seconds. The first run also loads the recognition engine and glyph data.
- Handwriting, low-resolution and skewed images read less accurately. Please check the result yourself.
- On smartphones, a long run can fail with out of memory.
Privacy & safety
Loading, rendering, recognition, saving and saving the text all happen in your browser. Neither the PDF nor the text is sent to or stored on a server. Usage measurement does not include file names or content. The recognition engine, language data and glyph data are served from this site.
FAQ
How do I make a scanned PDF searchable?
Is my file uploaded?
What happens to a PDF that already has text?
Can it read vertical Japanese PDFs?
Does it change the page images?
What about a PDF with a password?
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