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OCR a scanned PDF to make it searchable
A scan is a photograph of a page: you can see the words but nothing else can. OCR recognizes them and adds a searchable text layer underneath the image, so the document becomes searchable, selectable, and editable. PDFlick runs recognition through Apple's Vision framework on the device itself.
Also searched as: OCR PDF · searchable PDF · text recognition · make scan searchable
How to OCR a scanned PDF to make it searchable
On iPhone & iPad
- Open the scanned document and tap OCR / Searchable.
- PDFlick recognizes the text on device using Vision.
- Save — the document now has a text layer under the scan.
- You can now search it, select text, highlight it, or convert it to Word.
On Mac
- Open the scan and choose OCR / Searchable.
- Let recognition finish, then ⌘S to save the searchable version.
What makes it different
- Recognition runs locally through Vision — the same framework the system uses for Live Text.
- The text layer sits beneath the original image, so the page still looks exactly as scanned.
- Once OCR has run, the Read Text feature in the editor lets you replace recognized words.
- Accuracy depends on focus, lighting and contrast; a rescan in better light beats fighting a bad capture.
OCR / Searchable PDF — questions
Does OCR work without an internet connection?
Yes. Recognition runs entirely on device through Apple's Vision framework, so it works in airplane mode.
Can I edit the text after running OCR?
Yes. Once recognized, the words can be replaced in the editor via Read Text — though the underlying page is still an image, so results are best on clean scans.
Which languages are supported?
PDFlick uses Apple's Vision text recognition, so the supported languages are whatever your version of iOS or macOS supports for text recognition.
My results are poor — how do I improve them?
Rescan with even lighting and no shadow across the page, get the page flat and in focus, and use the high-contrast filter for plain printed text. Recognition quality is set mostly by capture quality.
Related PDF tools
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Scan to PDF
Scan paper documents to PDF with your iPhone or iPad camera — or use your iPhone as a scanner for your Mac. Edge detection and OCR run on device.
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PDF to Text
Pull the plain text out of a PDF on iPhone, iPad or Mac. Works on scans too via on-device OCR. No upload required.
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Edit PDF
Edit the real text inside a PDF on iPhone, iPad or Mac. PDFlick matches the original font, size and colour, and reflows the line in place. Works offline.