How to Use iLovePDF OCR? (Beginners’ Guide)

Are you looking to explore new OCR tools to convert scanned documents or images into editable PDFs? Or maybe you are a newbie and you’re trying to find a reliable software to get started? Either way, this guide will be perfect for you. We will show you how to use iLovePDF OCR. In this article, we will go through step-by-step process of using this tool to advance your work.

Also, we will introduce a better alternative, UPDF which can help you out if you cannot get the perfect result with iLovePDF OCR.  You can click the below button to download UPDF and test it on your own.

Now, let’s get started to show you how to use iLovePDF OCR, problems to use it and how to use the better alternative!

Part 1. What is iLovePDF OCR?

iLovePDF OCR is an optical character recognition tool that helps users convert scanned PDF files into searchable and editable documents. The software can be accessed online through your browser or as an app on your desktop.

iLovePDF OCR supports 121 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, and more. This is useful if you are working with documents written in various languages. The software provides great accuracy in recognizing text, as long as a document has a standard layout and fonts.

iLovePDF OCR can be used for free. However, the free version has some limitations, for example, 10 free tasks per day, up to 15 MB per task, one file in each process, and cannot convert to Excel, Word after performing OCR, etc.

Part 2. How to Use OCR in iLovePDF?

In this section, we will show you how to use iLovePDF OCR and convert your PDF to an editable file. Just follow the steps below.

• Open your browser and go to iLovePDF OCR by clicking here. Now click “Select PDF file” or drag and drop your PDF file.

• Make sure that the right language was detected by the software. If not, you can click the dropdown on the right and select the correct language.

• Then, click “Apply OCR” and wait for the document to be processed.  

• Once the file is ready, click “Download PDF” and save it on your device. Now, you can open any PDF Editor or go to iLovePDF Edit PDF feature to edit it.

Part 3. Problems of Using iLovePDF OCR

While there are advantages about using iLovePDF OCR such as free to use for small tasks, and user-friendly interface, it’s also good to know its disadvantages to make an informed decision. Thus, in this section we will go over possible issues that may arise while using the software.

Limited Free Version

ilovePDF offers a free version of the OCR tool. However, It has many limitations which already mentioned before. For example, 10 free tasks per day, up to 15 MB per task, one file in each process, and cannot convert to Excel, Word after performing OCR, etc

Limited OCR Features

The software doesn’t offer any customizable OCR options. You won’t be able to choose output formats or adjust advanced OCR recognition parameters such as layout or image resolution.

Moreover, you are not allowed to edit the OCRed PDF on the same task and cannot convert them to the format you like.

Performance Issues

You may meet the performance issues with iLovePDF OCR. Common issues include lagging and slow processing.

Poor Output

Moreover, the software may struggle with accuracy. When you check the output, you will find the words are not in one editable box. If you need to copy them out, you have to do this for many times. And when you use the OCR to perform on the document with the language except for English, your result may not be editable. We tried the Korean document for many times, they failed to make them editable. The output may be worse, especially when handling documents that have low-resolution, poor quality, or the text is handwritten.

Even if you upgrade to pro version, you have the same issues.

Part 4. The Best iLovePDF OCR Alternative – UPDF

Are you wondering if there are any good alternatives to iLovePDF OCR? Well, there are! UPDF is one of the best alternative software that you can use for your file processing. UPDF has definitely better OCR features than iLovePDF OCR.

First of all, it allows users to edit OCR parameters before converting their files. This means that you can adjust layout, image resolution and choose specific pages of your PDF for conversion to get a better result. It supports 38 languages which can meet almost all your requirements. Unlike iLovePDF OCR, UPDF OCR gives great and accurate results, improving the workflow for many users.

With UPDF, you will not only be able to convert your scanned files into editable documents, but also convert your PDF after performing to other formats. This includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. And you can edit the PDF after performing OCR directly.

Additionally, you can use UPDF’s AI to extract text from scanned images or PDFs for even higher accuracy.  Even if you have the low resolution or handwritten contents, you can extract your text successfully.

Don’t wait – check it out for yourself. You can download UPDF by clicking the button displayed below.

Way 1. OCR PDF

It’s time to show you how to use UPDF’s OCR tool step by step. Follow the instructions below.

• Open UPDF on your device and drag your file into the UPDF interface.

• Now, navigate to the right-side menu and click the OCR option. This will open an OCR menu where you can adjust various settings, such as document type, layout, language, resolution, and page range.  

• After you adjust your settings, click the “Perform OCR” button, select where to save the editable PDF and wait for your file to be processed.

• Several seconds later, the PDF will open automatically in UPDF, click on the “Edit PDF”, and click on the texts where you want to edit.

Here, you can check the OCR effect with the below pictures and to know why UPDF is better. UPDF OCR can make sure the paragraph with one editing box which allows for better copying and editing and it allows you to remove the background.

You can also watch the video that explains how to recognize text in scanned PDFs, convert searchable PDFs to image-only PDFs, and use UPDF’s OCR on iPhones and iPads:

Purchase UPDF now and enjoy the benefits it brings.

Way 2. Extract Text From a Scanned PDF with UPDF AI

You can also use UPDF AI to extract text from an image or a scanned PDF. This method is best for scanned PDF PDFs or images with handwritten texts and low quality files. The process is very straightforward as shown in the steps below. And the good part is that UPDF AI offers 100 tasks for free to use. If you still do not have UPDF on your computer, click the below button to download it.

• Make sure that you open the scanned PDF or image with UPDF.
• Click on the “UPDF AI” icon at the right side bottom, go to “Chat” mode, click on the “Screenshot” icon, draw to select the part you need to extract, release your mouse, then, enter the prompt “Extract text from image” and press enter. The UPDF AI will start to extract text.

• Now the text is extracted, you can click on the “Copy” icon to copy all the extracted text and paste them into the place you need.

It is super easy to use this method. And UPDF is not only a tool to extract text from the image, we encourage you to read a detailed review of UPDF, which covers all its features and the tasks that can be achieved with this advanced PDF tool here.  

Final Words

If you are someone who frequently works with scanned documents, having an accurate tool is very important. You may search around and find iLovePDF OCR and want to know how to use it and whether it is good to you. Here, we will introduce all you need to know here. And as there are so many problems to use this tool, we will introduce UPDF OCR which is a better tool than iLovePDF OCR. It offers more advanced OCR and AI features to help you extract text from scanned PDF. Take your work to the next level by downloading UPDF today.