How to OCR PDF Online? (3 Workable Ways)

One of the best ways to convert images and scanned documents into searchable and editable file is by performing OCR on them. Today, there are several OCR PDF online tools that do not require users to download any software on their device and work on any device regardless of its OS or specifications. Here, we will discuss 3 methods that will 100% work every time you need to OCR PDF Online.

Part 1. How to OCR PDF Online with DeftPDF?

DeftPDF is an online PDF tool designed to cater to all your PDF working and editing requirements online. It packs a lot of features for PDF editing and organizing, including OCR. With its OCR feature, you can use scanned PDF documents or directly upload images to convert them into editable and searchable text. This tool supports multiple languages for performing OCR and lets you edit the OCR file after conversion. Below are the steps to OCR your PDF online with DeftPDF.

1.      Open DeftPDF and select OCR to PDF from All Tools.

We will start the process by opening the DeftPDF website. Once the website loads, the top bar will show multiple options where we need to click "All Tools”. In this option, you can find the "OCR to PDF” option within the Convert section. As you click the “OCR to PDF” option, you will move to a file uploading screen where you can upload the desired file from offline storage, Google Drive, Dropbox, or URL.

2.      Apply OCR after setting language and format.

After the file upload is complete, you will move to the OCR feature, where you need to select the language. In most cases, the text in PDF will be in English language, so you need to select "English”. Similarly, if you want to extract the text from a PDF document, you may choose the output format as "Text File"; otherwise, go with "Searchable PDF”. After you are done with all these options, click “Recognize Text on All Pages” and it will start the OCR processing on your document.

3.      Download file to offline storage or save to Cloud.

When the OCR processing is complete, your document will be ready for downloading. You can download it to offline storage or upload it to Google Drive and Dropbox. DeftPDF does not stop here since you get many other options, including file renaming, sharing across different platforms, printing the OCR file, deleting it and starting from the beginning or continue to apply other PDF editing features on the newly created OCR file.

Part 2. How to OCR a PDF Online with Sajda?

Although it only takes PDF files as input and does not support uploading the images directly, it still provides good online OCR performance along with several PDF editing tools. It supports multiple languages, and you have the choice to save the OCR file as a searchable PDF or text. In addition to OCR, you can work on PDF editing, compressing, security, signatures, organization, and more. Here are the steps to OCR your PDF online with Sejda:

1.      Click OCR from Sejda home page

Open the Sejda website and keep scrolling down until you reach the “Scans” section. This section contains the “OCR" option that we will be using there, so click on it. Clicking the OCR option will take you to the file upload screen, where you may upload from offline storage, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, or a web URL.

2.      Choose output format and language, then start OCR.

Since you want to perform OCR on the whole document, you need to set OCR options from bottom of the screen. The language must be set to document text language, in this case, is "English". Similarly, you need to check one of the output formats from "PDF” and “Text”. It depends on how you want to use the content and if you want a searchable PDF document or not. The last thing here is to click "Recognize Text on All Pages” and it will start processing OCR on the uploaded document.

3.      Download the OCR file on your device.

After a few seconds of processing, the OCR file will be available for downloading with its preview available as well. You may download it on the offline storage or save it to cloud platforms like OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

Apart from saving, Sejda allows you to directly share or print the OCR document. Additionally, you can start working on the PDF File with the built-in PDF editing and organization tools from Sedja right here.

Part 3. How to OCR PDF Free Online with PDF24?

PDF24 is yet another online tool that packs a lot of online PDF features. While it supports multiple OCR languages, it allows you to personalize the metadata for your OCR file before creating it. Moreover, it contains “Force OCR” feature for even better results on documents that are not the clearest. Apart from OCR, PDF24 packs many features, including PDF creation. Merging and splitting, adding watermarks and stamps, etc. You may proceed with the steps below to OCR your PDF online using PDF24.

1.      Select PDF OCR from PDF24 website.

After you open the PDF24 website, you need to locate the “PDF OCR” option. It is in the frequently used section, and clicking it will take you to the screen where you upload PDF files. Here, you can upload PDF documents as well as images to perform OCR and make their text searchable. So, upload from your device, Dropbox, or Google Drive. One of the good things about PDF24 is that you can upload and perform OCR on multiple files in one go.

2.      Set language and other options before you start OCR.

Before clicking “Start OCR," you need to set some basic OCR settings. Start by selecting the language from the drawdown menu. You may leave the other options on default, but it will be a good idea to write your title; otherwise, the tool may save the OCR file with the same name as the original file after adding "OCR" to it. Once you are done with these settings, click "Start OCR”. Remember that this button will not work unless you select a language.

3.      Preview and download OCR document

PDF24 will take a few seconds to perform OCR on the document, and after that, your file will be available for download. You can preview, erase, or restart the OCR processing here as well. PDF24 allows you to email your files directly or upload them to Google Drive and Dropbox. During this step, you may use the other built-in PDF editing features like editing, splitting, compressing, etc., on your document before saving it.

Part 4. How to OCR PDF Offline With UPDF?

Now that you have the basic overview and the working process of the online OCR tools, it is important to know why using an offline tool is better. Multiple reasons will back this decision, including:

• High accuracy in the OCR conversion
• Quick conversion
• Not relying on an internet connection for even the smallest conversions
• Privacy when working with confidential documents

There are several more reasons why an offline tool like UPDF is a better option for OCR instead of online tools, and those are further compared in the table below:

When comparing the features offered by UPDF and some of its online competitors, you can see that UPDF offers a more comprehensive experience with OCR and other advanced PDF related features. So, it is the best and most reliable choice for anyone who needs to perform OCR on their PDF files to convert them to editable and searchable text. UPDF even manages the text appearance for a better editing experience. So, you may download UPDF and purchase it to start using the OCR future with the steps below:

1.      Open PDF in UPDF and click OCR

Open UPDF on your PC with the desktop icon and open scanned PDF document that you want to perform OCR on. When it opens in the reader view, click “OCR” from right pane and click “Perform OCR”. Now follow the on-screen steps to save the OCR file on your PC and proceed.

2.      Use the OCR file after it converts and opens on UPDF

The OCR file will be instantly converted and saved on your PC. Moreover, it will automatically open inside UPDF after saving. Now, you can use that editable and searchable PDF file to edit the document or extract the text however you want.

Conclusion

Whenever you come across a document that contains text in scanned or image format, it becomes essential to perform OCR PDF online or offline on it. While both the offline and online options get the job done, the experience is much better with the offline tool UPDF. It is because of the privacy, security, and quick processing it offers. Moreover, you do not need an internet connection to perform OCR and still get amazing accuracy of up to 99% when performing OCR. So, if you also want to use the UPDF OCR feature, download it on your PC today. And if you like UPDF, you can unlock all free trail limitation at a low price via clicking here.