Sometimes, we need to extract the content from the scanned PDF files to text, and that's when PDF to text OCR functionality comes in very handy. OCR acronym for Optical Character Recognition. Many PDF programs come with the OCR feature, which makes scanned PDF documents searchable and editable.
- For a free application, Leadtools OCR (fully known as “OCR Scanner with Leadtools OCR”) does a surprisingly good job of OCR scanning on a Mac. The accuracy of the text scanned can be as good as 90% on clear documents and it doesn’t do badly even on older or low resolution documents.
- Free Ocr App Mac Os 3 Best Free OCR Apps For Mac OS. Yes, you read it right. It is Google Docs. Now the latest version of Google Docs does offer you with OCR feature. It lets you convert any image or PDF into text and then you can edit those documents the way you want.
- Jun 16, 2021 You can download OCR App 3.4.4 for Mac from our application library for free. This Mac download was scanned by our built-in antivirus and was rated as clean. The software lies within Productivity Tools, more precisely Office Tools. The actual developer of this free software for Mac is LEAD Technologies, Inc.
If it's your very first time looking for the best free PDF OCR solution out there, we can understand how challenging it can be. But no worries!! This post will introduce the top free PDF OCR tools and how to OCR a PDF on Windows and Mac.
- Best Free PDF OCR Software for Windows and Mac
- Best 3 Free PDF OCR Online Tools
- How to OCR a PDF Without Effort?
- More Answers About Free PDF OCR Solutions
Dec 11, 2020 The best free OCR software for Mac. #1 LEADTOOLS OCRApp. Compatibility: macOS 10.10 or later. Called OCR Scanner with LEADTOOLS SDK at the Mac App Store, OCRApp is an easy-to-use free. #2 PDF OCR X Community Edition. #3 Microsoft OneNote.
Best Free PDF OCR Software for Windows and Mac
There is abundant third-party software on Windows and Mac. Come and find the best tool for you to OCR a PDF.
EaseUS PDF Editor
EaseUS PDF Editor is an excellent PDF OCR software. This program can recognize and convert image-based PDF to an editable format and accurately detect and convert as many as 29 languages, such as English, French, German, Japanese, etc.
What's more, this Windows PDF editor enables you to edit and manage your PDF files like below:
- Insert, delete, reorder, extract, crop, or rotate PDF pages with ease
- Add comment, lines, or highlight PDF documents
- Add or remove password from PDF
- Sign your PDF effortlessly
Want to explore more information? Just click the below button to get it. And there is a tutorial that guides you to OCR a PDF using this tool, and you can follow it to use the OCR feature easily.
Step 1. Click Create and choose From file from the top left corner
If you want to OCR from an existing PDF file, click from the File option on the top left corner to start the process.
Step 2. Click OCR on the toolbar
After clicking OCR on the menu, select the language, then wait for a couple of seconds.
Step 3. Edit your PDF as you wish
You can use crop, rotate, combine, etc. features according to your needs. There are several features, and it allows you to manage this process easily and effortlessly.
Step 4. Click Save to keep the changes
When you are finished with editing, click save to keep the changes. You can also click save as and type a new file name if you want to keep the old version unchanged.
Adobe Acrobat DC
With its OCR functionality, you can easily convert your scanned PDFs or images into editable and searchable documents. It can perform OCR on PDFs that contain vector art, images, hidden text, or a blend of these elements.
Above all, the OCR tool in Adobe Acrobat DC offers many editing features, including text recognition, combining files, adding comments, and more.
Pros:
- Support cutting and pasting the text into other apps
- Work with many languages
- Accurately match fonts
- A free trial is available
Cons:
- Lots of features can overwhelm beginners
URL: https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat/how-to/ocr-software-convert-pdf-to-text.html
PDF OCR X
You can also count on PDF OCR X to help you convert scanned PDF documents into searchable PDFs or text documents with ease. It comes with advanced OCR functionality to extract the text from PDFs, even if it is in an image.
Above all, this PDF OCR-free solution is exclusively designed to handle PDFs created using a scan-to-PDF tool.
Pros:
- Drag and drop functionality to upload documents
- Able to convert PDFs to both text or searchable PDFs
- Support JPEG, PNG, BMP, and more image formats
- Support more than 60 languages
Cons:
- Lack editing features
URL: https://solutions.weblite.ca/pdfocrx/index.php
Readiris
When looking for a PDF to Word OCR solution, Readris serves the purpose best. Supporting both Windows and Mac, the tool can convert PDFs, texts, and images in a scanned document to modify in the format of your preference, including Word.
Its new added features such as a new recognition engine, new user interface, and faster document management make it even more remarkable as a PDF OCR solution or even more.
Pros:
- Various editing features are available
- User-friendly interface
- Open files faster
Cons:
- Lack a forever-free version
URL: https://www.irislink.com/zh-Hans-chn/c1810/IRIS---The-World-leader-in-OCR--PDF-and-Portable-scanner.aspx?
PDFMate PDF Converter
PDFMate PDF Converter entails advanced OCR technology that can help you convert PDFs to editable documents without any hassle. You can extract images and text from image-based PDFs and convert them into selectable and editable text or work files.
Besides the OCR functionality, the software has so much to offer, such as merging and creating PDF, encrypted converted files, customizing layout, and more.
Pros:
- Convert scanned documents to editable ones with OCR
- Support converting PDF to TXT, DOC, and other formats
- Add permission password to documents
- Simple and easy to use
Cons:
- Some crash problems during conversion processes
URL: https://www.pdfmate.com/pdf-converter-free.html
Best 3 Free PDF OCR Online Tools
For those who aren't willing to download software on the computer, the online OCR tools in this section may be the best choices.
OnlineOCR.net
Suppose you don't want to install any program on your system for PDF to word OCR, no worries. With OnlineOCR.net, you can get the job done without installing any tool on your computer. It can recognize characters and text from scanned PDF and convert them into the editable doc format.
It is a completely free PDF OCR online service that even comes with a guest mode, which implies there is no need to register to use it.
Pros:
- Support converting scanned PDFs to editable DOC format
- Work even without registration
- Convert PDF to Word, text, or excel format
- Support many languages
Cons:
- Support file size maximum up to 15 MB
URL: https://www.onlineocr.net/
ABBYY FineReader Online
ABBYY FineReader Online is another online OCR tool designed to help scan and convert PDF documents into Word and many other editable formats. It even supports import and export documents to cloud storage services such as OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
The tool will keep converted files in the cloud for around 14 days, giving you enough time to download and share your files during the period.
Pros:
- Support many input and output file formats
- Export a converted document to popular cloud storage services
- Easy to use
- Able to convert scanned PDF to text OCR
Cons:
- Require registration
URL: https://finereaderonline.com/en-us/Tasks/Create
PDF2Go
PDF2Go is also an amazing PDF OCR online tool you can use to convert scanned files to text so that you can edit with ease. You can drag and drop your file or upload it from cloud storage. With PDF2Go, you don't have to copy the text manually, as this PDF OCR free tool will handle this job for you.
Above all, it works with all web browsers out there.
Pros:
- Convert scanned documents to word with OCR
- Support both DOC & DOCX and text format
- Work on a smartphone as well
- No registration is required
Cons:
- Lack support for uploading a file from the OneDrive service
URL: https://www.pdf2go.com/pdf-to-word
How to OCR a PDF?
As mentioned above, we'll help you learn how to OCR a PDF on Windows and Mac, and it's time. We will use Adobe Acrobat DC to walk you through how to OCR a scanned PDF to have an editable copy of your document.
Step 1. In Adobe Acrobat for PC or Mac, open your scanned PDF file.
Step 2. Tap 'Edit PDF' in the right place. The Adobe Acrobat will automatically perform OCR to your file and make it editable.
Step 3. Tap the text element you would like to edit and begin typing.
Step 4. Finally, select 'File' > 'Save As' and enter a new name for your editable file.
Conclusion
That's all on PDF OCR free tools. We have covered tools that really help to OCR a PDF to word or text on Windows and Mac with ease.
It's time for you to make a selection. Our advice is to pick EaseUS PDF Editor to get the job done.
Free PDF OCR Solutions FAQs
If you still have problems with the PDF OCR feature, those FAQs may help you.
1. How to OCR my PDF to word?
For PDF to word OCR, all you need to do is upload your scanned PDF document and choose the output file format as Word/DOC/DOCX while using any PDF OCR tool.
2. How to OCR my PDF to editable text?
Like PDF to word OCR, you need to select an output file format as .txt while using any PDF OCR tool to PDF to text OCR.
3. How to OCR my PDF to Excel?
The best way to OCR your PDF to excel is to use an online OCR service like ABBYY FineReader Online. It will provide you with an option to choose '.xlsx' as your output format.
2021-09-06 15:34:40 • Filed to: PDFelement for Mac How-Tos • Proven solutions
Image-based PDF documents are common both for personal and business use. These kinds of files can be difficult to edit, however, especially if you don't have the right software. To be able to edit, copy, or search through scanned PDF files you need to look for a program that is equipped with Optical Character Recognition (OCR). In this article, we'll introduce you to a great OCR software Mac - PDFelement. We'll also explain how to OCR PDFs on Mac.
How to OCR a PDF on Mac
To perform OCR on Mac is easy if you are using the right tools, such as PDFelement. Below, we'll outline how to use all of its robust features.
Step 1. Import a Scanned PDF
First, you need to open PDFelement for Mac, and then open your scanned PDF file in the program. To do so, click on 'Open File' at the bottom left and select the file that you want to OCR.
Step 2. Recognize PDF with OCR
When the scanned PDF is opened, the program will detect it and remind you to perform OCR. After clicking on the 'Perform OCR' button, a pop-up window will appear. Here you will be required to select an OCR language that matches your PDF content. You can also specify an ideal DPI and page range to perform OCR. After that, click on the 'Perform OCR' button. OCR will be performed immediately.
Step 3. Edit the PDF (Optional)
After OCR is complete, a new PDF file will be opened in the program automatically, which is already searchable and editable. You can click on the 'Edit' button to start editing the content. Learn more about how to edit scanned PDFs on Mac here.
The Best OCR Software on Mac
Free Ocr Mac Reddit
PDFelement for Mac not only allows you to edit standard PDFs, but it also lets you modify scanned PDFs. With advanced OCR technology, image-based PDFs can be turned into editable text immediately. The OCR technology supports languages such as English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Chinese, and French, among others.
In addition, PDFelement for Mac is built with a number of editing tools that let you modify the text, images, and pages, or markup and comment on PDFs, plus more. This program lets you convert your PDF file to or from other file types, such as Excel, Word, HTML, images, PPT, EPUB, and Text, etc. It is fully compatible with macOS X 10.12 (Sierra), 10.13 (High Sierra), 10.14 (Mojave), and 10.15 (Catalina).
Tips: Preview Does Not Support OCR on Mac
Preview is a built-in program on Mac, which can help you read, edit, and manage PDF files. However, this does not include scanned PDFs. If your PDF document is a scanned or image-based PDF file, then Preview won't be able to help you edit or make any changes to the PDF file because it does not have the OCR feature.
Tips: Automator Can Not Extract Text from Scanned PDFs
Ocr For Mac Free
Automator is usually used to extract text from PDFs. However, this will only work on normal, non-scanned PDF files. It does not support extracting text from scanned or image-based PDF files as it does not support OCR.
Tips: Adobe Reader for Mac Can Not OCR PDFs on Mac
Adobe Reader for Mac is also widely used for Mac users to view and manage PDF documents since it is a free tool. Unfortunately, this program doesn't support OCR technology. This means you won't be able to edit a scanned or image-based PDF file unless you pay for the upgraded version of Adobe Acrobat in order to edit or manipulate the scanned PDF document.
Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!
Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!
Buy PDFelement right now!
Buy PDFelement right now!