Selecting text in a scan returns nothing because there is no text layer. With GekiPDF's OCR tool, Tesseract adds a searchable text layer on top of your existing image, so you can copy, search, and edit the words while the visual stays identical. Upload up to 50 MB per file; no signup or watermark.
For best accuracy, use scans at 200-300 DPI. The tool supports English and Chinese (simplified/traditional) among other languages. After processing, your file is ready for download immediately—files are deleted after one hour. You get 40 conversions per hour per IP, enough for most batch jobs.
Frequently asked questions
Will OCR change my scanned image?
No. The OCR process only adds an invisible text layer over the original image. Your page looks exactly the same as before.
What DPI should I use for my scans?
Use 200-300 DPI for best recognition accuracy. Lower DPI may cause missing characters, higher DPI just increases file size without improving results.
Which languages are supported?
Tesseract includes English and Chinese (simplified and traditional) among others. If your document uses another language, it may still work but accuracy could be lower.
Do it in the full tool
Open OCR PDF for all options, or jump straight to another step below.
Related tools
- OCR a scanned PDF free (English + Chinese)
- OCR a Scanned PDF
- OCR PDF in English
- OCR PDF in Chinese
- Make a PDF Searchable
- OCR a Japanese PDF with the jpn pack plus English for mixed kanji, kana and Latin text
- PDF to Text
- PDF to Word
- Compress PDF
- How to compress a PDF to 100 KB
- Compress a PDF to 200 KB (free, online)
- Compress a PDF to 500 KB
- How to compress a scanned PDF (without blurring it)