How to Make a PDF Searchable?

If the PDF file is a normal file, then open it in PDFelement, and press Ctrl+F keys to open the search box, you can search the text content as you want. If it is a scanned PDF, then you can click the Convert>OCR button and choose Editable Text mode to perform OCR. After performing OCR, the newly created PDF file editable and searchable now, you can search the text content in it directly.

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How to Make PDF Searchable

Elise Williams

2024-04-18 11:56:27 • Filed to: Convert Scanned PDF • Proven solutions

When you download a large PDF file that contains vital information, you can't afford to waste time going through the whole document to find the information you're looking for. Instead, you can search for keywords that will locate the information instantly. However, this can be a challenge when PDF files are not searchable. This is when using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) within your PDF software will help. OCR can help to make PDF searchable when it is a scanned or image-based PDF, and Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor is the one that supports OCR.

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Steps to Convert PDF to Searchable PDF

PDFelement is a simple but powerful PDF tool that meets your needs for changing scanned or image-based PDFs into searchable PDF files. If the PDF file is a normal file, then open it in PDFelement, and press Ctrl+F keys to open the search box. You can search the text content as you want. If it is a scanned PDF, you can click the Tool > OCR button and choose Editable Text mode to perform OCR. After performing OCR, the newly created PDF file editable and searchable now. You can search the text content in it directly.

Step 1. Convert to Searchable PDF

After installation, launch PDFelement. Select "Open files" on the Home window to upload your target PDF file. If the PDF file is already searchable, you can search the contents by clicking the "Search" panel on the left side. Enter the text and click the "Start Search" button. The search results will be displayed immediately. Click the target item to jump to the corresponding page. Or you can click "Ctrl+F" to open the "Find" box and type in the keyword. It will lead to the corresponding page instantly.

Step 2. Convert PDF to Searchable PDF

If you are dealing with a scanned or image-based file, you will need to perform OCR to make PDF searchable. After launching PDFelement, open the scanned file. Once the file is open, you will be prompted to activate OCR. Click "Perform OCR" in the notice bar, or click the "Tool" menu to choose the "OCR" button.

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In the new dialog box, you can select "Scan to searchable text in image" mode and click the "Change Language" button to choose the correct language of your PDF content to perform OCR. After performing OCR, the newly created searchable PDF will be opened in the program automatically, and you can search for the text using the above instructions.

How to Make PDF Text Searchable

PDFelement can be used to create, edit, convert, and print PDF documents quickly and easily. PDF files can also be created from or converted to Office documents, image files, and web pages at the click of a button. You can also create or convert PDF files from the same batch of files, which is great if you work on a large project with many documents. PDFelement is equipped with powerful editing tools, which allow you to freely make changes on text, images, and pages. Here is this PDF to searchable PDF converter free download.

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