How do I make sure my scanned document is easy for Acrobat to read?

Scan your document at 300 dpi for the best quality. Choose the correct language for the text before you start the recognition process. Make sure the scanned page is clear and not blurry.

What is the difference between an image-only PDF and a searchable PDF?

Feature Image-Only PDF Searchable PDF. Content Just a picture of the document Picture of the document with a hidden text layer Search Cannot search for words Can search for words and copy text OCR Has not had OCR applied Has had OCR applied to recognize text

◆ Acrobat · convert

First-Time Scanning Run

I need to teach Jamie how we scan, name, and index documents so auditors can find anything in a day. I’m nervous I’ll …

1ready prompt

1real task

3roles

See the prompt↓More convert workflows

When to use it

real situations

You want to find words inside an old scanned letter.
You need to copy text from a picture of a document.
You are organizing many paper documents into digital, searchable files.

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

CDecide — “help me choose”I need to teach Jamie how we scan, name, and index documents so auditors can find anything in a…+

I need to teach Jamie how we scan, name, and index documents so auditors can find anything in a day. I’m nervous I’ll miss a legal retention step or teach a sloppy habit. Give me a 60‑second script to run through with her, list the three non‑negotiable indexing fields she must use, and one quick exercise I can watch her do to prove she learned it.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open the scanned PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.
2
Go to the Tools menu.
3
Select Scan & OCR from the tools list.
4
Click Recognize Text and choose In This File.
5
In the settings panel, ensure PDF Output Style is set to Searchable Image.
6
Click Recognize to start the OCR process.
7
Save the PDF after OCR is complete.
Best practiceFor best OCR accuracy, scan your documents at 300 dpi and ensure the images are clear before running OCR.

In the appWith the API

After OCR completes, you can search, copy, and highlight text in your previously scanned PDF.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

OCROCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is technology that turns images of text into real text you can search and copy.ExampleAfter scanning a paper invoice, OCR allows you to copy the vendor's name from the image.

DPIDPI means dots per inch, and it tells you how clear an image is when it is scanned.ExampleA scanned photo saved at 300 DPI will usually contain more detail than the same photo at 72 DPI.

Searchable PDFA searchable PDF is a document where you can look for words, even if it started as a scanned image.ExampleEven though it was a scan, the searchable PDF let me find every instance of 'warranty' in the document.

Who does this

3 roles

ArchivistResearch LibrarianRecords Manager

FAQ

about this task

Scan your document at 300 dpi for the best quality.
Choose the correct language for the text before you start the recognition process.
Make sure the scanned page is clear and not blurry.

Feature	Image-Only PDF	Searchable PDF
Content	Just a picture of the document	Picture of the document with a hidden text layer
Search	Cannot search for words	Can search for words and copy text
OCR	Has not had OCR applied	Has had OCR applied to recognize text

This message means the page already has real text, not just an image of text. Acrobat's text recognition feature is designed for pages that are only pictures. It tries to add a new text layer, but if one already exists, it stops. You can check if the page already has text by trying to select words on it.

If your scanned document is blurry, the text recognition (OCR) will likely not work well. Blurry images make it hard for Acrobat to identify the letters correctly. Always try to get the clearest scan possible for the best results.

The main purpose of recognizing text in a scanned PDF is to make the document searchable and editable. When you scan a paper document, it becomes an image. Text recognition (OCR) converts that image text into actual text data. This allows you to search for words, copy text, and interact with the document like a regular digital file.

First-Time Scanning Run

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails