How do I make a scanned PDF searchable using Acrobat?

Open your scanned PDF in Acrobat. Go to 'All tools' > 'Scan & OCR' > 'In this file'. Select the pages and language, then click 'Recognize Text'. Acrobat will add a hidden text layer, making your document searchable.

If my scanned letters are blurry, how can I improve OCR accuracy?

Scan at a higher resolution, ideally 300 DPI, for clearer images. Ensure good lighting and a flat document during scanning to avoid blur. Choose the correct language in Acrobat's OCR settings before processing. If the original scan is very poor, re-scanning might be necessary as OCR cannot fix extremely blurry text.

What is the difference between a regular PDF and an OCR'd PDF?

Feature Regular PDF (image-only) OCR'd PDF. Text Search Cannot search for words Can search for words Text Select/Copy Cannot select or copy text Can select and copy text File Type Often a scanned image Image with a hidden text layer

OCR Discovery And Letters in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

2 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Convert scanned discovery and signed client letters for case [case=14-CV-310] into searchable…+

Convert scanned discovery and signed client letters for case [case=14-CV-310] into searchable text, run OCR on each PDF, save searchable versions to the client's master folder, and notify the attorney when complete.

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

BImprove — “do it better”Make the OCRed discovery and letters for case [case=14-CV-310] easier to use — correct common…+

Make the OCRed discovery and letters for case [case=14-CV-310] easier to use — correct common misreads on names and dates, tag key terms like dates, diagnoses, and witnesses, and provide a short index of pages that contain likely evidence hits for the attorney.

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.

Searchable LayerA hidden layer of text added to an image-based PDF, allowing you to search for words within the document.ExampleThe hidden searchable layer in the scanned contract allowed us to find specific clauses.

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.

Who does this

3 roles

ArchivistResearch LibrarianRecords Manager

FAQ

about this task

Open your scanned PDF in Acrobat.
Go to 'All tools' > 'Scan & OCR' > 'In this file'.
Select the pages and language, then click 'Recognize Text'.
Acrobat will add a hidden text layer, making your document searchable.

This message means the page already has actual text data, not just an image of text. OCR is designed for image-only pages. If a page already has text, Acrobat doesn't need to recognize it because it's already there and searchable. You should only use OCR on documents that are purely images.

Scan at a higher resolution, ideally 300 DPI, for clearer images.
Ensure good lighting and a flat document during scanning to avoid blur.
Choose the correct language in Acrobat's OCR settings before processing.
If the original scan is very poor, re-scanning might be necessary as OCR cannot fix extremely blurry text.

Feature	Regular PDF (image-only)	OCR'd PDF
Text Search	Cannot search for words	Can search for words
Text Select/Copy	Cannot select or copy text	Can select and copy text
File Type	Often a scanned image	Image with a hidden text layer

Choosing the correct language is very important because OCR software uses language-specific dictionaries and rules to recognize characters. If you select the wrong language, the OCR engine might misinterpret letters, especially those with accents or unique shapes, leading to many errors and poor text recognition. This makes the document less searchable and less accurate.

OCR Discovery And Letters

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails