How do I make a scanned invoice searchable in Adobe Acrobat?

Open your scanned invoice in Acrobat. Go to 'All tools' > 'Scan & OCR' > 'In this file'. Set the page range and language. Click 'Recognize Text' to add a searchable layer. This lets you find words in your invoice easily.

What is 'renderable text' and why does it stop OCR from working?

Renderable text means the document already contains actual text characters, not just an image of text. OCR is designed to convert images of text into real text. If the page already has renderable text, OCR sees no image text to convert, so it gives an error. This ensures you don't try to OCR a document that is already searchable.

If my scanned purchase order is blurry, will OCR still work well?

If your scanned purchase order is blurry, OCR accuracy might be low. The clearer the scan, the better Acrobat can recognize the text. Try to rescan the document at a higher quality, ideally 300 dpi, to improve the chances of successful text recognition.

Why is it important to select the correct language before running OCR?

Selecting the correct language helps OCR recognize words more accurately. Different languages have unique letter shapes and common word patterns. If you choose the wrong language, Acrobat might misinterpret characters, leading to errors in the searchable text. Always pick the language of the document for the best results.

What is the difference between a scanned PDF and a native PDF when using OCR?

Feature Scanned PDF Native PDF. Origin Image of a document (like a photo) Created directly from a program (like Word) Searchable by default No, unless OCR is applied Yes, text is already selectable OCR needed Yes, to make text searchable No, OCR is not applicable

◆ Acrobat · convert

Capture Invoices & POs

Capture received invoices and purchase orders: combine supplier invoices, POs, and delivery notes into one searchable …

3ready prompts

1real task

4roles

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AI prompts

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AExecute — “help me do it”Show me how to use the Adobe PDF Services API to...…+

Show me how to use the Adobe PDF Services API to run OCR on a PDF and get the text result for [describe your PDF or use case].

when the reply comes backWant to see a sample code for your language?

BImprove — “do it better”How can I improve text recognition quality when using the OCR...…+

How can I improve text recognition quality when using the OCR feature of the Adobe PDF Services API for [describe your document or language]?

when the reply comes backNeed help with API authentication steps?

CDecide — “help me choose”Help me choose the right OCR settings in the API for...…+

Help me choose the right OCR settings in the Adobe PDF Services API for [describe your document type or goal].

when the reply comes backAsk about handling large or multi-page PDFs.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open your scanned PDF document in Adobe Acrobat.
2
Go to the Tools menu in the top left menu bar.
3
Select Scan & OCR from the list of tools.
4
In the Scan & OCR pane, click Recognize Text.
5
Choose In This File to apply OCR to the open document.
6
Click Recognize Text to start the OCR process.
7
Save the PDF to retain the searchable text layer.
Best practiceFor best OCR accuracy, scan your documents at 300 dpi and avoid extreme brightness settings.

In the appWith the API

After OCR, you can search, select, and copy text from your scanned PDF as if it were a normal document.

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.

APIA way for different software to talk to each other automatically.ExampleAn online store uses an API to automatically send shipping details to a delivery service.

EndpointA web address your code sends requests to for a specific job.ExampleThe app sends your payment details to a secure endpoint on the server to process the transaction.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

Capture received invoices and purchase orders in one searchable file for monthly bookkeeping.

FAQ

about this task

To run OCR, you send your PDF file to the OCR endpoint of the Adobe PDF Services API using your code. The API processes the file and gives you back a new PDF with searchable text, or the extracted text data, depending on your request.

OCR is needed when your PDF is made from scanned images or photos, because there is no actual text to extract. Regular text extraction only works if the PDF already has real text inside, not just pictures of words.

Yes, the API supports several languages for OCR. You can set the language option in your API request to get better results for non-English documents.

Automating OCR with the API lets you process many files quickly, build custom apps, and avoid manual work. It's useful if you need to handle lots of documents or want to add OCR to your own software.

You need to get API credentials from Adobe, then use those credentials in your code to get an access token. This token is sent with your requests so the API knows you are allowed to use it.

Capture Invoices & POs

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

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When it fails