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

See the prompt↓More convert workflows

AI prompts

3 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Extract text from this PDF and use [language(s)] for OCR.…+

Extract all text from this PDF and use [language(s)] for OCR detection.

when the reply comes backWould you like to translate the extracted text too?

BImprove — “do it better”Check if my OCR settings match the document's languages and suggest improvements.…+

Review my OCR settings and suggest how to improve accuracy for these document languages: [list languages].

when the reply comes backDo you want to save the recognized text in a new file?

CDecide — “help me choose”Help me choose the right language(s) for OCR in this file.…+

Based on this document, help me choose the best language(s) to use for OCR: [describe document or upload sample].

when the reply comes backNeed help with scanned images in other formats?

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.

Language SelectionThis lets you pick which language the OCR tool should look for.ExampleYou use the language selection menu to tell the OCR tool to scan for French text.

Multi-language SupportThis means the tool can read and understand more than one language at once.ExampleThe software automatically translated the document from English to Spanish and German.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

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

FAQ

about this task

In Adobe Acrobat, you can use OCR by selecting the 'Recognize Text' tool and then choosing the correct language or multiple languages before starting. This helps Acrobat understand and convert the text more accurately.

Multi-language support means that Adobe Acrobat can recognize and convert text from documents that contain more than one language, making it useful for mixed-language files.

Yes, you can extract text from a PDF with both English and Chinese by selecting both languages in the OCR settings before running text recognition.

Yes, choosing the correct language or languages for OCR usually gives better results because the tool knows what words and letters to expect, reducing mistakes.

Using language selection helps Acrobat recognize words and characters correctly, especially if your document is not in English or has more than one language.

Capture Invoices & POs

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails