How do I make sure Adobe Acrobat recognizes text accurately in my scanned document?

Scan your document at 300 dpi for the best clarity. Choose the correct language for the text before starting the OCR process. Make sure the scanned image is clear and not blurry.

What is the difference between scanning a document and recognizing text in a scanned PDF?

Action What it does Result. Scanning a document Turns a physical paper into a digital image file. An image-only PDF (you cannot search for text). Recognizing text (OCR) Analyzes the image of text and converts it into machine-readable text. A searchable PDF (you can search for text within the document).

Paper Discovery Needs OCR Fast in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

CDecide — “help me choose”We received a bankers box of discovery and the junior associate wants to search it tomorrow but…+

We received a bankers box of discovery and the junior associate wants to search it tomorrow but it's all paper. I can scan and OCR overnight but I worry about misreads and poor quality. Tell me the fastest acceptable OCR approach that balances speed and accuracy, what QC checks I must run before handing it to the associate, and a short note I can attach saying which portions may need manual review.

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 your scanned PDF document in Adobe Acrobat.
2
Go to the Tools menu and select Recognize Text.
3
In the Recognize Text dialog, choose Recognize Text in This File.
4
Set the language and other OCR settings as needed.
CautionFor best OCR accuracy, source scans should be at least 300 dpi.
5
Click Recognize Text to start the OCR process.
6
To export as plain text, go to File > Export To > Text.
7
To export as an editable Word document, go to File > Export To > Microsoft Word.
8
Choose your save location and complete the export.
Best practiceReview the exported text or Word file for formatting or recognition errors, especially with complex layouts or handwriting.

In the appWith the API

After OCR, you can search, select, and copy text directly from your scanned PDF before exporting.

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 searchable layer is hidden text that Acrobat adds to a scanned document. This lets you search for words in the document.

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.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

A box of paper discovery arrived and the team needs searchable text before tomorrow's research session.

FAQ

about this task

Scan your document at 300 dpi for the best clarity.
Choose the correct language for the text before starting the OCR process.
Make sure the scanned image is clear and not blurry.

The main benefit is that your scanned PDF becomes searchable. This means you can easily find specific words or phrases in the document, just like you would in a regular text file. It saves a lot of time compared to reading through every page.

No, Adobe Acrobat's OCR feature is designed for image-only pages. If a page already has renderable text, the OCR process will fail. You will get an error message. It's important to only use OCR on pages that are purely images of text.

Choosing the correct language tells Acrobat which dictionary and character sets to use. This helps the OCR engine accurately identify words and letters specific to that language. If the wrong language is chosen, the text recognition will be much less accurate, leading to errors in the searchable text.

Action	What it does	Result
Scanning a document	Turns a physical paper into a digital image file.	An image-only PDF (you cannot search for text).
Recognizing text (OCR)	Analyzes the image of text and converts it into machine-readable text.	A searchable PDF (you can search for text within the document).

Paper Discovery Needs OCR Fast

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails