Merge scans and make them searchable
Combine scanned pages into one PDF and add an invisible text layer so you can search, select and copy the text.
This recipe: Combine into one PDF → OCR scanned pages · See other recipes or build your own
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What OCR adds
Scanned PDFs are just pictures of pages, so Ctrl+F finds nothing. The OCR step reads the text with Tesseract and places an invisible text layer on top of each page. The page looks the same, but you can now search, select and copy. Pages that already contain text are skipped.
Language and accuracy
Choose English, Korean, or both. "Normal (200 dpi)" is faster; "Precise (300 dpi)" helps with small print. Clean, straight scans give the best results. The language data (about 2–6 MB) is downloaded once from this site the first time.
How to use
- Check the steps and settings above. Add steps or change their order if needed.
- Drop or choose your PDF and photo files. You can reorder them in the file list.
- Press "Run all steps". Each step runs in turn and shows its result.
- Preview and download the finished PDF. Save combinations you use often with "Save as my recipe".
Good to know
- Everything runs in your browser's memory. Very many or very large files can be slow, so split them if needed.
- Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first with the PDF password remover.
- iPhone HEIC photos and HWP files can't be added directly. Convert them to JPG or PDF first.
Frequently asked questions
Does the page look different after OCR?
No. The text layer is invisible; only search and copy change.
Which languages are supported?
English and Korean, separately or together.
Is OCR always correct?
Not always. Blurry, tilted or handwritten pages can produce errors, so check important numbers.
Should I compress before or after OCR?
After, using "Normal". "Strong" compression turns pages into images and would remove the text layer.