How to Make a Searchable PDF Document
To make an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) document searchable, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) must be enabled on the document, and the document re-saved. OCR functionality is available in the Adobe Acrobat application. Using Acrobat, characters within the scanned PDF file, which is basically saved as an image, are examined and converted to text characters by the OCR engine. Converting image characters into text allows the text within the document to be searchable. Also, converting to text characters allows the PDF text to be read by screen readers, making the document accessible to all.
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Instructions
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Open the PDF document in the Adobe Acrobat application.
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Click the “Document” option from the top navigation bar.
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Select “Recognize Text Using OCR” from the context menu.
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Click “Start."
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Select “Current Page” or specify the pages to perform OCR recognition.
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Click “OK.” The OCR engine will proceed through the document and convert any characters recognized as text. When the OCR engine is unable to complete a conversion, a dialog box appears to query the user about the entry. For each such entry, type the correct text and click “OK.” Repeat until all text has been recognized.
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Save the document by clicking “File” and then “Save As” from the top navigation menu.
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Type a new name for the searchable PDF document.
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Open the document in Adobe Acrobat or Reader to verify.
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Tips & Warnings
The OCR function may also be performed during the document scanning process using the Adobe Acrobat application.
