Convert PDF to text: with and without OCR

1 min read·25 July 2026

Converting a PDF to searchable or copyable text works in two ways: extract directly if the PDF has a text layer, or use OCR if the PDF is a scan. PDFrust supports both methods in the browser.

When do you need OCR?

A scanned PDF contains only an image of the text, no actual text. You cannot search or copy anything from it. OCR (optical character recognition) analyses the image and recognises the text, making it copyable and searchable.

Direct text extraction

PDFs that were originally created as digital documents (Word, Excel, InDesign) already have a text layer. Use the PDF-to-text tool on PDFrust to extract all text with one click.

PDF to text

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OCR in PDFrust

Have a scanned PDF? Use the OCR tool in PDFrust. Powered by Tesseract, works entirely in your browser. Upload the PDF, choose the document language, and start OCR. The recognised text appears on screen ready to copy.

OCR accuracy

Good scans (300 dpi, straight text, good contrast) deliver accurate OCR results. Poor scans (skewed text, stains, low resolution) produce errors. Correct any mistakes manually after the OCR.