Make a scanned PDF searchable
Written by Autonome. Updated 5 November 2026.
Why can't I search or copy text in a scanned PDF?
A scan is a picture of a page, so there are no words in it for search to find. OCR (optical character recognition) reads the picture and adds the words behind it. The page looks the same, but now you can search it, select text and copy it.
Autonome PDF's Make text searchable does this on your computer, in English, up to 20 pages at a time. Straight, clear scans read best.
- Words read on your computer, nothing uploaded.
- English, up to 20 pages at a time.
Make a scan searchable
Choose your scan and Make text searchable (OCR) opens. It reads the pages on your computer.
| Step | What you do | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open the scanned PDF | In your browser |
| 2 | Choose Make text searchable (OCR) | The reader loads the first time, then runs on your computer |
| 3 | Download | Now you can search, select and copy |
A pile of scanned dockets every week?
Inside Autonome, scanned supplier bills don't need OCR first: the invoice Flow reads scanned PDFs page by page, picks out the bill and checks the ABN before preparing the draft in Xero or MYOB.
See sending supplier bills to Xero or MYOB, the other Gadgets, or everything PDF Studio does.
Questions
Which languages does it read?
English, for now.
Is there a page limit?
Up to 20 pages at a time. Run it again for the next 20.
Are my scans uploaded?
No. The reading happens on your computer.
Try it on a week of your own admin.
14-day free trial. Your card is checked and nothing is charged for 14 days. Then A$193.50/mo ex GST for up to 50 people.
Look around first, no card