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3 June 2024  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
Learn pdf text recognition by using OCR technology. This will enable you to search, edit, and extract content from scanned or image-based PDF files.



I. How to recognize text in PDF?

pdf text recognition
If you want to recognize PDF text content, it is best to use software with OCR technology, because OCR technology can avoid typesetting confusion or content loss during text recognition. Now let’s learn the specific operation steps.

1. Use Renee PDF Aide to identify PDF text content

What is Renee PDF Aide ?
Renee PDF Aide is a multifunctional tool for PDF editing and format conversion. It integrates advanced OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, converting scanned PDFs into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Image, HTML, and TXT formats. You can convert entire documents or specified pages quickly, with speeds up to 80 pages per minute. The software is user-friendly and versatile, allowing for optimization and editing of specific PDF pages, repairing damaged files, optimizing large file loading times, splitting multi-page files, combining pages, adjusting display angles, and more. Additionally, it can encrypt/decrypt PDFs and add various watermarks.
Renee PDF Aide supports converting texts in multiple languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. In OCR mode, selecting the appropriate recognition language greatly enhances character recognition accuracy. The conversion efficiency is very high, making it easy for even computer beginners to use.
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How to recognize text with the help of Renee PDF Aide’s OCR technology?
Renee PDF Aide has two functions: basic editing of PDF files and converting PDF files into other common formats. Let’s explore how to use Renee PDF Aide’s OCR technology for PDF text recognition.
Step 1: Download and install Renee PDF Aide, run the software, and select the “Convert PDF” option.
select to convert pdf with renee pdf converter
Step 2: On the format conversion page, select the desired format for the PDF file, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, EPUB, TXT, or HTML. Click the “Add File” button to import the PDF files into Renee PDF Aide. Enable the “Enable OCR” option to enhance text recognition during conversion.
how to edit a scanned pdf set before converting with renee pdf converter
Instructions for enabling OCR technology:
  • A. Recognize text in images or scanned PDFs. This option can recognize text in pictures or PDF scans, and the accuracy of text recognition can be further improved with the help of OCR technology.
  • B. Recognize embedded fonts (to avoid garbled codes). This option applies to the situation where there are built-in fonts in the PDF source file, which can avoid garbled characters after the format conversion is completed.
Step 3: Click the Convert button to recognize the PDF text and convert the format. The result will be saved to the preset location in your chosen file format for subsequent editing.
enable ocr to recognize characters accurately in renee pdf aide

2. Use Adobe Acrobat Pro software to identify PDF text content

Adobe Acrobat Pro is reliable PDF editing software developed by Adobe. It offers comprehensive operations on PDF files, from creation to editing, with a simple and practical user interface. You can annotate, share, manage, compress, print, protect, and intelligently search documents. It is among the top PDF editors available.
After installing Adobe Acrobat Pro, open the PDF file via “File” – “Open” (Ctrl+O). Adobe Acrobat will automatically apply OCR to make the PDF editable. You can then edit, merge, collaborate, secure, sign, and annotate the file using the menu bar functions. Once done, go to “File” – “Export” and choose an editable format like Word or text.
save pdf acrobat

II. Summary

We introduced two methods to recognize PDF text content: using Adobe Acrobat Pro or Renee PDF Aide. Both employ OCR technology for accurate text recognition. Renee PDF Aide has a lower operating threshold, offers high-usage, compact functions, and runs quickly. In contrast, Adobe Acrobat Pro is less user-friendly for novices and includes many rarely used editing functions, making it more complex. Therefore, we recommend using Renee PDF Aide for PDF text recognition.