Make Searchable (OCR)

A scanned document is really just a picture of a page. You can see the words, but the computer can't — so you can't search it or select its text. Make Searchable fixes that with OCR (optical character recognition — the computer reading the text in the image) and adds an invisible text layer, all on your own machine.

How to do it

1. Open the scanned PDF.
2. Click Make Searchable (OCR) in the Tools panel.
3. Wait while it works — you'll see it move through Starting, Processing, and Verifying.
4. When it says Searchable — verified, use Save (or Save As) to keep the searchable version.

What to know

• It runs on your computer. The text recognition happens locally, with a built-in toolchain. Your pages are never uploaded.
• The page looks the same. OCR adds a hidden text layer behind the image — it doesn't alter how the document looks. Afterward you can search it and select text.
• It checks its own work. RaioPDF confirms a real, readable text layer was actually added. If OCR comes up empty, it leaves your document unchanged and tells you, rather than handing you a file that isn't really searchable.
• You only need it for scans. A PDF that already has real text is searchable as-is.