How to OCR PDF to Text

Most of us are familiar with PDF documents as it is the generally accepted standard file format that is used for storing scanned documents and for exchanging them with others. The downside of PDF documents is that users are not able to copy, edit, or search through the text. This is where Optical Character Recognition proves itself to be invaluable.

How does OCR (Optical Character Recognition) Work?

Simply put, OCR is software that alters the way your computer or any other device you may be having processes PDF files. Instead of treating a PDF document as an image, OCR software enables your computer to read through the text. This then means that once you OCR PDF your PDF document will be converted into a format that is machine-readable and editable.

When Should I Use OCR to Work?

Whenever you have large volumes of PDF files and textual electronic images, the information contained within them is not editable and searchable, and therefore almost useless. That is why it is important to use OCR software to convert these into machine-readable data that you can work with and search through.

How to OCR PDF with CocoDoc?

The process used to convert PDF into OCR using Cocodocs is as follows:

Step 1:

Upload the document you would want to convert pdf into editable on to the platform. You can easily do this by dragging and dropping the files onto the platform. Additionally, you can also be able to upload files from OneDrive, DropBox, and Google Drive, or even share direct URLs of the files onto the platform.

Step 2:

Once you have opened the file, you will find that you are now provided with an editable copy of the PDF you had selected. You are now free to make use of the OCR for PDF editing tools that are provided on the platform. You can use these editing tools to make all the necessary and needed changes to the file in question.

Step 3:

Once you are done editing, the third and final step is to download the file onto your device. This new document containing all the changes that you had made to it will be downloaded and then you can save it for future use.

What are the Benefits of Using an OCR to PDF?

Speed

By quickly and effectively making it possible to convert PDF to editable documents, OCR removes the need for you to have to retype the text contained in the PDF document before you can use it. Therefore the effort and time that employees would have needed to put into retyping large volumes of information to extract it can now be channeled to focus on other activities in the office.

In fact, with OCR for PDF software, employees no longer have to make several trips back and forth from the central records to access various documents, as these can now be accessed right from their desks.

Cost Reduction

One important benefit of PDF OCR is that you as a business owner will not have to spend on hiring data entry clerks, and the costs that come along with them, to carry out data extraction. PDF text recognition software also aids in trimming other costs such as printing, copying, shipping, etc.

PDF text recognition software also makes it possible to save in terms of reclaimed office space which would otherwise have been utilized for storing large volumes of paper documents. It also eliminates scenarios where documents have been lost or misplaced and thus additional costs incurred to replace these.

High Accuracy

One of the major setbacks that come as a result of data entry is that of inaccuracy. However, by making use of OCR to extract text from PDF, errors and inaccuracies are reduced considerably. Simply put is that because there is no manpower utilized to extract data, issues that are likely to crop up such as accidentally keying in the wrong data can now be eliminated.

Superior Data Security

It is not unusual for paper documents to get stolen, lost, or destroyed by various elements such as pests, fire, or moisture. However, with the advent of OCR software to convert PDF into searchable text and storing these in digital formats such issues can be circumvented. Also, it becomes easier to minimize access to these digital documents and therefore sidestep situations where this data could be mishandled.

Makes Documents Searchable

Another major advantage of using OCR to recognize PDF is that the digitized formats of the documents become 100 percent completely searchable. This means that it will then become easier to look up various parameters such as names, addresses, numbers, etc.

Conclusion

Today, more than ever there is a need for documents to be scanned. However, with this need, comes the requirement for these documents to be viewed conveniently. Optical Character Recognition software makes it possible for these scanned documents to be converted quickly into searchable and editable text files.