Advanced OCR - How To Guide

Learn how to use advanced ocr. 100% free, no installation required.

OCR turns a scan into a document you can actually search and copy from. The difference between a good result and a poor one is decided mostly before you press start, by the quality of the scan and the language you select.

  1. Upload Files

    Add the scanned PDF or photograph. Recognition runs in your browser, so the document is not uploaded.

  2. Set Options

    Select the language of the text — this has a large effect on accuracy — and choose the output you want, such as a searchable PDF or plain text.

  3. Download

    Run the recognition and download the result. A searchable PDF looks identical but has a text layer underneath.

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Tips & Best Practices

  • 300 DPI is the practical minimum for reliable recognition. Below 200 DPI accuracy drops sharply.
  • Straighten the page and avoid shadows. Skew and uneven lighting cause more errors than anything else.
  • Pick the right language before running. Recognising Korean text with an English model produces nonsense.
  • Handwriting is not reliably recognised. OCR is built for printed text.