PDF to Text Conversion (Optical Character Recognition)
PDF to Text Conversion (Optical Character Recognition)
Some Portable Document Format (PDF) files are created using a scanner or copier and saved as images. If a PDF image file contains text, you are required to convert the PDF to text so that the PDF is searchable and compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers.
Note: When creating a PDF file, it is always best to start with a Microsoft Word document that is searchable and compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers and export to a PDF file.
To determine if a PDF is text-based and searchable, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat DC and use your mouse to select text on the page. If you cannot select a line of text with your mouse, the PDF is an image file and needs to be converted to text.
To convert a PDF to text:
Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat DC.
From the menu select View, click Tools, click Scan & OCR, click Open.
From the menu select Scan & OCR, click Recognize Text, click In this file.
When the process is complete, select File and click Save.