How to OCR a Scanned PDF for Free
To OCR a scanned PDF for free, open it in Gold PDF and press Recognize text (Ctrl+Shift+O). The text is recognised on your computer, saved as an invisible layer, and the PDF becomes searchable and editable.
Quick steps
- Open the scanned PDF. Gold PDF tells you a page has no text layer.
- Press Ctrl+Shift+O or choose Edit → Recognize text.
- Wait for the progress bar; each page is processed locally.
- Save the PDF. It is now searchable.
Languages
English and Hebrew are bundled and work offline. For other languages, Gold PDF downloads a small language model the first time you use it and then remembers it. Choose the OCR language in Settings, or leave it on Auto, which follows your interface language.
Getting better results
- Scan at 300 dpi, upright, with good contrast.
- Remove shadows and skew before scanning.
- Check numbers and names after recognition.
- Fix errors with Edit text (E).
After OCR
Search inside the scan with Ctrl+F, edit lines, or redact sensitive items. See how to make a scanned PDF searchable and OCR a PDF.
Frequently asked questions
What is OCR?
Optical character recognition turns pictures of text into real, searchable text.
Does Gold PDF OCR work offline?
English and Hebrew work fully offline. Other languages download a small model the first time.
Why is my OCR inaccurate?
Low resolution, skewed pages and handwriting reduce accuracy; use clear 300 dpi scans.
Gold PDF — the free PDF editor for Windows
Edit text, redact for real, OCR scans, fill forms, sign and protect. Offline, no account, no watermark.