Sometimes, we need to extract the content from the scanned PDF files to text, and that's when PDF to text OCR functionality comes in very handy. OCR acronym for Optical Character Recognition. Many PDF programs come with the OCR feature, which makes scanned PDF documents searchable and editable.
When it comes to selecting the best scanning software for Mac, you can rely on VueScan. The free application is simple to use and supports over 2800 scanners that work on various operating systems. In addition, VueScan allows you to preview scanned documents in various formats, including JPEG, TIFF, and PDF. Free OCR Scanning v.3.1 FreeOCR is a totaly free Scanning and OCR program it very accurate and can OCR PDF files. MIE Exhange B2B Software v.2010-2 MIE Exchange Request For Quotes (RFQ), Bids, Bid Management, Purchase Orders.
Part of why OCR software can edit scanned documents is due to Character Recognition Software. This is what allows OCR software to both recognize and edit text on a page; this software can translate the text from a scanned document into something recognizable by a computer as text. Top 4 OCR Software For Mac. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC - For scanning documents. OmniPage Ultimate - OCR scanning for professionals. Abbyy FineReader - For small business. Readiris - Cost-effective. Nowadays, most companies are looking for ways to cut down on paper and digitize documents.
If it's your very first time looking for the best free PDF OCR solution out there, we can understand how challenging it can be. But no worries!! This post will introduce the top free PDF OCR tools and how to OCR a PDF on Windows and Mac.
- Best Free PDF OCR Software for Windows and Mac
- Best 3 Free PDF OCR Online Tools
- How to OCR a PDF Without Effort?
- More Answers About Free PDF OCR Solutions
Best Free PDF OCR Software for Windows and Mac
There is abundant third-party software on Windows and Mac. Come and find the best tool for you to OCR a PDF.
EaseUS PDF Editor
EaseUS PDF Editor is an excellent PDF OCR software. This program can recognize and convert image-based PDF to an editable format and accurately detect and convert as many as 29 languages, such as English, French, German, Japanese, etc.
What's more, this Windows PDF editor enables you to edit and manage your PDF files like below:
- Insert, delete, reorder, extract, crop, or rotate PDF pages with ease
- Add comment, lines, or highlight PDF documents
- Add or remove password from PDF
- Sign your PDF effortlessly
Want to explore more information? Just click the below button to get it. And there is a tutorial that guides you to OCR a PDF using this tool, and you can follow it to use the OCR feature easily.
Step 1. Click Create and choose From file from the top left corner
If you want to OCR from an existing PDF file, click from the File option on the top left corner to start the process.
Step 2. Click OCR on the toolbar
After clicking OCR on the menu, select the language, then wait for a couple of seconds.
Step 3. Edit your PDF as you wish
You can use crop, rotate, combine, etc. features according to your needs. There are several features, and it allows you to manage this process easily and effortlessly.
Step 4. Click Save to keep the changes
When you are finished with editing, click save to keep the changes. You can also click save as and type a new file name if you want to keep the old version unchanged.
Adobe Acrobat DC
With its OCR functionality, you can easily convert your scanned PDFs or images into editable and searchable documents. It can perform OCR on PDFs that contain vector art, images, hidden text, or a blend of these elements.
Above all, the OCR tool in Adobe Acrobat DC offers many editing features, including text recognition, combining files, adding comments, and more.
Pros:
- Support cutting and pasting the text into other apps
- Work with many languages
- Accurately match fonts
- A free trial is available
Cons:
- Lots of features can overwhelm beginners
URL: https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat/how-to/ocr-software-convert-pdf-to-text.html
PDF OCR X
You can also count on PDF OCR X to help you convert scanned PDF documents into searchable PDFs or text documents with ease. It comes with advanced OCR functionality to extract the text from PDFs, even if it is in an image.
Above all, this PDF OCR-free solution is exclusively designed to handle PDFs created using a scan-to-PDF tool.
Pros:
- Drag and drop functionality to upload documents
- Able to convert PDFs to both text or searchable PDFs
- Support JPEG, PNG, BMP, and more image formats
- Support more than 60 languages
Cons:
- Lack editing features
URL: https://solutions.weblite.ca/pdfocrx/index.php
Readiris
When looking for a PDF to Word OCR solution, Readris serves the purpose best. Supporting both Windows and Mac, the tool can convert PDFs, texts, and images in a scanned document to modify in the format of your preference, including Word.
Its new added features such as a new recognition engine, new user interface, and faster document management make it even more remarkable as a PDF OCR solution or even more.
Pros:
- Various editing features are available
- User-friendly interface
- Open files faster
Cons:
- Lack a forever-free version
URL: https://www.irislink.com/zh-Hans-chn/c1810/IRIS---The-World-leader-in-OCR--PDF-and-Portable-scanner.aspx?
PDFMate PDF Converter
PDFMate PDF Converter entails advanced OCR technology that can help you convert PDFs to editable documents without any hassle. You can extract images and text from image-based PDFs and convert them into selectable and editable text or work files.
Besides the OCR functionality, the software has so much to offer, such as merging and creating PDF, encrypted converted files, customizing layout, and more.
Pros:
- Convert scanned documents to editable ones with OCR
- Support converting PDF to TXT, DOC, and other formats
- Add permission password to documents
- Simple and easy to use
Cons:
- Some crash problems during conversion processes
URL: https://www.pdfmate.com/pdf-converter-free.html
Best 3 Free PDF OCR Online Tools
For those who aren't willing to download software on the computer, the online OCR tools in this section may be the best choices.
OnlineOCR.net
Suppose you don't want to install any program on your system for PDF to word OCR, no worries. With OnlineOCR.net, you can get the job done without installing any tool on your computer. It can recognize characters and text from scanned PDF and convert them into the editable doc format.
It is a completely free PDF OCR online service that even comes with a guest mode, which implies there is no need to register to use it.
Pros:
- Support converting scanned PDFs to editable DOC format
- Work even without registration
- Convert PDF to Word, text, or excel format
- Support many languages
Cons:
- Support file size maximum up to 15 MB
URL: https://www.onlineocr.net/
ABBYY FineReader Online
ABBYY FineReader Online is another online OCR tool designed to help scan and convert PDF documents into Word and many other editable formats. It even supports import and export documents to cloud storage services such as OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
The tool will keep converted files in the cloud for around 14 days, giving you enough time to download and share your files during the period.
Pros:
- Support many input and output file formats
- Export a converted document to popular cloud storage services
- Easy to use
- Able to convert scanned PDF to text OCR
Cons:
- Require registration
URL: https://finereaderonline.com/en-us/Tasks/Create
PDF2Go
PDF2Go is also an amazing PDF OCR online tool you can use to convert scanned files to text so that you can edit with ease. You can drag and drop your file or upload it from cloud storage. With PDF2Go, you don't have to copy the text manually, as this PDF OCR free tool will handle this job for you.
Above all, it works with all web browsers out there.
Pros:
- Convert scanned documents to word with OCR
- Support both DOC & DOCX and text format
- Work on a smartphone as well
- No registration is required
Cons:
- Lack support for uploading a file from the OneDrive service
URL: https://www.pdf2go.com/pdf-to-word
How to OCR a PDF?
As mentioned above, we'll help you learn how to OCR a PDF on Windows and Mac, and it's time. We will use Adobe Acrobat DC to walk you through how to OCR a scanned PDF to have an editable copy of your document.
Step 1. In Adobe Acrobat for PC or Mac, open your scanned PDF file.
Step 2. Tap 'Edit PDF' in the right place. The Adobe Acrobat will automatically perform OCR to your file and make it editable.
Step 3. Tap the text element you would like to edit and begin typing.
Step 4. Finally, select 'File' > 'Save As' and enter a new name for your editable file.
Conclusion
That's all on PDF OCR free tools. We have covered tools that really help to OCR a PDF to word or text on Windows and Mac with ease.
It's time for you to make a selection. Our advice is to pick EaseUS PDF Editor to get the job done.
Free PDF OCR Solutions FAQs
If you still have problems with the PDF OCR feature, those FAQs may help you.
1. How to OCR my PDF to word?
For PDF to word OCR, all you need to do is upload your scanned PDF document and choose the output file format as Word/DOC/DOCX while using any PDF OCR tool.
2. How to OCR my PDF to editable text?
Like PDF to word OCR, you need to select an output file format as .txt while using any PDF OCR tool to PDF to text OCR.
3. How to OCR my PDF to Excel?
The best way to OCR your PDF to excel is to use an online OCR service like ABBYY FineReader Online. It will provide you with an option to choose '.xlsx' as your output format.
Free OCR Software for Mac – OCR Software for Macintosh:
OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. You need an OCR Software for Mac to convert scanned images & documents into editable text formats. Whether it is your business agreement or purchase/sale invoices, you can scan them on Mac to get in digital format. Thereafter you need to convert them to PDF, text or other format for editing purposes. An OCR Software for Mac is useful to extract text from Image & PDF and convert them to searchable PDF or text documents.
Contents
For Windows users, Neat suggests installing the free NAPS2 scanning software or using Windows Fax and Scan, while Mac users may work with Apple's built-in Image Capture tool to scan items directly to your Mac without first going through Neat's organizational software. Smile Software has come up with two PDF editor versions for Mac – PDFpen and PDFpen Pro. The standard version is pretty neat and will meet almost every PDF-related requirement of yours. You can easily edit the existing text or tabular content of a PDF file. Seamless solutions to merge, delete, and split pages of PDF documents.
- 1 Best Free OCR Software for Mac
Best Free OCR Software for Mac
There are many OCR Software available for Mac OS, some software are free and some are paid. It is really tough to know which OCR software for Mac you should choose. Because the accuracy of OCR software is more important than other features and design. We have conducted a research to find out some best and free OCR software for Mac, such software list is mentioned below:
- PDF OCR X Community Edition
- Microsoft OneNote OCR
- OCR Documents in Google Drive
- LEADTOOLS OCR App
- Evernote App
- Tesseract OCR
- OCR.Space
- Online OCR
- Convertio OCR
- OCRmyPDF
Let us discuss each of the above OCR Software for Mac in detail and explain their features to know which software is suitable for you.
01. PDF OCR X Community Edition
PDF OCR X Community Edition is a free OCR Software for Mac System. This app is developed by the Web Line Solutions Corporation to help the Mac users. You can convert scanned document and image files to text documents and searchable PDF formats.
Best Ocr For Mac
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PDF OCR X Community Edition has a simple drag and drop feature to quickly convert the scanned files into editable text formats. You must have the scanned file in PDF or image format to use PDF OCR X App and convert them into an editable format.
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PDF OCR X App uses advanced OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to extract the text from PDF even if that text is contained in an image. It supports more than 60 languages including English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Japanese and many others.
02. Microsoft OneNote OCR
OneNote is a digital notebook application developed by Microsoft Corporation. It is useful to create your own notes for personal and business purposes. In addition, Microsoft OneNote also works for converting images files to searchable documents or text files. You can easily insert the PDF, Picture or File Attachment to OneNote and copy text from picture to get your file in an editable format.
OneNote allows the user to create, edit, save and share notes through various platforms and devices. It supports picture, PDF document and attachment files for OCR procedure. You can use OneDrive or SharePoint to access your notes from iPhone, iPad and other devices.
Ocr Scanning Software Mac
You can instantly extract text from an image by using “Copy text from picture” option in OneNote. The converted files will be in editable formats and searchable PDF for your convenience to edit and prepare it as per your requirement.
03. OCR Documents in Google Drive
Google Drive is a web storage service provided by Google. But very few people know that Google Drive also contains OCR feature. With the help of Google Drive OCR Feature, You can convert any image or PDF file into an editable document. This service is available for free to all the users who have signed into their Google Account and have a working internet connection.
Upload multiple document, image files to Google Drive and open them with Google Docs to convert them to editable text files. It is the easiest way to OCR documents on Mac without using any OCR software.
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Google Drive automatically detects document language and it supports JPEG, PNG, GIF and PDF formats. After conversion, it will retain the bold, italics, font size, font type and line breaks of the text.
04. LEADTOOLS OCR App
LEADTOOLS OCR App is best free OCR Software for Mac Users. It is a free application to perform optical character recognition on images. The OCR App by LEADTOOLS is developed by LEAD Technologies, Inc. for Mac OS X 10.10 or later. It can extract text from images and convert images to various document formats. It keeps superior accuracy and speed while extracting & copying text from and image for editing & sharing.
The OCR App by LEADTOOLS can convert and export images to various document formats such as PDF, DOCX, Text, SVG and many more. It can read Images in different languages in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.
LEADTOOLS OCR App offers various options to optimize text recognition, including Invert, Rotate, Image Binarization and Perspective Deskew. It provides fine tuned control over the OCR Engine Settings so that you can customize how your images are recognized.
05. Evernote App
Evernote is a multi-platform application developed by the Evernote Corporation. The Evernote App helps you to capture your ideas and projects. You can OCR images to convert them into searchable text formats. It is capable to extract text from typewritten and handwritten notes, photos of white boards, Post-It notes and to-do lists.
Evernote can identify 28 typewritten and 11 handwritten languages. You can choose which language to use from Recognition Language Setting. It can find words in handwritten notes, photos of white boards, Post-It notes and to-do lists that you scan into Evernote.
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Evernote provides Automatic Sync option that allows you to leave your work from Mac and continue the same on your iPhone or iPad. It can convert the PDF document and Image files to a text file or other document for editing purpose.
Ocr Programs For Mac
06. Tesseract OCR
Tesseract OCR is a free OCR Engine developed by Google for Mac OS, Windows and Linux. It was originally created by Ray Smith and Hewlett Packard. It is not an OCR App and therefore you cannot use it as you operate other OCR software on Mac. You have to open Command line interface on your Mac to use Tesseract OCR to convert an image file into text format.
Ocr Scanner For Mac
In 2006, Tesseract OCR was declared as the most accurate OCR software available in market. It comes with more than 100 languages support including English, Afrikaans, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and many more.
Tesseract is operated from command line interface and therefore it is very easy to use OCR engine for developers. If you are a developer, you can train Tesseract to recognize other languages.
07. OCR.Space
OCR.Space is a free online OCR tool powered by the OCR API. It can convert the images and PDF files into texts. You don’t need to download any app to use OCR.Space on your Mac computer. Just connect the Mac to internet and open Ocr.Space site in a web browser. You can also use the simple drag & drop feature to quickly extract text from image and see its overlay.
Ocr Scanner Software Mac
OCR.Space can convert PDF Document, JPG Image and PNG Image files to Searchable PDF with visible or invisible text layer. You can select OCR document language from the list of 24 languages supported by OCR.Space Online OCR Tool.
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The OCR.Space automatically detects the orientation of image and rotate the image if required before OCR conversion is processed. When DPI is low, you should turn on Auto Enlarge Content option. Turn on Receipt Scanning to recognize table from Image.
08. Online OCR
Online OCR is a free online OCR service with various languages support. You can easily extract text from PDF and Images with help of this Online OCR Software. In order to convert PDF or Image to Text Document, you will have to upload your file to OnlineOCR.Net. After uploading the file, you need to choose language, output format and finally give convert order to proceed.
Online OCR supports recognition of 46 languages such as English, Brazilian, Chinese, Greek, Latin, Korean, Spanish, Turkish and many more. You can upload any Image with maximum file size of 15 MB which is much higher than 2 MB or 5 MB limits by other OCR software.
Industry thank you. The Online OCR is able to convert Image to Text for various input formats like PDF, TIF/TIFF, JPEG/JPG, BMP, PCX, PNG and GIF. You can convert your Image file into Word Document (docx), Excel Document (xlsx) and Plain Text (txt).
09. Convertio OCR
Free Ocr Scanning Software For Mac Software
Convertio OCR is an online optical character recognition tool for Mac and other computer users. It is able to convert scanned documents and images to text and editable document formats. You can upload image or document from your Mac, Dropbox, Google Drive or paste the file link in URL option. Thereafter you need to select document language(s) and output format & settings to recognize it in Convertio OCR.
Convertio OCR supports various file formats such as PDF, JPG, BMP, GIF, JP2, JPEG, PBM, PCX, PGM, PNG, PPM, TGA, TIFF and WBMP. It can recognize various languages and it can recognize multiple languages in one image to convert it to editable text format.
You should install Convertio extension to your Mac Chrome Browser for using Convertio OCR Tool without visiting its website. Convert your Image File to 11 different formats including Word Document, Excel Workbook, PowerPoint Presentation, Searchable PDF, Text Document and others.
10. OCRmyPDF
Ocr Software For Mac Free
OCRmyPDF is a free online tool for optical character recognition. It recognizes PDF document in more than 100 languages. You need to install OCRmyPDF tool on your Mac to use it for converting regular PDF files to searchable PDF files. It optimizes the input PDF files and produces files smaller in size than earlier. It keeps the exact resolution of original embedded images.
OCRmyPDF places OCR text accurately below the image to make the copy and paste easier for the Mac user. It can deskew the crooked PDF files to clean them before converting to searchable PDF/A files.
The OCRmyPDF keeps the exact resolution of embedded images to maintain their original quality and appearance after conversion. It recognizes more than 100 languages and also scales properly to handle files with thousands of pages.
Final Opinion:
All the information mentioned above about Free OCR Software for Mac is true and fair. All OCR Tools and Software are working great on Mac computer. You should choose the OCR Software which is suitable to use and meets all your needs.