PDF image to text converter
An image PDF is a stack of pictures in a document wrapper — you can see the words but not select them. OCRphoto reads the pages and hands the text back so you can search, copy, and reuse it.
First extraction free · no account needed · your file is deleted after it is read
First check whether the PDF is really an image.
Try selecting a sentence in your PDF. If the words cannot be selected or searched, the file probably contains page images and needs OCR. If text is already selectable, copying it directly may preserve more structure.
A PDF to text converter rebuilds reading order from the visible page. Columns, tables, stamps, and handwritten notes may need correction after extraction, so keep the source open while reviewing the result.
Where this one earns its keep
Scanned and photographed documents
Archived papers, forms, and receipts
PDF pages with no text layer
One file in, one block of text out
project-brief.pdf
PROJECT BRIEF Audience: independent retailers Launch window: Q3
Image PDF, scanned PDF, photo PDF — one problem
These names all describe the same file. Somewhere along the way a page was photographed or scanned, and the picture was saved inside a PDF instead of as a JPG or PNG. The document opens normally, the words are perfectly legible to you, and none of them can be selected, searched, or copied, because as far as the file is concerned there is no text on the page at all.
A thirty-second test settles it. Open the PDF and try to drag-select a sentence. If a highlight follows your cursor, the file already has a text layer and you can copy from it directly — faster and more faithful than any OCR. If nothing highlights, or the whole page selects as one block, you have an image PDF and it needs to be read rather than copied.
Mixed files are common and behave the way you would hope: a report with typed pages and a scanned signature page, or a form with printed fields and a photographed attachment. Every page goes through the same pass, so you do not have to split the document by hand first.
What you get back is text, not a searchable PDF
This is worth being plain about, because a lot of people arrive looking to turn an image PDF into a text PDF — a file that looks identical but has an invisible searchable layer underneath. OCRphoto does not produce that. It returns the words as plain, editable text that you copy or download as a .txt file.
For most reasons people reach for a converter, plain text is the thing they actually wanted: pulling figures out of a scanned invoice, quoting a paragraph from an archived report, getting a form into a spreadsheet, or making an old document searchable by pasting it somewhere searchable. If you specifically need the original page images with a text layer welded on, a dedicated PDF editor is the right tool and this is not it.
Converting a PDF image to text
There is nothing to install and nothing to configure. The whole flow is:
- Check whether the text is already selectable — if it is, copy it directly instead.
- Upload the PDF, up to 10 MB. Scanned, photographed, and mixed documents are all fine.
- Wait for the pages to be read; longer documents take proportionally longer.
- Review the result, then copy it or download it as a .txt file.
Where PDF OCR needs a second look
Reading order is rebuilt from the visible page, which is exact for ordinary prose and approximate for anything laid out in two dimensions. Multi-column pages, tables, sidebars, stamps, and handwritten margin notes are the places where the text arrives in an order the original never had. Keep the PDF open beside the result when the layout is complicated.
Scan quality sets the ceiling, exactly as it does for a photo. A skewed page, a heavy JPEG-compressed scan, or a document faxed twice will all read worse than a clean 300 DPI original. If the source is a photograph of a screen or a page, the advice on the photo to text page applies before the file ever becomes a PDF.
For a handwritten or part-handwritten document, handwriting to text covers what to expect from the writing itself.
Common questions about pdf to text
Clear, well-lit text gives the model more signal. These are the details that matter for this format.
How do I convert a PDF image to text?
Upload the PDF — up to 10 MB — and OCRphoto reads the page images and returns the words as editable text you can copy or download. Nothing to install, and the first extraction is free.
Can I OCR a scanned PDF?
Yes. Scanned, photographed, and mixed PDFs all go through the same document-aware OCR pass, page by page.
Can it turn an image PDF into a searchable text PDF?
No. The result is plain, editable text rather than a PDF with an invisible text layer added underneath. For that specific job, a dedicated PDF editor is the right tool.
Does PDF to text work on a PDF with selectable text?
It works, but it is built as the fallback for page images. If you can already drag-select the words, copying them directly preserves more structure and is faster.
Will a multi-page PDF keep page breaks?
The result keeps readable line breaks and adds page separators when the source makes them clear.
What about tables and multi-column pages?
Reading order is rebuilt from the visible page, so columns, tables, and sidebars may need rearranging afterward. Keep the original open while you review.
Can I extract text from a handwritten PDF?
Yes. Upload it the same way — see the handwriting to text page for what to expect from the writing itself.
Another file, another page
PDF to text, without the retyping
Your first extraction is free and does not need an account.