How to Use Adobe Acrobat OCR Feature[A Detailed Guide]

The Adobe Acrobat OCR feature is considered one of the top OCR solutions available. However, a subscription to Adobe Acrobat Pro is required to access the OCR tool and is not cheap.

There are also other PDF editors and readers that offer OCR capabilities. PDFgear is recommended as a free alternative with a range of premium features including the OCR.

Does Adobe Reader Have OCR Feature

No, Adobe Reader does not have an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature. Adobe Reader, also known as Adobe Acrobat Reader, is a free application primarily used for viewing, printing, and annotating PDF files. It does not include the advanced features found in Adobe Acrobat Pro, such as the ability to edit PDFs or perform OCR on scanned documents.

For OCR capabilities, you would need to use Adobe Acrobat Pro or another PDF editing software that includes OCR functionality. Adobe Acrobat Pro is a paid version of Adobe’s software suite that offers a wide range of features, including the ability to convert scanned documents into editable and searchable PDFs using OCR technology.

How to OCR in Adobe Acrobat Pro Step-by-Step

Adobe Acrobat OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is a feature in Adobe Acrobat Pro that allows users to convert scanned documents, images, and PDFs into editable and searchable text.

To perform OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on a PDF using Adobe Acrobat Pro, follow these steps:

Step 1. Open a scanned PDF document in Adobe Acrobat.

Step 2. Click on the “Tools” tab and then “Edit PDF“. Adobe Acrobat automatically enables OCR, making the PDF editable.

Step 3. Make necessary edits to the text, font, and size.

Step 4. Save the edited document with a new name and location.

How to Use Adobe Acrobat OCR Alternative

PDFgear is presented as a full-fledged PDF editing tool with features like adding and removing PDF text, annotating, and commenting on the PDF. It offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Adobe Acrobat, especially for users who primarily need OCR functionality.

With the OCR feature, you can extract unselectable text from an image-based PDF. It supports over 10 popular languages, including English, French, and Italian. Additionally, it allows users to capture any section of a PDF page to extract the text using OCR technology.

Step 1. Open the PDF File

Launch the PDFgear application on your computer. Click on the “Open File” option.

Select the PDF file you want to extract text from and click “Open.”

Step 2. Activate OCR Feature

Look for the “OCR” feature, it can be found in the “Home” tab. Click on “OCR” to activate the text recognition feature.

Step 3. Select Text to Extract

Use your mouse to highlight/select the text you want to extract from the PDF.

Release the mouse button once the desired text is selected. Click on the “Done” button to process.

Step 4. Copy or Save the Extract Text

You can select the language of the original document for a better OCR result.

Choose to either copy the text to the clipboard or save it as a TXT file. If saving, specify the file name and location, then click “Save.”

You’ve successfully extracted text from a PDF using PDFgear OCR.

How to Use Adobe Acrobat OCR: FAQs

How many languages does Adobe Acrobat OCR support?

Adobe Acrobat OCR supports multiple languages. When performing OCR, you can select the appropriate language for your document to ensure accurate text recognition. Some of the commonly supported languages in Adobe Acrobat OCR include English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese etc.

How to Automatically Enable OCR in Adobe Acrobat?

Adobe Acrobat automatically enables OCR when the “Edit PDF” option is selected.

If OCR is not enabled automatically, it can be turned on manually in the “Tools” tab under the “Scanned Documents” section.

Can Adobe Acrobat OCR handle handwritten text?

Adobe Acrobat OCR is primarily designed for printed text. Its ability to recognize handwritten text depends on the clarity and legibility of the handwriting. Generally, OCR technology is less accurate with handwritten text compared to printed text.

Conclusion

The Adobe Acrobat OCR feature uses AI to extract text from scanned documents and convert them into searchable and editable PDFs, eliminating tedious manual work. But it requires an Adobe Acrobat Pro subscription.

But, PDFgear provides you with a free solution, you can use its OCR feature to extract text from regular PDF or scanned PDF easily.