How to Make PDF Searchable – The Ultimate Guide

Reasons why PDF files cannot be searched within the text

Many times, when we come into contact with PDFs created by scanning text paper with a scanner, it is not difficult to find that these PDF files often cannot be searched within the text like ordinary text. The reason for this is that during the scanning process of these papers, the original paper is saved in the PDF in the form of a picture. When the PDF contains only data in image format and does not contain character information for processing characters on the computer , you cannot search using character codes.

After understanding the reasons why PDF files cannot be searched, we also understand the solution to this problem: to search PDF characters in PDF The character code of the content must be provided in the for the user to search . So, how can we convert the content of PDF files into a searchable form? Here is a practical method for you.

Convert PDFs to Searchable Formats with Renee PDF Aide

When it is necessary to add character codes to the content of PDF files without character codes, it is recommended to use the powerful OCR character recognition engine of Renee PDF Aide to convert the image data in PDF to Word format containing character data, and then perform content search operations , the following will introduce the specific operation method for you.

What is Rene.E Laboratory ™PDF converter?

Renee PDF Aide It is a professional and efficient PDF tool set. Through simple operations, users can perform a series of optimization and conversion tasks on PDF, such as repairing damaged files, optimizing the loading time of large files, splitting multi-page files, and merging multiple files into one Specify the page, adjust the display angle of the file, encrypt/decrypt the password file,Add multi-form watermarks to exclusive files and other editing functions. At the same time, the software can also perform format conversion operations on the entire PDF document, and the conversion speed is very ideal.

In addition, Renee PDF Aide integrates advanced OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, which can convert PDF format files into character data in common formats such as Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Image/HTML/TXT, satisfying users’ text editing need. The software supports the conversion of 9 common characters such as English/French/German/Italian/Spanish/Portuguese/Chinese/Korean/Japanese. In the OCR mode, selecting the corresponding recognition language can greatly improve the correct recognition rate of characters and conversion efficiency Extremely high, even computer beginners can easily handle it.

1. Download and install Renee PDF Aide, open the software, and select the “Convert PDF” function.

2. For the convenience of editing, here we choose to convert the PDF to the “Word” format suitable for text editing operations, and then click the (Add File) button to load the PDF file that needs to be converted into the software, and select the one that needs to be converted to Word Page number, and in the settings below, check the “Enable OCR” function. After setting, click the “Convert” button at the bottom right to convert.

3. After converting the PDF file to a Word file, open the Word file. Since character data has been added to the non-searchable PDF image data through the OCR function, you can search by pressing “Ctrl+F” at this time.

That’s all for converting an unsearchable PDF to a searchable Word format with Renee PDF Aide.

In addition, in addition to the format conversion function of Renee PDF Aide, Renee PDF Aide also has rich PDF editing functions, and the operation is simple and convenient. Just open Renee PDF Aide and click into the “PDF Toolset” tab. Click the (Add File) button to import files, and in the top function menu bar, you can choose any function bar to perform personalized editing operations on PDF files, such as repairing, optimizing, splitting, merging, rotating, encrypting/decrypting, watermarking, Image to PDF. In addition, you can also edit multiple PDF files at the same time, which is convenient and fast. After the editing operation is completed, click the “Convert” button on the right to quickly export the edited PDF file to the preset location.

PDF Tool set editing function module description

Repair: Repair damaged or unopenable PDF files.

Optimization: optimize PDF files that take a long time to load, or compress PDF image data and data streams to make it load more smoothly in scenarios such as online pages.

Split: Split a multi-page PDF file into multiple files or a single file according to individual needs.

Merge: Merge and output multiple PDFs into one PDF, where users can specify specific pages that need to be merged.

Rotation: Adjust the display angle of the PDF file.

Encryption & Decryption: PDF is encrypted and locked, or PDF files with passwords are decrypted. At the same time, during the process of decrypting PDF files, all restrictions added to the PDF files (such as digital signatures) will be deleted accordingly.

Watermark: Add foreground watermark/background watermark to PDF files, and users can customize the format and style of watermark files.

Image to PDF: Convert multiple or single images into one or more PDF files for easy browsing or use in specific scenarios.

How to convert processed searchable files back to PDF format?

After using Renee PDF Aide to convert PDF to a searchable Word file, what should I do if I want to convert the Word document back to PDF format?

The method is also very simple. There are a large number of free format conversion websites on the Internet, such as smallpdf is one of them. Users only need to open the smallpdf website (https://smallpdf.com), select the Word to PDF function, and use the Renee PDF Aide tool just now. Add or drag the converted Word file to the blue area, wait for the file to be uploaded and click the convert button, wait for the conversion to complete, and then download the converted PDF file to the local.

It is worth mentioning that after adding characters through Renee PDF Aide, the converted PDF file also becomes a directly searchable PDF file, after which users can directly search in the PDF file.