OCR a PDF — make scans searchable, on your device
DocsArc runs optical character recognition on your scanned PDFs right in the browser, adding a searchable text layer so you can select, copy and find words in documents that used to be flat images.
The OCR happens on your machine, so even confidential scans never get sent to a cloud OCR service.
Try it now — free
Runs on your device. Your file is never uploaded.
Why use DocsArc for this
Searchable & selectable
Adds a real text layer over the scan so you can search and copy text from it.
Multi-language
Recognises several languages, including non-Latin scripts.
Private OCR
Your scans are processed locally — nothing is uploaded to an OCR server.
How to ocr pdf with DocsArc
- 1Open your scanned PDF in DocsArc.
- 2Run OCR and pick the document language.
- 3DocsArc adds a searchable text layer on your device.
- 4Export the searchable PDF — the scan never left your computer.
Frequently asked questions
Does OCR upload my scanned document?
No. Recognition runs in your browser, so confidential scans are never sent to a cloud service.
Which languages are supported?
DocsArc recognises multiple languages, including non-Latin scripts, selectable when you run OCR.
Can I copy text out after OCR?
Yes. Once OCR adds the text layer you can select, copy and search the text in the exported PDF.