What is the difference between PDF parsing and OCR?

Parsing reads an existing text layer exactly and is usually faster. OCR looks at page images and predicts the characters when no usable text layer exists.

Can OCR make a PDF searchable?

This tool gives you searchable extracted text. It does not rewrite the original PDF with an embedded invisible text layer.

Does it recognize handwriting?

Some clear handwriting may be recovered, but the OCR path is designed primarily for printed documents and should not be treated as an exact handwriting transcription.

Scanned PDF OCR

Convert a scanned PDF to editable text with OCR

Extract editable text from scanned and image-only PDFs online. Automatic PDF detection and OCR with TXT, Markdown, and CSV downloads.

No signup

Local browser parsing

OCR for scans

TXT · MD · CSV

Free PDF extractor

No signup. Text PDFs stay on your device.

Browser-first processing

Smart OCR fallback. Scans upload only after local detection confirms OCR is needed.

Private by default. Browser-parsed PDFs and extracted text are never saved. OCR requests are processed without being persisted by Brainy Canvas.

What this PDF extractor does

A scanned PDF contains pictures of pages rather than selectable words. The tool first inspects the document to avoid unnecessary OCR, then uploads only when it confirms the pages need visual text recognition.

The result is editable text or Markdown you can copy and search. Clear, straight, high-resolution pages perform best. Handwriting, faint photocopies, stamps, skewed pages, and complex forms can reduce accuracy, so important text must be checked against the scan.

Built for privacy

Text-layer PDFs are parsed entirely in your browser. Brainy Canvas does not save your PDF or extracted text. If OCR is required, the scan is sent to the OCR processor for that request, and Brainy Canvas does not persist the PDF or output.

Best for

Old reports, photocopies, and archived documents
Image-only PDFs created by office scanners
Making inaccessible scans searchable and editable
Recovering tables before spreadsheet cleanup

What it extracts

Automatic text-layer versus scan detection
OCR for image-only and mixed documents
Markdown structure for paragraphs and tables
Copy, TXT, Markdown, and CSV output options

How it works

1
Upload the scan
Choose a scanned or image-only PDF under 20 MB.
2
Detect and OCR
The browser confirms that OCR is necessary before the upload begins.
3
Proofread the result
Copy or download the text after checking it against each page.

Frequently asked questions

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