What is Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and How Does It Work
Optical character recognition (OCR) lets you search and find text in any PDF file. OCR can also help with:
- Scanning and recognizing text in any PDF, image or photo
- Converting any scanned, handwritten or printed text into digital files
- Digitizing text documents to machine and searchable data
What is Optical Character Recognition (OCR)?
Optical character recognition is a technology that was developed to make it easier to convert printed and handwritten text into digital formats.
Steps to Use the Lumin PDF OCR Tool
Users with a premium Lumin account can easily run OCR by selecting the OCR tab in the Lumin browser. Once selected:
- Users can upload their PDF file via their local drive or any cloud-based platform like Google Drive or Dropbox
- Users can also Drag and Drop their file into the browser to begin the OCR process
How Do You Use OCR?
OCR technology is built-in to many different programs like web browsers and other document readers, so users need only:
- Open a PDF file or other document in their browser
This allows users to view a text. But to edit, change or search a text, users need to install a specific OCR program or a PDF editor that also features OCR technology.
Once installed, users can then:
- Scan or import their file from another drive
- Open the PDF or text file with the program
- Edit or change the text using the OCR program
How Does OCR Work?
The two main ways that OCR software can recognize and convert text are:
- Pattern recognition: The reader will look for fonts and text samples that have already been programmed into its algorithm.
- Feature detection: Users can program OCR software to detect distinguishing features of a certain letter (curved or straight lines, angled lines, etc.) to also help accurately scan and convert text
OCR Advantages
OCR technology presents users with a wide range of advantages, including:
- Turning hard-copy text into machine-readable or digital text makes it easier to change or edit
- Giving users more control over previously hard-coded text by allowing them to add other design elements like images, graphs, and even more text
- Eliminating the time, labor and costs of inputting text and data manually
- Ensuring an error-free conversion of handwritten or typed text into digital formats
What Lumin Can Do For You
Lumin PDF is an online (and offline) PDF editor that employs OCR technology to:
- Make it easier to search large, text-heavy texts and to edit them
- Scanned and uploaded documents can be saved in Lumin
- Users can employ OCR to edit their documents faster and more efficiently
More in this section
Overview
- Open a File
- How to Move PDF File
- How to Split / Merge PDF Files | Lumin PDF
- How to Share PDF Files Online For Free
Show more