Nouplo

Make a scanned PDF searchable

The same pages, now with text you can find and copy, made on your own device.

Drop files here

or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: PDF

Up to 3 files per runUp to 20 MB per file10 runs per dayFree PDFs end with a small “Made with nouplo.com” lineRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline

Your files stay on your device

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.

How it works

  1. Drop a scanned PDF, or a PDF made from photos of documents.
  2. Leave Pages empty to add text to every scanned page, or enter pages such as 1-3, 5. Up to 20 scanned pages are read per run.
  3. Press Make searchable. The first time, the text recognition models and their runtime (about 11 MB) are downloaded.
  4. Download the PDF ending in -searchable.pdf and search it with Ctrl+F in any PDF viewer.

Frequently asked questions

Do the pages change?
No. The recognised text is added as an invisible layer over each scanned page, the way scanners with OCR do it, so every page looks exactly as before. Pages that already contain text are left as they are.
Why does selected text cover slightly more than the letters?
Each recognised line is stretched over the area where the line was found, which includes a little margin around the letters. Searching and copying are not affected.
Which documents work?
Printed Japanese (horizontal or vertical), English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish. Handwriting and horizontal pages set in several columns may be recognised poorly, but the scanned image is always kept, so nothing is lost.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The pages are rendered, recognised and written into the new PDF in your browser.
What are the free limits?
The free plan handles 1 PDF per run, up to 20 MB, and 10 runs per day, and free files end with a small “Made with nouplo.com” line on the last page. Pro removes these limits and the line.

Related tools

PDF OCR Scans become text you can copy and search, without the document leaving your device. ⇲ Compress PDF Make a PDF smaller for email or upload limits without sending it to anyone. ⧉ Merge PDF Combine PDFs into one document, in the order you choose, without sending them anywhere. ⋈ Split PDF Cut one PDF into several files by page ranges, one file per page, or parts under a size limit.