Preview on the Mac is great for reading a PDF, but it will not pull the text out of a scanned one, because there is no text layer to select.
Loading Ocr PDF…
Works in Safari and Chrome on macOS, no install
Desktop processor handles long multi-page scans quickly
Copy the text or download a .txt file
Runs locally, so the PDF never leaves your Mac
Drop the Ocr PDF into a blog post, product docs, intranet, or school portal with one iframe. Processing, privacy, and usage limits are the same as on the full tool page.
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src="https://www.fixtools.io/pdf/ocr-pdf?embed=1"
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frameborder="0"
style="border:0;border-radius:16px;max-width:900px;"
title="Ocr PDF by FixTools"
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></iframe>Attribution-friendly: a small "Powered by FixTools" link appears in the embed footer.
OCR is a demanding task. Each page has to be rendered to an image and then analyzed character by character, which takes real processing power. A desktop or laptop has far more of that to spare than a phone, so a multi-page scan that would crawl on mobile finishes comfortably on a Mac.
Running it in the browser rather than an installed app means there is nothing to keep updated and no license to manage. The Tesseract engine loads into the page, does its work on your machine, and the file never leaves your Mac. You get the capability of desktop OCR software without adding software.
For the heaviest jobs, you can split a very long PDF and process sections in parallel tabs, or simply let one long run finish in the background while you work on something else.
Open OCR PDF in your Mac browser, upload the scanned PDF, and click Extract Text with OCR. Copy the recognized text or download it as a .txt file when it finishes.
Step-by-step guide to ocr a pdf on mac:
Open OCR PDF in your browser
Launch the FixTools tool in Safari or Chrome on your Mac. There is nothing to download.
Upload the scanned PDF
Click the upload area and select the file from Finder, including multi-page scans.
Run the OCR
Click Extract Text with OCR. Your Mac renders and recognizes each page, showing which one it is on.
Review the text
Read the recognized text in the output box, separated page by page.
Copy or download
Copy the text to the clipboard or download it as a .txt file to Finder.
Common situations where this approach makes a real difference:
Digitizing an archive
Someone with a folder of scanned documents on their Mac extracts the text from each so the collection becomes searchable.
Research from scanned sources
A student pulls quotable text out of scanned journal pages to cite in a paper.
No PDF suite installed
A user without Acrobat or a paid PDF app gets the same OCR result from the browser.
Batch of receipts
A freelancer extracts the text from scanned receipts to copy the totals into an expense sheet.
Get better results with these expert suggestions:
Let the desktop do the heavy lifting
A Mac handles long scans well, so this is the place to run your biggest OCR jobs.
Use two tabs for very long files
Split a long PDF and run halves in separate tabs to finish sooner.
Keep the tab active
Leave the OCR tab in the foreground so the browser does not throttle the work.
Rescan at 300 DPI if needed
If the results are rough, a fresh 300 DPI scan on the Mac improves accuracy far more than any setting.
More use-case guides for the same tool:
Other tools you might find useful:
PDF to TXT
Pull selectable text straight out of a text-based PDF.
Make PDF Searchable
Turn a scanned PDF into a searchable document.
PDF to Word
Move the extracted content into an editable Word file.
OCR a Scanned PDF Online
OCR a scanned PDF online and free, right in your browser. Extract the text without uploading the file to a server, then copy it or download a .txt file.
OCR a PDF on iPhone
OCR a PDF on your iPhone in Safari for free. Extract text from a scan, then copy it or save a .txt file. No app to install and nothing is uploaded.
Extract Text From an Image-Based PDF
Extract text from an image-based PDF where the pages are pictures, not selectable text. Free browser OCR recognizes the characters and gives you copyable text.
Convert a Scanned PDF to Editable Text
Convert a scanned PDF to plain text with free browser-based OCR. Recognize the characters on each page and save the result as a .txt file. Nothing is uploaded.
Copy Text From a Scanned PDF
Copy text from a scanned PDF that will not let you select anything. Free browser OCR recognizes the text so you can copy it. Nothing is uploaded.
Extract Text From a Scanned PDF
Extract editable text from a scanned PDF for free with no account and no upload. OCR runs in your browser, copy the result or download it as a .txt file.
Open Ocr PDF to review its free limits and processing method.
Open Ocr PDF →Free tier · No account needed · Transparent limits