Make a scanned PDF searchable on Mac, offline
Short answer. Paperlane for Mac renders each page of a scanned PDF at 300 DPI by default, reads it with Apple's on-device Vision text recognition, and adds an invisible text layer on top of the page image. You can then search and copy the text. It runs offline, and a folder of scans can be processed in one job.
Three ways to do it
In the app
Open Make PDF Searchable, drop scans, choose the language and accuracy, and run.
From Finder
There is no dedicated Quick Action for this tool; drop the files on the Paperlane icon in the Dock or on the menu bar shelf and pick the tool.
With Shortcuts
Use the Run Paperlane Recipe action with the Scans to searchable PDF template to OCR and compress scans in one step.
Steps
- Open Make PDF Searchable and drop in the scans.
- Pick the language, or leave it on automatic.
- Run the job and watch per-page progress.
- Search the saved copy to confirm the text was found.
At a glance
- Engine
- Apple Vision text recognition
- Resolution
- 300 DPI by default, adjustable from 100 to 600
- Output
- PDF with an invisible text layer
- Page appearance
- Unchanged
- Original file
- Never modified
Honest limitations
- Accuracy drops on skewed, low-resolution or handwritten pages, and the app does not straighten scans.
- Supported languages are the ones Apple's Vision framework recognises on your macOS version.
Need just one file?
Do one file free in your browser: Searchable PDF / OCR
Questions
Does OCR send my scan anywhere?
No. Recognition runs on your Mac using the system Vision framework.
Will it change how the pages look?
No. The text is added as an invisible layer over the existing image.
Can I just copy the text out instead?
Yes. Extract Text pulls the text out of a PDF as plain text or Markdown, and the Extract Text with Paperlane Quick Action runs it from Finder.