How to copy text from a scanned PDF on a Mac
Recent versions of macOS can often pick words straight out of a scan with Live Text. How to copy text from a scanned PDF, and when you need more.
A scanned page is a picture, so normally you cannot select its words. Recent versions of macOS can read text in pictures with a feature called Live Text, and it often works in Preview on scanned pages too.
Try Live Text first
- Open the scanned PDF in Preview.
- Choose Tools > Text Selection.
- Move the pointer over a line of text. If it turns into a text cursor, drag across the words.
- Press Command C and paste where you need it.
Check what you paste. Recognition can confuse similar characters, such as 0 and O, or 1 and l.
If it does not select
- Zoom in. Live Text needs the letters large enough on screen.
- Open the page as a picture: export it with File > Export as PNG, open that in Preview, and try again.
- Take a screenshot of the area with Shift Command 4, open it, and select the text there.
Copying is not the same as searchable
Live Text reads the words on screen, but the PDF itself still has no text. Spotlight will not find it, and search in other apps will not work. To fix the file itself, make it searchable.
The one click way
Simply PDF's Make Searchable adds a text layer to the scan on your Mac, so it can be searched, selected and copied in any app, and tells you how many pages were searchable before and after.
Questions
Can I copy text from a scanned PDF on a Mac?
Often, yes. On recent macOS, Preview's text selection can read words in a scan with Live Text. Check the copied text for mistakes.
Why can I copy text but not search for it?
Live Text reads the screen, but the PDF still has no text inside. Add a text layer with text recognition to make the file searchable.