Make a scanned PDF searchable in a Adobe InDesign PDF
Add an invisible text layer to scanned pages so you can search and copy them. This works on the PDF Adobe InDesign exported, so you do not need the original file.
How to do it
- 1.Open the PDF exported from Adobe InDesign in MythosPDF.
- 2.Add the scanned PDF.
- 3.Download the searchable PDF.
How Adobe InDesign writes PDFs
- • Fonts are embedded as subsets, often OpenType CFF.
- • Text frames can be threaded across columns.
- • Precise kerning and tracking are written into lines.
What that means when you make a scanned PDF searchable
- • Kerning and tracking are kept around your edit. Many InDesign fonts are commercial, so new letters come from the PDF or, with your permission, a close open font.
What happens to the rest of the page
- • The scan image is kept as it is; the text layer is added on top.
- • Accuracy depends on scan quality.
Questions people ask
+Does OCR change how the page looks?
No. The text layer is invisible.
+Is it better to edit in Adobe InDesign?
If you have the original Adobe InDesign file and a lot to change, yes. For quick changes to the PDF itself, editing the PDF is faster and keeps it exactly as sent.
Other edits in Adobe InDesign PDFs
Make a scanned PDF searchable in PDFs from
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