Make a scanned PDF searchable in a user manual PDF
Manuals are long and change in small ways: a menu name, a version number, a support email. Fix those in the PDF and split the manual into chapters if people need only part of it. Add an invisible text layer to scanned pages so you can search and copy them.
How to do it
- 1.Open OCR PDF.
- 2.Add the scanned PDF.
- 3.Download the searchable PDF.
What people change in a user manual
- • Version and date on the cover
- • Step instructions
- • Menu and button names
- • Support contact details
- • Screenshots
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.
Swap a screenshot
Remove an outdated screenshot and add the new one in its place.
Chapters as files
Use Split PDF with custom ranges to create one file per chapter.
Questions people ask
+Does OCR change how the page looks?
No. The text layer is invisible.
+Can I update the table of contents?
Yes, it's text. Update the page numbers if chapters moved.
Other edits to a user manual
More
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