How to Convert Scanned PDF to Text
Scanned documents are images, not text. Here's what you can do to extract text from them.
The Challenge: Scanned PDFs Are Images
When you scan a document, the scanner creates an image of each page. The PDF looks like text, but the text isn't selectable — it's just pixels. Basic PDF tools can't convert this because they work with text, not images.
Option 1: Use Image Conversion + OCR
You can convert scanned PDF pages to JPG or PNG images, then use a dedicated OCR (Optical Character Recognition) service to extract text. ViePDF doesn't offer OCR, but many free and paid OCR tools exist.
Option 2: Re-scan with OCR
Many modern scanners and scanner apps (like Adobe Scan or Microsoft Lens) include OCR during scanning. Re-scanning your document with OCR enabled produces a text-selectable PDF.
What ViePDF Can Do
For digital-born PDFs (where text is already selectable), PDF to Markdown and PDF to JSON extract text perfectly.