How to convert scanned pdf to text?

Question

I recently downloaded a programming book. All pages are in image format. If I want to run a code, I'm unable to copy it from that ebook. How to convert these kind of pdfs to normal pdf. I google but I didn't understand what they are saying. They are telling about some OCR and something which I can't understand. Is there any tool or software for it.(I'm using windows and linux (ubuntu) operating systyems)

Answer 1

It sounds like the pages you've looked at are telling you the right thing. If you have an image-based PDF, then there is no text in it, just pictures of text. In order to convert the pictures of text to actual text, you have two options: have a human do the conversion, or have the computer do the conversion. Having a human do it would mean someone sitting down and typing out your book for you. Having the computer do it for you involves Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. If you have Adobe Acrobat (not Adobe Reader), it has built-in OCR software. Other than that, I know that ABBYY Fine Reader has an excellent reputation. There may be other options as well.

Bear in mind that whatever OCR software you use, the conversion will not be perfect, particularly if you're dealing with a bad scan. Even in a best-case scenario where you've got 99.9% accuracy on the conversion, you'll still have about one error every thousand characters—two or three typos per page. That will mean that you'll have to be careful cutting and pasting code; the whole process may not save you any effort over just typing stuff in.

Answer 2

Open your PDF file in Google Chrome and use Project Naptha extension to select and copy text.

Answer 3

To convert a scanned PDF to text, you can use various tools and software available online. One option is DeftPDF, which offers a straightforward process for extracting text from a PDF document. Here's how to do it:

Upload your files: Start by uploading your scanned PDF file to DeftPDF. You can either click "Upload PDF File" and select the file from your computer or choose files from Dropbox, Google Drive, or a website where your files are located. For free accounts, you can upload one file at a time, while upgraded accounts allow batch processing of up to 10 files.

Convert your PDF to text: Once your PDF is uploaded, select the "Extract" option to begin the conversion process. DeftPDF will extract the text from your scanned PDF and encode it into a notepad or text file.

Download your text file: After the conversion process is complete, you can download the extracted text file to save it on your computer. Alternatively, you can save it in your online accounts, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, share it via email, print it, rename it, or even continue editing it with a new task.

DeftPDF provides a user-friendly and secure environment for converting scanned PDFs to text. It's essential to ensure that your files are uploaded over an encrypted connection and that they will be permanently deleted after processing, which helps protect your privacy and data security.

Please note that while DeftPDF is one option for converting scanned PDFs to text, there are other online tools and software available as well. You can choose the one that best suits your needs and preferences.

Full disclosure: We're the developers of the tool we recommend, and we think it can help you, hence the recommendation. We would be happy to see you try it to help you and you can send a message or comment if there's further assistance needed.