No ads · No watermarks · Files deleted after an hour
Make a PDF Searchable
Add an invisible layer of text to scanned PDFs and photos of pages, so you can search, select and copy the words.
Scanned contracts, letters and old documents become far more useful: search finds the words in them, you can copy a paragraph out, and screen readers can read them aloud.
Almost any file
Images, vector art, video, audio, documents, spreadsheets, slides, ebooks and archives: more than 400 conversions. Before anything runs, Filebender says what a conversion will lose and estimates the size of video, audio and many pictures; other files show their size once converted. It compresses PDFs, pictures and videos to the size you choose.
No ads, no watermarks
With a free account: 20 files a day, 2 of them videos, each up to 500 MB. No plan has ads, and nothing is stamped on your files. A pass is one payment that never renews, and one you haven't used can be refunded in full.
Private by default
Files are deleted an hour after converting, or at once when you ask, and photo location is removed unless you choose to keep it. Photos converted to JPG, PNG or WebP are done on your device when your browser can, so they never leave it. They still need your account and count towards your plan.
How to make a PDF searchable
- Create a free account with Google or your email address, or sign in.
- Choose your files: drop them on the box, pick them from your computer, open them from Google Drive, or paste a link.
- Pick the format each file should become. The gear button has size, quality and other settings.
- Press “Convert”, then download each file, or all of them in one ZIP.
What OCR does
A scanner or phone camera saves a page as a picture: you can see the words, but a computer can't find them. OCR, optical character recognition, reads the letters and lays matching text invisibly over each page, so the PDF looks the same but behaves like a typed one.
Before it reads
Pages that are sideways or upside down are turned upright, and slightly crooked ones are straightened. Pages that already have text are left as they are, so in a PDF that mixes typed and scanned pages only the scans are read.
Photos of pages
JPG, PNG and TIFF pictures work too: each becomes a PDF page with text laid over it, and a TIFF with several pages becomes a PDF with the same pages. Location and camera details are removed from photos first.
Page limits
A file counts as one file however many pages it has. The free plan reads up to 50 pages a file and a pass up to 500, so split longer PDFs into parts first. Split PDF does that on your device, and the split counts as one more file on your account.
Related tools
- Image to TextCopy the words out of photos, screenshots and scans as plain text.
- PDF to WordTurn PDFs into editable Word documents.
- PDF ConverterTurn PDFs into Word, text, Markdown, EPUB or images, and turn documents, slides and pictures into PDF.
- PDF CompressorShrink PDFs for email and upload limits, keeping the text sharp.
- Split PDFCut a PDF into separate files at the pages you choose. It all happens on your device, so nothing is uploaded. A split counts as one file on your account.
Questions
Does the PDF change how it looks?
Very little: the text layer can't be seen. Pages that were sideways or crooked are turned and straightened, which is the main change you'll notice.
Can I search it in any PDF reader?
Yes. The text layer is standard, so search, select and copy work in any PDF reader, and screen readers can read it aloud.
What if a word is read wrongly?
Clear printed pages come out close to word for word. Small print, handwriting, faint scans and blurred photos are harder. Choosing the languages the file uses, in the settings, helps most.
Can it read a PDF with a digital signature?
No: adding text would break the signature, so it's refused. Use a copy without the signature.
Where is the text read?
On Filebender's servers on Google Cloud, not on your device. Your file and the text read from it are deleted an hour after the conversion finishes, or straight away when you press “Delete files now”. Nobody looks at them, and they're never used for anything else.
Which languages can it read?
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and Hindi. English is used unless you choose others with the gear button, up to three at once.
Is Filebender free?
Yes, with a free account: 20 files every day (up to 2 of them videos), each up to 500 MB, with no watermark and no ads. Make the account with Google or your email address. Files converted on your device count the same way as the rest. If you need more, a Day, Week or Month Pass is one payment that never renews; see the Pricing page.