Original Question:
Customer Inquiry:
Hello:
I am trying to figure out which program(s) I need - it appears you all have the utilities I need.
First, we receive .pdf files and some are searchable and some are not. We are looking for a command line program that can determine if a given .pdf is or is not searchable, and if not, can perform OCR on such a file and make it searchable (for Windows indexing, searching in Windows File Explorer, etc.).
Second, on a very limited subset of the pdf files we receive, we want to convert the .pdf file to a .txt text file that can then be read/parsed by another script.
Do you all have a single program or multiple programs that can do these two functions? Would the OCR process need to be performed before converting to text?
Thanks in advance,
Customer
VeryPDF Response:
Thanks for your message. We suggest you test our "VeryPDF OCR to Any Converter Command Line" application:
https://www.verypdf.com/app/ocr-to-any-converter-cmd/try-and-buy.html
Understanding Searchable vs. Non-Searchable PDFs
A searchable PDF contains embedded text that can be selected, copied, and searched using tools like Windows File Explorer or indexing services. In contrast, a non-searchable PDF consists of scanned images of text, making it impossible to search without OCR processing.
1. Identifying and Converting Non-Searchable PDFs
To determine whether a PDF is searchable, use ocr2any.exe to attempt text extraction:
ocr2any.exe D:\Downloads\table.pdf D:\Downloads\table.txt-
If the resulting text file contains readable content, the PDF is already searchable.
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If the output text file is empty, the PDF contains only images and requires OCR processing.
To convert an image-based PDF into a searchable one, run the following command:
ocr2any.exe -ocr -lang eng -ocrmode 3 D:\Downloads\table.pdf D:\Downloads\out.pdfThis command:
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Applies Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to detect and extract text.
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Embeds recognized text into the PDF, making it searchable and indexable by Windows File Explorer.
2. Converting PDFs to Text Files
If you need to extract text from a PDF file, use these commands:
Convert Searchable PDFs to Plain Text
ocr2any.exe D:\Downloads\table.pdf D:\Downloads\table.txtThis works for PDFs that already contain selectable text.
Convert Non-Searchable PDFs to Text Using OCR
ocr2any.exe -ocr2 D:\Downloads\table.pdf D:\Downloads\table.txtThis ensures that even scanned PDFs are converted into readable text files, suitable for further processing by other scripts or applications.
3. Automating OCR Processing for Bulk Files
If you need to process multiple PDFs automatically, you can use batch processing with a wildcard or loop in a script. For example, in Windows Command Prompt:
for %i in (D:\PDFs\*.pdf) do ocr2any.exe -ocr -lang eng -ocrmode 3 %i D:\PDFs\out\%~ni_searchable.pdfThis command processes all PDFs in a folder and outputs searchable versions in the out folder.
4. Custom-Built Solutions for Advanced Needs
If your workflow requires additional features such as:
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Integration with third-party applications
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Support for more OCR languages
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Advanced text recognition settings
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Specific formatting in text output
We can provide a custom-built version of VeryPDF OCR to Any Converter Command Line to better suit your needs.
Conclusion
For your requirements, VeryPDF OCR to Any Converter Command Line is an all-in-one solution that can:
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Identify and convert non-searchable PDFs into searchable ones.
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Extract text from both searchable and non-searchable PDFs.
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Automate bulk OCR processing for efficiency.
We encourage you to download and test the software. If you require further customization, feel free to reach out, and we’ll be happy to assist!