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User profile for user: rankthetank
rankthetank Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Notes scans - OCR & no search function available in Preview

Hi all & thank you in advance for your help.


I am experiencing the following situation:

1) I scan documents (such as letters & invoices) by using the Notes app on my iPhone (via Notes > Camera Icon > Scan Documents).

2) The scanned document is then immediatley available in the Notes app both on my iPhone and my Macbook. In the Notes app, I can select & copy text from the scanned documents on both devices. I can also search for key words in the Notes app and find scanned documents this way.

3) I then typically export the scanned document as PDF (either drag & drop or via Notes > Files > Export as PDF) to save the PDF file in the respective iCloud folder.

4) Unfortunately, this newly created PDF is then not 'searchable' anymore, neither in Preview nor in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Text cannot be selected and the 'search' function does not provide any results ('Text selection' is activated in Preview > Tools). The PDF behaves similar to an image.


Would you have some expert advice on how to create 'searchable PDFs' via the Notes scanning functinoality?


I am planning to digitise & replace all my paper folders . But I currenlty refrain from doing as the created PDFs cannot be searched.


Thank you


Devices:

  • Iphone XR, iOS 15.3.1 (iOS is up to date as of today)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, MacOS Money, 12.2.1 (21D62), up to date of of today)

Posted on Mar 5, 2022 3:17 AM

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User profile for user: LD150
LD150
User level: Level 10
91,311 points

Posted on Mar 5, 2022 4:29 AM

I dont know if there are apps for iphone but I would try a desktop scanner with that facility, probably some Adobe app will do it.

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User profile for user: rankthetank
rankthetank Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Mar 5, 2022 3:53 AM in response to LD150

Thank you, LD150. I attach two Notes screenshots. 1) shows the text "Description" is found within Notes and leads to the scanned document. 2) shows that the text can copied from the scanned document. This is both possible & activated by default in my Notes app, which indicates that text is indeed recognised, but somehow lost only when file is saved outside Notes as PDF.


Would you have any advise how I could achieve my goal of creating searchable PDF scans of my documents?


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Notes scans - OCR & no search function available in Preview

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