How to search scanned PDFs, old books, and newspapers.

When OCR helps

OCR is useful when a page looks readable but the words cannot be selected. Examples include scanned PDFs, English newspaper clippings, old book pages, forms, receipts, screenshots, and photographed documents.

Prepare the folder

Put related scans in one folder when possible. A focused folder makes search results easier to review and helps you compare similar pages from the same archive.

Search for remembered words

Search for a name, place, date, quote, invoice number, topic, or phrase. For old books and newspapers, try distinctive words first, then broaden the search if needed.

Review the preview

After OCR makes scanned text searchable, use the preview pane to verify the passage before opening the original file.