# PDF Expert OCR: Recognizing Text in a Scan on a Mac

- Author: Schema Law (https://www.schemalaw.com/)
- Published: 2025-11-25T14:43:54Z
- Updated: 2026-10-11T19:22:20Z
- Category: OCR in everyday software
- Canonical: https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/pdf-expert-ocr

> What PDF Expert OCR does, per Readdle: Mac only, the Scan and OCR tab step by step, the typo preview, language choice, and what to test afterwards.

PDF Expert has OCR on the Mac. Readdle's help center says the feature is available in PDF Expert for Mac 3.0 or later and is not yet in the iOS version. You open a scanned PDF, select the Scan & OCR tab, click Recognize Text, review suspected typos, and apply. Afterwards you can search, copy, annotate and export.

That is the outline. A lawyer working on a Mac also needs to know what the review step catches, which languages are covered, and what Readdle's pages leave unsaid about the file that comes out. Each statement about the product here is taken from Readdle's own help center or product pages.

## Does PDF Expert have OCR?

Yes, on the Mac. Readdle's help center article is titled "Convert scanned documents into text (OCR)", and its first line of substance reads: "OCR is available in PDF Expert for Mac 3.0. or later." Inside the app the feature goes by the name Text Recognition and sits under a tab called Scan & OCR.

The article is Readdle's page on [converting scanned documents into text with OCR](https://support.readdle.com/pdfexpert/en_US/scan-ocr/convert-scanned-documents-into-text-ocr). It covers four things: prerequisites, converting a scan into text, what you can do afterwards, and troubleshooting.

Readdle's product page for [OCR in PDF Expert for Mac](https://pdfexpert.com/features/ocr-pdf-mac) describes the purpose in one sentence: the feature "lets you turn scans into text, so you can copy, highlight, and search it." That page also answers a format question. It says PDF Expert supports OCR for "PDF, JPEG, PNG, and Word", and that you open one of those file types in the app to use the feature.

### Is it part of the paid product?

Readdle's [PDF Expert pricing page](https://pdfexpert.com/pricing) lists "Recognize text (OCR)" among the features of its Premium plans. The page shows a yearly plan described as covering iPhone, iPad and Mac versions, and a lifetime plan described as "Mac version only". Read the current page for prices and terms, since this post does not repeat them, and check which licence the Mac in front of you has before you promise anyone a searchable file by five o'clock.

### What Readdle's pages do not say

Three things a legal user would want to know are absent from the pages opened for this post:

- whether the recognized text is stored as an invisible layer over the untouched page image
- whether applying OCR changes the picture of the page in any way
- whether passages the software could not read are marked after OCR has been applied

None of those is a criticism. It means you find out by testing a copy, using the steps for [testing what PDF Expert saved](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/pdf-expert-ocr#what-you-can-do-with-a-pdf-after-pdf-expert-recognizes-it).

## Is PDF Expert OCR available on iPhone and iPad, or only on Mac?

Only on the Mac, according to Readdle's help center. Under "Prerequisites", the OCR article says: "OCR is available in PDF Expert for Mac 3.0. or later. As for the iOS version, our team is already working on adding this functionality as soon as possible."

That sentence is the only statement on platform support in the help article, and it gives no date. Treat it as the position on the day you read it, and open the article again if the iPhone or iPad matters to you.

### What this means in a mixed office

| Your device | What Readdle's help center says | What to do with a scan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mac with PDF Expert 3.0 or later | OCR is available | Use the Scan & OCR tab |
| Mac with an older PDF Expert | The troubleshooting note says to make sure version 3.0 or later is installed | Update first |
| iPhone or iPad | Not available yet | Move the file to a Mac, or use another tool |
| Windows PC | Readdle's product page says "PDF Expert isn't available on Windows" | Use another tool |

Readdle's help center does have an article for iOS about [converting PDFs to images, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and text files](https://support.readdle.com/pdfexpert/en_US/file-conversion/convert-pdfs-to-images-word-excel-powerpoint-text-files), and that article notes the ability "is a subscription-based option". It says nothing about recognizing text in a scan first, so do not read it as OCR on the phone.

If you are on a Mac without PDF Expert, the post on [converting a PDF to a searchable PDF on a Mac](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/convert-pdf-to-searchable-pdf-mac) explains what macOS does with no extra software.

## The Scan and OCR tab in PDF Expert for Mac, step by step

Open the scanned PDF in PDF Expert for Mac, select the Scan & OCR tab, click Recognize Text, review the preview, then click the blue Recognize button. For a file with more than one page, you set the pages to process and click Apply. That is Readdle's documented sequence.

Here it is as a procedure, with two steps added for a legal file. Steps 2 to 7 follow Readdle's article.

1. **Duplicate the file in Finder.** Work on the copy. Keep the scan as it arrived under its own name.
2. **Open the copy in PDF Expert for Mac and select the Scan & OCR tab.**
3. **Decide whether to adjust the scan.** Readdle says that, if needed, you can "enhance the scan and adjust it to your needs by setting a custom page size, unifying the paper format, and filling page margins with color." Read the cautions on those tools before you use them on a record copy.
4. **Click Recognize Text.** Readdle says this enters "a preview mode".
5. **Review the orange frames.** They mark possible typos, and the review is described under [correcting suspected typos in the preview](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/pdf-expert-ocr#correcting-suspected-typos-in-pdf-experts-recognize-text-preview).
6. **Check the language.** Readdle says the app detects the main language automatically and lets you change it or add more.
7. **Click the blue Recognize button to apply OCR.** Readdle adds: "If there is more than one page, set the pages you'd like to process and click Apply." The product page describes the choice as all pages, the current page, or certain pages.
8. **Save, then test.** Search for a word you can see on a middle page, and copy a line into a blank document.

### The other tools in the Scan & OCR tab

Readdle's article on [enhancing and adjusting scans](https://support.readdle.com/pdfexpert/en_US/scan-ocr/enhance-and-adjust-your-scans) documents four tools in the same tab:

- **Enhance Scan**, which Readdle describes as fixing distortions, removing shadows and improving the contrast of scans, with a color filter chosen in the sidebar
- **Split Pages**, for double-page scans that should be two separate pages
- **Crop Pages**, to set a custom page size and unify the paper format
- **Clear Margins**, to fill page margins with a color

Each of these changes the picture of the page. For a working copy that only you will read, that may be what you want. For a document whose appearance matters, such as a signed agreement or an exhibit, a cropped margin or a filtered background is a difference between your copy and the paper. Apply them to a duplicate and keep the untouched scan. The post on [whether OCR changes the original PDF](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/does-ocr-change-the-original-pdf) explains how to show that two copies still depict the same pages.

### More than one document

Readdle's product page describes handling several documents by merging them first: choose File > Merge Files, add the documents, then run Scan & OCR on the merged PDF. That gives you one long file. If the documents must stay separate in the matter folder, you will need to split the result again or run them one at a time.

## Correcting suspected typos in PDF Expert's Recognize Text preview

After you click Recognize Text, PDF Expert shows a preview in which orange frames mark possible OCR typos. Readdle's instruction is to click a frame, compare the actual picture with the recognized text, edit the text if it is wrong, and select Correct. Navigation buttons move between the highlighted items.

Readdle's wording in full: "Orange frames highlight possible OCR typos in the text. Click the frame to compare the actual picture with the recognized text. If there is a typo, edit the text and select Correct. To quickly navigate through highlighted text, use the navigation buttons."

This is a review step that happens before OCR is applied to the file. It is the point at which a misread name is cheapest to fix, because the picture and the reading are side by side.

### What the frames can and cannot tell you

An orange frame means the software suspects a word. Readdle's page does not say how the software decides which words to suspect. So read the frames as a list of candidates, not as a complete list of errors.

A wrong reading that happens to be a plausible word may not be framed at all. "Marian" for "Marion", "1996" for "1998", "$15,000" for "$16,000": each is a valid-looking string. No review screen can be assumed to catch those, and Readdle does not claim that this one does.

In the preview, walk the contract and check the names of the parties, the payment obligation, and any exhibit label. If an affidavit is in the same PDF, check the date by the signature in that same pass. Open any marked word on those lines and read it against the picture before you apply the result to the file.

### A review order for a legal document

Take a twelve-page commercial lease between two fictional parties, Tallis Holdings LLC and Brightwater Bakery Inc. Work through the preview in this order:

1. **Every orange frame on the first page and the signature page.** Party names, the date and the property address live there.
2. **Every orange frame that sits on a number.** Rent, deposit, term, notice periods, section references.
3. **Every orange frame on a defined term in capitals.** "LANDLORD" read as "LANDL0RD" will defeat a search for the term.
4. **The remaining frames**, as time allows.
5. **Then, with no frame to guide you**, read the party names, the dates and the dollar amounts on the screen against the picture anyway.

Write on your cover note that the text was machine-read and spot-checked, and say which items you checked. The post on [why OCR output is full of errors](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/why-is-ocr-output-full-of-errors) covers how to check recognized text against the original more thoroughly.

## Which languages does PDF Expert recognize, and how do you change them?

PDF Expert detects the main language of the document on its own, and you can change it or add more from a menu on the right of the preview. Readdle's product page names English, German, French, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and Portuguese, "and other languages".

### How the choice works

The help center says: "PDF Expert automatically detects the main language of the document. If the language was not detected correctly, you can change it or add more in the corresponding menu on the right." The product page says that if there are several languages you can choose among 20.

Neither page gives the complete list. If your document is in a language that is not one of the nine named, open the language menu on your own Mac and look before you plan around it.

### When to override the automatic choice

"Main language" is the phrase to notice. A document with one language throughout needs no attention. These do:

- **A bilingual contract** set in two columns, for example English beside Spanish. Add the second language, since detection is described as finding the main one.
- **An English letter with a block of foreign-language quotation.** Add the quoted language if the quotation matters to your search.
- **A page whose detected language, shown in the menu on the right, is plainly wrong.**

After changing the language, look at the frames again before you apply. Readdle's article does not say whether the preview is redrawn when the language changes, so compare a few framed words with the picture yourself. Why the language setting has such an effect is explained in the post on [conversion options for a scanned PDF](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/convert-scanned-pdf-to-searchable-pdf).

## What you can do with a PDF after PDF Expert recognizes it

Readdle says that once Text Recognition is applied, you can annotate the document or export it in the desired format by switching from the Scan & OCR tab to the tab you need. You can also search the document and copy recognized text.

### Search

Readdle's steps: click the search field and type the word or phrase you are looking for, then click any item in the list of results to jump to that place in the document. To hide the list, click the cross in the search field.

### Copy

Copying is done outside the Scan & OCR tab. Readdle says to "switch to another tab (Annotate or Export), select the text > right-click > Copy, or select the text and press Command-C."

### Annotate

With selectable text on the page, the highlighting tools have words to attach to. Readdle's product page describes highlighting sections of a recognized scan as one of the purposes of the feature.

### Export

Readdle's article on [exporting PDFs to other formats on Mac](https://support.readdle.com/pdfexpert/en_US/file-conversion/export-to-other-formats) says the app can export "to Word, to Excel, to PowerPoint, to Text and to Image". The steps are to open the PDF, select the Export tab, and click the format you need in the toolbar.

Readdle's pages do not describe how closely a Word export of a recognized scan follows the original layout. Expect to check headings, numbering and tables yourself. Once you start changing words, you are editing a converted copy and not the scan, and the post on [editing a scanned PDF](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/editing-scanned-pdf) explains why that distinction should show in your file names.

### Test what came out

Because Readdle does not document how the recognized text is stored, test the saved file outside PDF Expert. Open it in a different reader, such as Preview or the reader a colleague on Windows uses, search for a word from a middle page, and copy a line into a blank document. Then put the saved file and the untouched scan side by side and compare one page at full zoom.

If search and copy work in the second program, the text travels with the file. If they work only in PDF Expert, the file is not yet what your matter folder needs. The post on [how to check if a PDF is searchable](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/how-to-check-if-a-pdf-is-searchable) covers testing a long file and a whole folder.

### Where another tool fits

Readdle's article documents a single kind of OCR output. Some editors offer a choice between keeping the page image and rebuilding the page as editable text, and the post on [PDFelement's OCR modes](https://www.schemalaw.com/blog/pdfelement-ocr) describes one that does. If the file is on a Windows machine or a phone, or a colleague without the app needs to do the job, a browser service is another route. Schema Law takes a PDF, PNG or JPEG of up to 20 MB through the browser and exports Word, searchable PDF, plain text and five other formats on every plan, the free one included. The [three steps on the Schema Law home page](https://www.schemalaw.com/#how-it-works) show the process. It marks no passage as uncertain, so the same check of names, dates and amounts applies there too.

## Try it on a real document

Upload a scanned PDF and export it as Word, a searchable PDF or plain text on the free plan. Your documents are never used to train an AI model. [Start free](https://www.schemalaw.com/api/auth/google)