Introducing ABBYY FineReader PDF OCR

OCR is one of the priorities of ABBYY FineReader PDF. With ABBYY OCR, you can recognize text within scanned pages or images and convert it into machine-readable text that computers can search, select, copy, or edit. In addition to recognizing text in PDFs, ABBYY FineReader PDF offers features for PDF editing, conversion, document comparison, and document management features.

How Does ABBYY OCR Work

ABBYY OCR can analyze document images, identify text characters and their arrangement, and convert the recognized content into digital text. Meanwhile, depending on the output settings, ABBYY FineReader PDF can preserve the original page image while adding a searchable text layer or convert the recognized content into an editable document.

What Can You Do with ABBYY OCR

With ABBYY FineReader PDF OCR, you can do the following OCR workflows:

• Recognize scanned PDFs: Turn image-based pages into machine-readable documents.
• Create searchable PDFs: Add a text layer so you can search for words without changing the page’s overall appearance.
• Convert PDFs to editable formats: Export recognized content into DOCX, XLSX, TXT, or other supported formats.
• Extract text and tables: Make information from reports, invoices, research papers, and other documents easier to reuse.
• Process multilingual documents: It supports recognizing documents in up to 198 languages.

How to Use ABBYY OCR to Recognize Text in a PDF

There are 2 primary ways to recognize text in a PDF using ABBYY OCR. Below are the exact steps for your reference:

Quick Method: Add a Text Layer in the PDF Editor

1. Launch ABBYY FineReader PDF and open your target PDF file.
2. Click the Document tab on the toolbar, hit the recognition button, and choose Recognize Document.
3. In the dialog that appears, select the correct OCR language for the PDF and click Recognize.
4. Then ABBYY FineReader PDF will add a permanent searchable text layer. Finally, you can save the file as a searchable PDF or export to Microsoft Word or another format.

Advanced Method: Use the OCR Editor

For more control over recognition, follow the steps below:

1. Launch ABBYY FineReader PDF and, in the New Task window, click Open and select Open in OCR Editor.
2. In the OCR Editor, click Open and select to upload the scanned PDF you need to recognize.
3. Then FineReader will start automatic analysis and recognition.
4. Later, you can review the layout and confirm the recognition language. Next, click Recognize on the main toolbar to start OCR.
5. Now, you can review the recognized text in the Text pane. Correct any errors and check the page layout.
6. Finally, click the inverted arrow next to Save, select the needed format like PDF or Word, name the file, and click Save.

Is ABBYY OCR Free

No, ABBYY FineReader PDF is not a free application. Although it is commercial software, ABBYY offers trial options that let you evaluate its OCR and PDF features before purchasing.

ABBYY FineReader PDF Pricing and Plans

ABBYY FineReader PDF offers different subscription options for individual and business users. Meanwhile, the available plans, prices, licensing conditions, and features can vary by platform and region.

For instance, for individual users in the U.S., ABBYY offers 3 available plans for yearly subscriptions, including FineReader PDF Standard ($99 / Year), FineReader PDF Corporate ($165 / Year), and FineReader PDF for Mac ($69 / Year). For the current plan details, you need to refer to its official website: https://pdf.abbyy.com/pricing/

What Does the Free Trial Include

ABBYY provides trial versions of FineReader PDF, although trial duration and usage limits depend on the product and platform. According to ABBYY’s official download page, the Windows individual trial offers 7 days of access and a 100-page conversion allowance. The business trial offers a longer evaluation period with a separate conversion allowance. For more detailed information, refer to: https://pdf.abbyy.com/download/

Is ABBYY OCR Worth Paying For

The final answer depends on your practical needs. If you frequently digitize documents, need multilingual recognition, or want OCR integrated with a broader PDF editing and conversion workflow, ABBYY OCR can be worth paying for.

However, if you only need to recognize text in a few documents occasionally, ABBYY OCR can be less attractive. In that case, a free desktop PDF OCR editor or an online OCR service can be sufficient. For more information about ABBYY FineReader PDF, read this review article:

Pros and Cons of ABBYY OCR

ABBYY FineReader PDF is worth considering when OCR quality and document-processing capabilities are important. However, its suitability depends on your budget, workflow, and the complexity of your files. Below are its pros and cons.

Best ABBYY OCR Alternatives

If ABBYY FineReader PDF does not fit your budget or workflow, several alternatives offer OCR or related PDF-processing capabilities. Here, I have rounded up several good ABBYY OCR alternatives for you to choose from:

• SwifDoo PDF
• Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Smallpdf
• Foxit PDF Editor
• JOPDF

If you need a cost-effective alternative to perform OCR and continue editing the resulting PDF in the same application, SwifDoo PDF is a good choice. Additionally, it offers an AI-powered tool, SwifDoo AI, to summarize, translate, rewrite, and explain PDFs as well as chat with PDFs. If you need free OCR software, JOPDF is worth considering. Also, you can use Adobe Acrobat Pro to perform professional workflows.

To Wrap Things Up

ABBYY OCR can turn scanned documents into searchable and editable digital files. In addition to OCR, ABBYY FineReader PDF provides you with PDF conversion, document editing, and multilingual recognition. If you have enough budget and need to handle PDFs frequently, ABBYY OCR is worth a try.