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Dan0000000000
Participant
June 1, 2022
Answered

Copying and pasting from an OCRed image

  • June 1, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 503 views

I have scanned in several pages of text from images that weren't exactly flat. Acrobat has done a great job of converting the images to text, but I am unable to select all the text and paste it into Pages. I am able to copy an individual block of text and paste but not a paragraph's worth. Within the "Edit PDF" tool I can select the text within one of the text blocks and paste but selecting and copying a block does not work. When I try to select text when not in a tool, the text is highlighted but it does not copy or paste.

The document is not locked. It's been a couple years at least since I've done the same thing, but I've definitely been able to copy and paste from an OCRed doc many times in the past. 

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Document Geek

Try openign the PDFs in Preview on and copying and pasting from there. Sometimes the copy functions are a little more flexible there than in Acrobat.

3 replies

Document Geek
Community Expert
Document GeekCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
June 2, 2022

Try openign the PDFs in Preview on and copying and pasting from there. Sometimes the copy functions are a little more flexible there than in Acrobat.

    gary_sc
    Community Expert
    gary_scCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 2, 2022

    Hi Dan (0^10),

     

    The key phrase you write is "…that weren't exactly flat." That says to me that while YOU (and I) could read that text, for an OCR machine to read that is iffy at best. So, that region of the page is an image that the OCR engine cannot interpret. Sadly, it is beyond the process. 

     

    To me, the fact that OCR works as well as it does is some sort of modern miracle (and I've been doing it for over 25 years). However, even when the text is flat, if the font is small, or the resolution is not great, the word "rain" can turn into "ram" during the OCR process. Things can be done to improve the chances, but none of them are full-proof. One thing you can try is to use your phone and use Adobe Scan. When you take the picture, have someone else hold the page out so there is no bend in the text, and take the photo so the lens is square to the page.

     

    Otherwise, your best bet is just to manually type out the missing data. 

     

    Good luck!

    D
    Dan0000000000Author
    Participant
    June 1, 2022

    Edit:

    I tried to copy and paste clipboard into a new PDF within Acrobat. Only the first 2 paragraphs of text pasted. I just tried pasting into In Design and that worked. Then I could copy and paste into Pages. Bizarre.

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