How to turn off Automatic OCR in PDF Edit 2023

[danbergerink]

Hello,

This topic has arisen before, but the solutions I found aren't working for me with the current version of Acrobat Pro.

I assemble graphic novels - the latest one I'm working on has a problem with OCR as the cover page is being tilted when I don't want it to be (image 1 - red outlines indicate where the image has been tilted, creating a white edges that should not be there)

I went into the "Scan & OCR/Enhance scanned file" setting and unchecked "Recognize Text" - but the page is still being tilted. (image 2)

I saw advice that I can turn off "Recognize Text" via the right side panel using the "Scanned Documents" tab - but I don't have a "Scanned Documents" tab (image 3)

Final image is the version I'm using for reference.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Amal. · Accepted solution]

Hi @danbergerink 

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out.

The OCR process is turned on by default. When you open a scanned document for editing, the current page is converted to editable text. As you scroll, the page in focus becomes editable. You can disable the automatic OCR option if you don't want to convert your scanned documents to editable text.

1. Choose Edit > Text.

2. To turn off automatic OCR, deselect the Recognize text option in the right pane. Acrobat won't automatically run OCR the next time you open the document for editing.

   For more information, please go through the help page https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/edit-scanned-pdfs.html?screen=modern#

   Regards

   Amal

[36577288bfsi · Accepted solution]

The only solution I found is 1st create any pdf file from images with text. then you can disable the "recognized scan text"

 

 

 

[Chad Kirk Nielson]

thank you. I don't suppose you could explain to us old folks how to enter commands like this? I'm not sure I understand what is meant by "Windows 10 Registry Key"

[Dwayne23403060scc6]

@Chad Kirk Nielson 

To add the key to the windows registry quickly you can perform either of the following:

From Command Prompt run the following: (Click Windows Start menu and type CMD)

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\PaperCapturePlugin" /v bEnableTextEditingScannedDocument /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

OR

From Powershell run the following: (Click Windows start menu and type: Powershell)

New-ItemProperty "Registry::\HKCU\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\PaperCapturePlugin" -Name "bEnableTextEditingScannedDocument" -PropertyType DWORD -Value 1 -Force

[andyb31425377]

Seriously Adobe, why are functions like this gimmick not set to on/off in preferences? 

Having to get a reg editor out is pretty poor form, seeing as most people in major corporations will just be stuck with something that turns the product into an utter nuisance. 

[alex_9296]

Doesn't work for me, because I use Acrobat Pro 11
What did I find:
Plugin TouchUp.api automatically initiate OCR. Yoy cannot remove this plugin, because you won't be able to edit text and images.
Removing Papercapture.api doesn't help

[Nima224123000zvj]

Thank you. This worked for me:

Windows key+run/regedit

HKCU\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\PaperCapturePlugin\

[DWORD] bEnableTextEditingScannedDocument

Disabled: 0x00000000

Enabled: 0x00000001

[default571m6e6u7ihx]

How would you do this in Mac's OS? Thanks.

[ssd918]

that's great, but not all of us a able to do this solution, like me. we need a way to disable this in the preferences. 

[Jon38321891d4vc]

This worked for me today 4/15/2025 in Windows 11, thanks!

[default571m6e6u7ihx]

Hi Amal, you cannot uncheck it as it is greyed out in every similar document i open. Please have adobe correct this feature. I am so frustrated that I am moving back to word docs and MS OneNote and Apple Pages. 

[prd27673909yhpn]

This answer is A BOGUS. 

The correct answer provided by @Dwayne23403060scc6 

I canceled my purchase just because this "disaster". The damned adobe couldn't even recognize the language or the letter, and just destroyed the background picture with no way to get it back because they forced something that they couldn't do. No matter what I did, the image just destroyed. 

[craigc58891142]

There is no "right pane". 

Once you've opened the Edit panel, there is a gear icon on top that opens a popup where you can uncheck "Recognize scanned text".

[ssd918]

this is not a solution because every time I restart my computer, AA acts like I never set that option and will proceed to convert to text. please show us how to disable this feature so that I don't have to reset it every single day of my life. thanks!

[rhied_2018]

I canceled my Adobe and ended up purchasing another PDF software that I won't name here. it was $50 for a lifetime license. it has been awesome.  I highly recommend doing the same.  Plenty of options in the windows store.

[Cristian Gabriel Rusu]

I just want to say, that having it turned on is kind of insane. I understand that it may help some people, but most Adobe users are experienced designers - just add a button to start OCR if we want to, don't automatically turn it on and then hide the option to turn it off in some obscure place in the settings. This is maddening. 

Stop treating customers like children and act like you know better than them what they want.

[AJRALT]

here here!!

[Ineedafingscreenname]

This solution is not working for me (Windows 11, Version: 25.1.20577.0). The option to turn off  "Recognize text" is greyed out. I've tried turning off the option when the PDF is an photograph of a random object only, with not text. The option is not greyed out in such cases, but unchecking the box does not stay permanent for any other documents.

[Amal.]

Hi there 

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out. 

There’s no way to permanently disable this for all documents, the setting is applied on a file-by-file basis. That’s why even if you uncheck the box for one file, it won’t carry over to others.

This behavior is by design to help keep PDFs searchable, so the “off” state can’t be locked in globally.

~Amal

[GREGORY2937463695sr]

This solution DOES NOT work in the current version of Acrobat. The company I work for uses JPEGs exported out of Illustrator to make PDFs. This is a standard. I do NOT have the power to change this. The automated OCR feature is distorting and altering the layout of my documents. I NEED to be able to turn it off by default. This isn't a want, it's a need. This is making my job much harder.

The instructions given here and recommended by Adobe DO NOT WORK for the current version of Acrobat. The menu commands and locations ARE NOT PRESENT in the current version of Acrobat. Therefore, these instructions, DO NOT WORK AND ARE INCORRECT. Please see the attached screen shots to see that the listed locations in the instructions are WRONG.

As you can see in the image, If you click EDIT in the menu bar, there is no listing for "TEXT" given. Nothing in that menu matches the instructions given here by Adobe. If you open up the EDIT sidebar, there is no listing for "TEXT" and there is nothing in the sidebar that matches those instructions.

[Rhied]

In the "Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 1.12.44 PM.png" image, there's a little settings gear just above and to the right "FORMAT TEXT".  Should be that button that takes you to the text recognition settings.

[aikembisd]

Perhaps it should, but it does not, as already illustrated in Jan 2024 of this thread.

[Abambo]

It does. At least it works on my computer as it should and is expected to work.

[36577288bfsi · Accepted solution]

The only solution I found is 1st create any pdf file from images with text. then you can disable the "recognized scan text"

 

 

 

[defaultd3gu7mqximpy]

This does not work my recognise scanned text box is unticked and greyed out but it still OCR scans

[gudguy1a]

Yep, I've found this issue going back to 2019....

When I open up a pdf in Acrobat pro, what is presented to me is a PDF image, like a bitmap or jpeg

As long as we are not editing the PDF in question, we can copy words, sentences - but when we go to edit the pdf, it returns to IMAGE state.

That is the problem many folks are getting and no one seems to have a resolution for working on the PDF for editable text and not waste time on trying to edit an IMAGE to get to the text.

None of the settings have worked, and I am a senior tech guy - for decades.

Attempted all of the various solutions, turn off 'recognize text', close acrobat and edit the registry HIVE KEY, do this, do that - so far, NOTHING works.

I tried to get it working last year and gave up.

Tried it again this month when I was going through security clearance renewal - WASTE of time AGAIN....!!!!

Acrobat is NOT letting us take a friggin' PDF that has an image (jpeg) of text and be able to convert / edit it into a PDF text document....

And of course, let's not forget the other "LOVELY" issue of:

unable to locate the Paper Capture recognition service. Your installation may be corrupt.

This is probably due to either a low memory situation or an corrupt installation. If the problem is not cleared up by shutting down other applications and/or rebooting, then please re-install Acrobat.

I've uninstalled, rebooted, reinstalled acrobat at least a 8 - 10 times over the past year. All to no avail... and I have 32 GB of RAM with CPU availability of 50% or more, so it is DEFINITELY NOT pc resource constraints...

And trust me, I am barely able to restrain myself from going into my former Marine Corps Platoon Sergeant mode with very, VERY salty language aimed squarely at Adobe...

[gudguy1a]

Sorry for that li'l soliloquiy but many, MANY of us are frustrated beyond belief and wasted many hours - well, at least a fair number of us have....