I need to turn off Automatic OCR in PDF Edit - There's a reference to the "right pane" and selecting "Revert to Image," but I can't get to that in the 'right pane.' Please help!

[jfarbstein@dgflaw.com]

AUTOMATIC OCR is TERRIBLE, at least for me - I use Adobe Acrobat DC Pro every day to prepare legal exhibits and other documents for law practice.  When the latest update to Acrobat DC Pro loaded a few months ago, selecting "Edit PDF" results in an AUTOMATIC attempt to convert the document to editable text.   I don't want this!    There are instructions available from Adobe that describe a "right pane" (presumably the pane with all of the tools on the right hand side of the screen), but there is no way to click on, right or left mouse button, and get to the selection "Revert to Image," which turns off Automatic OCR.

Please help!

[Bernd Alheit]

Try the menu View > Show/Hide > Tools Pane

[jfarbstein@dgflaw.com]

Bernd, that's still not working - although I turned the right pane on, it still won't allow me to get the menu described in the Acrobat DC documentation, to select "Revert to Image."  I really need to do at least a chat with Adobe.

[Bernd Alheit]

What can you see in the right pane?

[jfarbstein@dgflaw.com]

I see the list of Tools, including PDF Edit.  Here are the specific instructions:

Turn off or disable automatic OCR for scanned documents

"The OCR is turned on by default. Therefore, when you open a scanned document for editing, the current page is converted to editable text. Depending on whether you want to convert your scanned documents to editable text or not, you can turn off/on the automatic OCR option.

To turn off automatic OCR:

• In the right pane, click the Revert to Image option. From next time, Acrobat won't automatically run OCR and convert a scanned document to editable text."

[jfarbstein@dgflaw.com]

The problem is, I can't get to the "Revert to Image" dialogue or menu!   It seems to suggest that this is a part of a "scanning" menu, but that might be from an earlier version of Acrobat.   I just know that what was formerly "optional" (automatic OCR) is now the default, and with "text-based" scanned documents, it creates a mess!

[Karl Heinz Kremer]

Which version of Acrobat do you have? Please look this up on the "About" dialog and post the complete version number and the full product name that is displayed at the top of the "About" dialog.

[jfarbstein@dgflaw.com]

Version 17.009.20058

[jfarbstein@dgflaw.com]

Adobe Acrobat DC (It says "PRO" when we run the program, but that's not in the "name" under "About."

[Lovekesh Garg]

Please update Acrobat to the latest version. Go to Help > Check for Updates

Uncheck the option "Recognize text" will disable OCR. Please go through the Edit scanned PDFs, turn off automatic OCR, Adobe Acrobat for more details.

Thanks.

[feritt5207349]

wow, it was all about updating. thanks.

[feritt5207349]

Next day it started again, it thinks PDFs are untagged and starts tagging them, even though they already have a content pane.

[Bernd Alheit]

Activate Edit PDF and you will see the option.

[Guest]

What worked for me was this:

* Edit > Preferences... > Reading
* Reading Order: "Use reading order in raw print stream".
* Page vs Document: "Only read the currently visible pages".

[inarges]

I'm having the same problem – I've done everything I can to stop the auto-OCR scan, and it's just plain not working.

[KazVorpal]

I'm having the same problem. The idea that DC defaults to forcing us to immediately alter an opened PDF by OCRing, establishing an inferred tag order, forcing "disability" changes, and so on is absolutely idiotic, and smacks of the same corporate arrogance that we've been discussing elsewhere about Adobe.

Obviously, by default most of us want to open a document and have ZERO alteration of how it was by default in the file. If we were just planning to swap out an image, or change a few letters in some ACTUAL text, and then save it again we don't want the save having added text from inside images, new tags, et cetera. This produces a bigger file, messes up other odd details and in my experience things sometimes get rearranged so that layers are partially obscured by others.

The most absurd is when what MUST remain a contiguous image becomes partially OCRed, like the text inside a logo. I've replaced an image and not noticed that a few "letters" in it had been turned into pale, fragmented text that the client then noticed scattered around the bottom of the new image. Effing embarrassing, and while I could have triple-checked and caught it, the actual problem is purely Adobe's fault for forcing uninvited OCR and layering on the user.

[abusive comment removed by moderator] it is never an excuse for forcing the lowest-common-denominator "this is what's best for you" solutions on those of us with actual sapience. Not here, not with the foolishly vector-only line tool...nowhere.

Warning from moderator: please be respectful of other users. See the guidelines here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/using-the-community/adobe-support-community-guidelines/m-p/4788157?pa...

[allisonj10192588]

soo annoying. i had the same issues you mentioned in all of your streams.  nice that ADOBE does this. NOT!

[JR Boulay]

[Elvic]

This auto OCR feature is rediculous. The app is so complicated - I wasted several hours already and still can't get how to input a background image and prevent it from being OCRed. 

[Mamoru34840063fv1q · Accepted solution]

I had the same issue with automatic OCR. I have Acrobat Pro version 2024.004.20272 64 bit.

I found a way to turn it off.
Edit>(Cogwheel)>uncheck "Recognize scanned text"