Extract & OCR

Extraction pulls content out of a PDF: text, images, tables, bookmarks and form data. OCR reads scanned pages that have no text layer and makes them searchable. Paperly runs both in your browser, so documents never leave your device.

A PDF can hold text that is selectable, images, tables, forms and bookmarks — or, if it is a scan, none of that: just pictures of pages. Extraction and OCR are the tools that turn a PDF back into usable data.

Everything runs locally and is deliberately honest about accuracy: heuristic extraction is flagged as heuristic, and OCR quality is measurable.

How these tools work together

Text and table extraction

Extract Text from PDF pulls text from the pages you choose; PDF to Text and PDF to Markdown produce plain and structured text files. Extract Tables turns table-like rows into CSV or a real Excel workbook, using text position analysis.

Extract Images from PDF pulls out every embedded image. Extract PDF Bookmarks exports the outline. Search PDF Text finds a phrase and reports which pages contain it.

Extract Text from PDF — text from selected pages.
Extract Tables — rows to CSV or Excel (XLSX).
Extract Images from PDF — every embedded image.
Search PDF Text — find a phrase and its pages.

OCR: making scans searchable

OCR PDF reads scanned pages and produces a searchable PDF with a text layer; OCR PDF to Text and OCR PDF to Word return the text directly. OCR Quality Checker measures text coverage after recognition, so you can see how reliable the result is.

OCR quality depends on the scan: clean, straight, high-resolution scans recognize well; handwriting, very low resolution and heavily distorted pages are genuinely harder.

Forms and data reports

Export Form Data extracts filled form values to CSV. Data Extraction bundles text, links, images and metadata into one JSON report for programmatic use.

For documents that are a mix of selectable text and scanned pages, extraction tools read what is selectable and OCR handles the rest — check the per-page results to confirm coverage.

Which tool for which job?

Selectable text? Extract Text from PDF. Scanned pages? OCR PDF. A table you need in Excel? Extract Tables (choose the XLSX format). Images out of a document? Extract Images from PDF. One consolidated report? Data Extraction.

Extract & OCR tools

Extract Text from PDFExtract text from selected pages.Extract Images from PDFPull every embedded image out.Extract TablesTurn PDF table rows into CSV.Data ExtractionText, links, images and metadata in one report.OCR PDFMake scanned PDFs searchable.OCR Quality CheckerMeasure text coverage after OCR.Batch OCRMake up to 5 scanned PDFs searchable in one run.Export Form DataExtract filled form values to CSV.Search PDF TextFind a phrase in a PDF and see which pages contain it.PDF Contact SheetPrint a grid of page thumbnails with page numbers.Extract PDF BookmarksExport the outline/bookmarks of a PDF as text.OCR PDF to TextTurn scanned PDFs into plain text with OCR.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between extracting text and OCR?

Extraction reads text that is already selectable in the PDF. OCR recognizes text from scanned images that have no text layer. Scans need OCR; digital PDFs usually extract directly.

How accurate is OCR?

Accuracy depends on the source. Clean, straight scans of printed text recognize well. Use the OCR Quality Checker to measure text coverage on your specific document.

Are my files uploaded?

No. All extraction and OCR run in your browser — your documents never leave your device.