Create Searchable PDF/A Files for Long-Term Archiving
Digitizing paper records only pays off if you can find them again. OCR adds a searchable text layer to every scanned page, and the option "PDF/A for archiving" saves the result as PDF/A-2b – the ISO standard for long-term archiving, which embeds the fonts and leaves out features that may not open correctly in the future.
How to Create a Searchable PDF/A
- Upload the scan Open OCR PDF and choose the scanned PDF, or photos of the pages.
- Set languages and PDF/A Add the languages of the document and tick "PDF/A for archiving".
- Straighten pure scans For files that are only scans, choose the mode "Only pages without any text" to use "Straighten tilted scans".
- Check and store Download the file; check it with your archive software or a PDF/A validator such as veraPDF before you store it.
Archiving Scans the Right Way
What PDF/A-2b means
The file looks the same on every system in the future: fonts and colors are embedded, and dynamic content such as JavaScript is not allowed.
Search the whole archive
With a text layer, document management systems, SharePoint, cloud drives and desktop search can find records by the words inside them.
Readable scans first
Dark, faded or grey scans are recognized poorly. Clean them up with Enhance PDF before OCR.
Compress before, not after
Changing a PDF/A file afterwards can break its conformance. If you need smaller files, compress the scan first and run OCR as the last step.
One document at a time
OCR PDF processes one file per run. For large paper archives, desktop or server software with batch processing is faster.
Pages upright
Turning sideways and upside-down pages upright is on by default, so the archived file reads correctly.
Works with every service
The text is part of the PDF, so it does not depend on a provider, plan or file size limit for automatic recognition.
Indexing takes time
Cloud services index new files in the background; a new upload may take a while to appear in search results.
Good to Know
- PDF/A keeps the page appearance for the future; it does not make the OCR text perfect. Where exact wording matters, the page image is the reference.
- If a file cannot be converted to PDF/A, you still receive a searchable PDF, and the result tells you that the conversion did not succeed.
Searchable PDF/A – Frequently Asked Questions
What is PDF/A?
An ISO standard (ISO 19005) for long-term archiving. OCR PDF creates PDF/A-2b, the level that guarantees the visual appearance.
Who requires PDF/A?
Many public archives, government agencies and some courts ask for PDF/A when documents are submitted or stored. Check the rules that apply to you.
Can I convert a typed PDF to PDF/A too?
Yes. In "Automatic" mode the real text stays as it is, so mixed documents can be saved as PDF/A as well.
Which languages are supported?
Available languages: العربية, বাংলা, Български, Čeština, 简体中文, 繁體中文, Deutsch, Ελληνικά, English, فارسی, Français, עברית, हिन्दी, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, Italiano, 日本語, 한국어, Bahasa Melayu, Nederlands, Polski, Português, Română, Русский, Español, Svenska, ไทย, Türkçe, Українська, اردو, Tiếng Việt. Choose up to four for one document.
Are my records stored on your server?
No. Files are deleted as soon as you have the result, after one hour at the latest.
Archive Your Scans as Searchable PDF/A
Recognize the text and save the result as PDF/A-2b in one step with OCR PDF.
Create Searchable PDF/A