How can I tell if my PDF is scanned or native?

Try clicking and dragging to highlight text in the PDF. If you can select individual words, it's native text and PDFAmend will work. If nothing highlights, it's a scanned image.

How do I convert a scanned PDF to editable text?

Upload the PDF to Google Drive → right-click → Open with Google Docs. Google will OCR the text automatically. Copy the text, make your edits, then export as PDF — or use the resulting text as a new native PDF.

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Can you edit text in a scanned PDF?

Short answer: not directly. Here's how to tell if your PDF is editable and what to do if it's a scan.

Upload your PDF to start editing

Works on PDFs where text can be highlighted and copied · Free to edit

How it works

Try highlighting text — if you can, it's native and editable
If text is an image, you need OCR first
Free OCR options: Adobe Acrobat (trial), Google Drive (open PDF → Docs)
Once converted to text, edit with PDFAmend

FAQ

How can I tell if my PDF is scanned or native?: Try clicking and dragging to highlight text in the PDF. If you can select individual words, it's native text and PDFAmend will work. If nothing highlights, it's a scanned image.
How do I convert a scanned PDF to editable text?: Upload the PDF to Google Drive → right-click → Open with Google Docs. Google will OCR the text automatically. Copy the text, make your edits, then export as PDF — or use the resulting text as a new native PDF.