The PX7 PDF OCR app icon

PX7 PDF OCR

Make scanned PDFs searchable.

Recognise the words inside scanned pages, keep the document looking the same and save a new PDF you can search, select and copy from.

Download free 7-day trialBuy for €19

No card required · Apple notarized · €19 one-time · updates through version 1.x · one key for up to seven Macs.
Free and paid ways to make a scanned PDF searchable on Mac

PX7 PDF OCR showing 10 recognized text blocks and one searchable page from a synthetic image-only PDF

The page stays the page.

Search, select and copy

OCR adds an invisible text layer behind the original scanned page, so the document keeps its familiar appearance.

See what was recognised

Switch between the original PDF, the searchable result and the extracted text before saving the batch.

Automatic language detection

Let the Mac detect the language or choose English, Danish, German, French, Spanish, Norwegian or Swedish.

Respect existing text

Pages that are already searchable are left alone by default. Choose Every Page only when you want fresh recognition throughout.

Text when you need it

Save optional plain-text or Markdown copies alongside the searchable PDF.

One PDF or a whole folder

Use Finder Open With, drag in complete folders or run the Shortcuts action with the same recognition settings.

Your originals stay untouched

Every result gets a new collision-safe filename. Existing files are never overwritten.

On your Mac

Recognition uses Apple Vision locally. Your PDF pages are not sent away for processing.

Install with Homebrew

Use the PX7 tap to install the same signed, notarized Universal release from Terminal.

brew install --cask px7digital/tap/px7-pdf-ocr

Feature summary

The details

Quick answers

Questions about PX7 PDF OCR

What is PX7 PDF OCR?
Make scanned PDFs searchable on your Mac while keeping the original page image. Batch OCR, language detection and optional text or Markdown export. €19 once.
Where does PX7 PDF OCR do its work?
PX7 PDF OCR processes PDF files locally on your Mac.
How much does PX7 PDF OCR cost?
PX7 PDF OCR costs €19 once. It includes a seven-day trial, and one app-specific key can be used on up to seven Macs. There is no subscription.
Which Macs can run PX7 PDF OCR?
macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel
How do I make a scanned PDF searchable on a Mac?
Text recognition reads the words in the page image and writes them back as an invisible layer behind it, so the document looks the same but can be searched, selected and copied. macOS has the recognition engine built in — PX7 PDF OCR uses Apple Vision locally, so the pages are not sent anywhere for processing.
Will OCR change how the scanned page looks?
No. The original page image is kept and the recognised text goes behind it, which is why a signature or a stamp still looks exactly as it was scanned. You can switch between the original, the searchable result and the extracted text before saving a batch.
Which languages can it recognise?
The Mac can detect the language on its own, or you can name it: English, Danish, German, French, Spanish, Norwegian or Swedish. Choosing the language explicitly usually helps on a poor scan.
Can I run OCR on a whole folder of scanned PDFs?
Yes — drag in a folder, use Finder's Open With, or run the Shortcuts action, and every document is recognised with the same settings. Pages that already have searchable text are left alone by default, so re-running over a mixed folder is safe.
Can I get the recognised text as a separate file?
Yes. Alongside the searchable PDF, PX7 PDF OCR can save a plain-text or Markdown copy of what it recognised, which is the useful form when the text is going somewhere else rather than staying in the document.