How to Extract Text from a PDF Using OCR on Mac
Download Highlights for free. Not on a Mac? Checkout the iPad and iPhone guides.
If a region of your PDF is not searchable (does not contain a text layer), Highlights can extract the text using machine learning.
1. Make an image selection over the text you want extracted:
![Image selection over text of interest in the PDF](/img/pdf/ocr-selection.png)
2. Click on the image selection to bring up the annotation popover:
![Annotation popover for image selection](/img/mac/popover/image-selection.png)
3. Click the Text Recognition button:
![Annotation popover with text recognition button highlighted](/img/mac/popover/text-recognition-selection.png)
Wait for the text to be recognized:
![Annotation popover processing text recognition](/img/mac/popover/text-recognition.png)
Once the recognition is complete your text will appear in the comment:
![Annotation popover with recognized text in comment](/img/mac/popover/text-recognized.png)
And the image in your notes will be converted to text:
![](/img/note/ocr-text.png)
4. Click the Smart Copy button to copy the extracted text
![](/img/mac/popover/text-recognized-copy.png)
The default language for text recognition is English (US), but you can change the text recognition language in Menu > Tools > Recognized Language:
![](/img/mac/preferences/recognized-language-menu.png)