Searchable PDF Conversion - Huge Size

[bjcheung77]

Just wondering what do you all use for PDF Conversion or saving as a searchable PDF file.
The PDF files I have are huge and would like to convert them to a smaller size, but searchable.
For some reason, using CutePDF, it doesn't always save as a searchable PDF file for some reason.

[Nixi]

Just wondering what do you all use for PDF Conversion or saving as a searchable PDF file.
The PDF files I have are huge and would like to convert them to a smaller size, but searchable.
For some reason, using CutePDF, it doesn't always save as a searchable PDF file for some reason.

You want to look into "OCR" software (converts images with text in your PDF documents into actual searchable text).

I remember doing this 3 years ago with an e-book which I printed into a PDF, which wasn't searchable. The website I used was OnlineOCR.net--it only does a limited number of pages for free though. I don't know of any completely free solutions for converting a full e-book, so if you find any, let me know.

[High_Order1]

I use acrobat.

You may have to break the book down into chapters, then OCR each chapter, put each chapter in a folder, then search the folder. (shrugs) The paid route, you potentially could send the text off to someone online, but the things I was working on wasn't publicly releasable, so I never went that route.

[Nixi]

I use acrobat.

You may have to break the book down into chapters, then OCR each chapter, put each chapter in a folder, then search the folder. (shrugs) The paid route, you potentially could send the text off to someone online, but the things I was working on wasn't publicly releasable, so I never went that route.

This is perfect. Thanks!

I found Adobe Acrobat DC at https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat/...-text.html, and it has a 30-day free trial (no CC required). Downloaded it and tested it on a PDF, and it converted it into searchable text really fast. After the 30-day free-trial it has the option of a $14.99/mo. monthly subscription, which is actually a pretty good deal.

[bjcheung77]

This is perfect. Thanks!

I found Adobe Acrobat DC at https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat/...-text.html, and it has a 30-day free trial (no CC required). Downloaded it and tested it on a PDF, and it converted it into searchable text really fast. After the 30-day free-trial it has the option of a $14.99/mo. monthly subscription, which is actually a pretty good deal.

That's awesome, I have the Adobe Reader DC, I'll see how well this trial version runs, if it's good, might invest in it....

[bjcheung77]

That's awesome, I have the Adobe Reader DC, I'll see how well this trial version runs, if it's good, might invest in it....

Just an update to this, the Adobe Reader DC is a great tool to reading PDF's AND if you need to modify the file, the Adobe Acrobat DC is worth it.
I had a few hours to test this Acrobat DC and it has shrunk my files down to size, significantly saving my computer space and seems faster to search.