August 09, 2022
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As the awareness of creating a paperless office increases among more and more people, scanned documents (basically scanned PDF files and images) have become a great part of our paper work in the office. Yet, very often, we need to edit a scanned document to make changes. Here are multiple solutions to edit a scanned PDF or image document on macOS and Windows, respectively.
Best PDF Converter for Mac and Windows
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Free DownloadWith companies or individuals who are looking for PDF solutions, it’s vital and time-saving to consider the best software available. Through this part, learn how to edit scanned documents with the best software on Mac. Let’s get started!
Cisdem PDF Converter OCR, a dedicated PDF converter for Mac with OCR capability, to convert native, scanned PDF and images to 16 formats, while maintaining the original file quality (layout, format, image quality, etc.). Differing from those PDF editors, Cisdem PDF Converter OCR can make scanned documents editable in batch and in abundant output formats. Even, its built-in creator allows users to create PDF from other files, and customize the PDF size & quality as needed.
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In addition, if you are a Windows user, continue to read below and find a reliable way on your Windows device.
As we all know, nearly all scanned documents are saved in PDF format because of its capability to retain and present original file elements, to be easily accessed on different platforms as well. Assuming you are working with PDF on a regular basis, you probably got a PDF editor installed. And most PDF editors build in OCR features to edit a scanned PDF document directly. Here we recommend best PDF editors for you.
When talking about PDF editor, is that Adobe product the one first comes to your head? Then, you can absolutely edit a scanned document on Mac or Windows with Acobat Pro. Here we use subscribed Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (price at $24.99/month or 179.88/year), the latest Adobe Acrobat version to demonstrate how to edit a scanned document.
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Powered by Al-based OCR technology, ABBYY FineReader PDF ($19/month or $117/year) allows users to digitize paper documents and scans with high accuracy and excellent speed. Furthermore, users can create, edit, search, make comments, extract text from PDF, recognize text in PDF, convert MS Office such as PPT to PDF, compare documents and more.
A PDF editor seems to be the only solution to this issue. But in fact, most users finally choose to edit the scanned PDF or image document without paying for a PDF editor that is priced quite high. The easiest way to edit a scanned PDF or image document, for many users, is exporting the scanned file as an editable format, then editing the file in its corresponding document editor.
So if you don’t have a PDF editor, or don’t want to invest too much money on editing a scanned document, you can wisely make use of PDF converters to make scanned documents editable for further modifications.
Here we recommend another PDF editor to edit a scanned document on Mac and Windows, Able2Extract Professional 17 (price at $149.95). Accurately extracting image-only PDFs into editable and searchable text is an easy task for the OCR engine in Able2Extract. Another benefit is it enables to convert the poorest quality scans and correct skewed content and layout.
It is an all-in-one PDF editor, allowing users to convert native and scanned to Word, Excel, CSV, AutoCAD, etc, to annotate, to redact PDF and edit PDF content.
tips: If you want to increase your work productivity, you can perform the Batch Conversion tool under the Convert tab. Batch convert scanned PDF documents also works, but only as images.
There are also several PDF converters for Windows, and here we recommend Tipard PDF Converter Platinum, a comprehensive PDF conversion tool to convert native and scanned PDF into Excel, Word, Text, ePub, Image, etc.
There’s a handy assistant for users who have downloaded the word processing software — Microsoft Word. Although as a part of MS Office suite, Microsoft Word can also be used if you get the license of Microsoft 365. Do not think it is just an ordinary text processor, in fact, it can also achieve a variety of format conversions.
tips: Only Microsoft Word 2013 or later can edit scanned PDF documents. After conversion, the layout of the text and pages may be damaged, so the layout will not be as perfect as the original text. Users can only adjust the position of the text in the file manually.
If you don’t work on scanned documents that often, you can use online free OCR software to save money. The principle of using online free service is similar to that of PDF converter, do OCR on the scanned document to make them editable. The biggest benefit of using online service is that you can utilize this method both on MacOS and Windows.
Here we recommended OnlineOCR, a platform enabling users to make scanned PDF and image documents in editable Word, Excel, Text format. It is simple to use and preserves the original PDF formatting well.
Attention:
As for myself, I would like to turn to PDF Converter for help. PDF Editor always costs a lot, still gets limited output formats, while online OCR service may get you nowhere because of unstable conversion quality. However, a OCR PDF Converter for Mac or for Windows will enable scanned documents to be different editable formats, and you can edit a scanned document as you want to.
Rosa has worked in Mac software industry for more than eight years. She believes that the purpose of software is to make life better and work more productively. In addition to writing, Rosa is also an avid runner.
Eloise
Useful post! I'm struggling and looking for a way to edit my scanned files. And I find it's easy to turn scanned files to Word format, thanks a lot.