Edit scanned PDF text without converting to Word
To edit a scanned PDF, click a recognized word in TweakPDF or draw a frame around the text, then type the new value. The old one is refilled from the paper around it and the new one is drawn into the scan in the closest typeface, so the page keeps its look.
Drop a PDF here
Up to 25 MB · up to 100 pages
Three files a month, free. Sign in with Google when you download.
Invoice number 20242025 total
Why a normal editor cannot edit a scanned PDF
A scanner or a phone camera saves a photo of the page. Inside the PDF there is a picture and no letters, so an ordinary editor finds nothing to click on.
The usual workaround is OCR: recognize the text, export it to Word, fix it there and save a new PDF. That rebuilds the page from scratch. Fonts, spacing, lines and the texture of the paper come out different, and the result no longer looks like the document you scanned.
How TweakPDF edits a scanned document
The scan is detected
A scanned page is recognized on its own and marked Scanned page. You work on the original image, not on a retyped copy of it.
Recognized words are clickable
Text recognition runs for English, Russian, Polish and Ukrainian, so the words it finds can be clicked like ordinary text.
A frame for everything else
Text in any other language, a small label or a number the recognition missed: choose Text and drag a box around it. On a phone, draw with one finger; two fingers scroll.
Drawn into the image
The old value is refilled from the surrounding paper, and the new one is drawn in the typeface, size and weight closest to the printed letters. Nothing is pasted on top.
The hidden OCR layer goes too
Many scans carry an invisible layer of recognized text under the image, so the file can be searched. Paint over a value and that layer still holds the old words. Inside your frame TweakPDF removes this layer as well, so search can no longer find what you replaced.
What people fix in scans
A typo in a letter that was printed and scanned before anyone noticed. A wrong date or phone number on a scanned notice, flyer or price list. A misspelled name in a handout, or an old address in a scanned manual.
Where the match is approximate
A scan has no font file to reuse, so the new value is drawn by TweakPDF in the closest typeface it carries. On unusual lettering, decorative type or handwriting the match is approximate. Look at the preview, which is rendered from the finished file, before you download.
TweakPDF changes values on the page. It does not reflow paragraphs, add pages or turn the scan into an editable document. Use it on documents that are yours to change.
How to edit a scanned PDF
- 1
Open the scan
Press Choose file or drop the PDF here, up to 25 MB and 100 pages. It opens in the browser, and scanned pages are detected by themselves.
- 2
Click or frame the text
Click a recognized word, or choose Text and draw a frame around any other text. Type the new value.
- 3
Compare and download
Press Preview & download, compare the new value with the printed letters around it, then sign in with Google and download.
Questions about editing scans
- Can I edit a scanned PDF online for free?
- Yes. 3 files a month are free: you upload, edit and preview without an account and sign in with Google only to download. Pro gives up to 1000 files a month for $6 a month.
- How do I change text in a scanned PDF without Word?
- Open the scan in TweakPDF, click a recognized word or frame the text with the Text tool, and type the new value. The page stays a scan; nothing goes to Word and back.
- Which languages does the text recognition read?
- Recognized words become clickable in English, Russian, Polish and Ukrainian. Text in any other language can still be changed by drawing a frame around it with the Text tool.
- Will the new text match the font of the scan?
- It is drawn in the typeface, size and weight closest to the printed letters, picked from the typefaces TweakPDF carries. With unusual or handwritten lettering the match is approximate, so check the preview first.
- Can search still find the old words in the scan?
- Not inside your frame. If the scan has an invisible OCR text layer, TweakPDF removes the part under the frame along with the old value.
- Can I edit a scanned document on my phone?
- Yes, in the browser on iPhone, iPad or Android, with nothing to install. Press Text and draw the frame with one finger; two fingers scroll the page.
- What happens to my scan after I finish?
- It is deleted from the server two hours after you stop working, or right away with Delete file now. A downloaded file is kept 24 hours so a second download is free.
Change one value in your scan
Open the PDF, frame a value and compare the result with the printed text around it.
Choose a PDF