# Turn a scanned PDF into text with OCR

**Use case:** 

Reads pages 1 to 15 of a scanned Dutch book from Wikimedia Commons with Tesseract OCR and returns one row per page with its text, word count and OCR confidence, plus Markdown. Paste your own PDF or image links and choose from 124 OCR languages. Pages with their own text are read directly and cost less, and blank or unreadable pages are free.

## Input

```json
{
  "fileUrls": [
    "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Het_Esperanto.pdf"
  ],
  "pages": "1-15",
  "maxPagesPerFile": 500,
  "ocrMode": "auto",
  "ocrLanguages": [
    "nld"
  ],
  "ocrLayout": "auto",
  "ocrDpi": 300,
  "markdown": true,
  "fileRows": false
}
```

## Output

```json
{
  "fileIndex": {
    "label": "File",
    "format": "integer"
  },
  "fileName": {
    "label": "Name",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "pageNumber": {
    "label": "Page",
    "format": "integer"
  },
  "status": {
    "label": "Status",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "textSource": {
    "label": "Source",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "wordCount": {
    "label": "Words",
    "format": "integer"
  },
  "ocrConfidence": {
    "label": "OCR confidence",
    "format": "number"
  },
  "text": {
    "label": "Text",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "error": {
    "label": "Note",
    "format": "string"
  },
  "fileUrl": {
    "label": "Link",
    "format": "string"
  }
}
```

## How it works

### 1. Sign up on Apify or log in

The PDF & Image Text Extractor: OCR to Text & Markdown Actor is ready to run with the inputs already set for "Turn a scanned PDF into text with OCR". [Sign up or log in](https://console.apify.com/create-task-from-example/H1XnnyOhnlFj4z2q0) and you'll land in Apify Console with a copy of this exact task.

### 2. Start the "Turn a scanned PDF into text with OCR" task

The PDF & Image Text Extractor: OCR to Text & Markdown Actor will start running based on the input automatically. You can also change all the input fields, like file links, pages, and more, to match your specific use case.

### 3. Receive the "Turn a scanned PDF into text with OCR" output

Monitor the progress in real time. You will be notified as soon as your dataset is complete and ready for review. Each result includes data such as file, name, page, and more.

### 4. Integrate into your workflow

The final output is delivered in JSON, CSV, or Excel format, ready to be plugged into your workflow. You can also [run the "Turn a scanned PDF into text with OCR" task via API](https://apify.com/subtleasianmerch/document-text-extractor.md).

## About this Actor

This example demonstrates how to use [PDF & Image Text Extractor: OCR to Text & Markdown](https://apify.com/subtleasianmerch/document-text-extractor.md) with a specific input configuration. Visit the [Actor detail page](https://apify.com/subtleasianmerch/document-text-extractor.md) to learn more, explore other use cases, and run it yourself.


## How to integrate an Actor?

This Task's input is already configured above. Use it as-is rather than inventing a new one.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For full API examples (JavaScript, Python, CLI, MCP, OpenAPI), see this Task's Actor page: https://apify.com/subtleasianmerch/document-text-extractor.md

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).