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Open the PDF in your browser
Drop a PDF onto the box or choose one. It is read in the page with a built-in PDF reader and never sent to a server.
PDF checker
Is my PDF scanned or searchable?
For anyone who can’t copy the text out of a PDF and needs to know why.
Drop a PDF and find out instantly whether its pages are real, selectable text or just scanned images. The check runs entirely in your browser — the file is never uploaded.
How the check works
What this PDF checker actually does
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Read each page’s text layer
The checker looks for selectable text on every page. Digital pages carry real characters; scanned pages carry none.
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Get a clear verdict
You learn whether the PDF is searchable, scanned, or mixed — and what that means for getting the tables into Excel.
What the result means
Searchable, scanned, or mixed?
Searchable PDF
The text is real and selectable. You can copy it, but copy-paste usually flattens a table into one column because a PDF stores positioned text, not cells. Extract the table with its structure to keep the rows and columns.
Scanned PDF
The page is a picture, so there is no text to copy at all. Getting the tables out needs OCR that rebuilds the rows and columns from the image — the job the Image to Excel extension is built for.
Mixed PDF
Some pages are digital and some are scanned inserts. The checker tells you how many pages carry selectable text so you know which ones will need OCR.
Next step
Once you know, turn the tables into a spreadsheet.
Whether the PDF is scanned or searchable, the table is still locked in the page. The Image to Excel Chrome extension reads tables from PDFs, scans, screenshots, and images, lets you review the result, and exports a clean XLSX or CSV — directly from the tab you are in.
FAQ
Scanned vs searchable PDF questions
How can I tell if a PDF is scanned or searchable?
Try to select text in the PDF. If you can highlight words, it is a searchable digital PDF. If nothing highlights, the page is an image and the PDF is scanned. This checker reads each page’s text layer and reports the answer for you.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The check runs entirely in your browser with a built-in PDF reader. The file is never sent to a server.
My PDF is scanned — how do I get the tables into Excel?
Scanned pages are images, so you need OCR that rebuilds rows and columns from the picture. The Image to Excel Chrome extension reads tables from scanned PDFs and images and exports XLSX or CSV after a quick review.
Why does copy-paste from a searchable PDF lose my table columns?
A PDF stores positioned text fragments, not real cells, so copying usually collapses a table into one run-together column. To keep the rows and columns, extract the table with its structure instead of copying the raw text.
Can a PDF be partly scanned and partly searchable?
Yes. Many documents mix digital pages with scanned inserts. The checker reports how many of the checked pages contain selectable text so you know which pages need OCR.