How to Convert a Scanned PDF to Markdown
Learn how to extract structured text, tables and formulas from an image-based PDF and review the result before editing.
Scanned PDFs often look like documents but behave like images. You can read them, yet selecting, searching or editing the content is difficult. OCR can turn that content into a structured Markdown draft.
Use an image-based PDF
Start with a PDF that contains a clear scan or page image. The current OmniOCR limit is 10 MB per file. Low-resolution pages, unusual fonts and dense tables may need extra review after recognition.
Extract Markdown from the PDF
- Open the PDF to Markdown workspace.
- Upload the scanned PDF.
- Compare the source with the text, table, formula and Markdown views.
The Markdown view is useful for moving document content into notes, drafts and knowledge bases. It is an editable text result, not a new searchable PDF export.
Review structure before publishing
Check headings, paragraph order, page breaks, numbers and formulas. Tables deserve a separate pass because narrow columns and merged cells can change the reading order. Keep the original PDF available while you revise the Markdown.
OmniOCR does not store the source PDF or recognized text in its application database. The file is sent to the OCR provider for processing, and recent result text is kept locally in the browser for comparison.
See the PDF OCR solution page for general limits and the PDF to Markdown page for the output-specific workflow.