How do I use Ally to convert a scanned PDF into readable text?
You will learn how to use Ally to convert a scanned (image) PDF of a book chapter, for example, into a readable text PDF.
As part of the effort to make our courses as inclusive as possible, we should not have any files or documents which are not viewable/readable by all of our students.
Follow these steps to convert your image PDF into a text PDF:
If you cannot select the text in a PDF, then it is an image.
![scanned pdf](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/002/096/625/original/56a2d696-aebd-4c89-866e-6265c6d49e03.png)
If the text is selectable, then it is readable by a screen reader.
![ocred pdf](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/002/096/627/original/14b25208-9244-4e8a-aa6f-08eddb57846b.png)
2. Click on the file name.
![Download icon selected.](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/003/938/938/original/916f9a24-9de6-4e43-8990-5da847b2bab1.png)
3. Select Alternative formats.
![Alternative formats link is selected.](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/003/938/993/original/e1d6358c-967b-4f33-8b9e-34486a2725fa.png)
4. Select OCRed PDF.
This will convert the downloaded file, so that the writing within the scanned image is seen as characters, not as a single image.
![OCRed PDF is selected.](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/003/938/995/original/cb1b5eeb-45fc-4596-8798-f45a6358925c.png)
5. Click on Download.
![Download button is selected.](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/003/938/997/original/5fb79bb3-1b45-44fb-a228-866269a021f0.png)
6. Upload the new version to your course.
Although the new file does not have a perfect score with Ally (as there are no headings, no title and no language set), it is at least readable by a screen reader. So, the next step would be to add headings, a title and a language within Adobe Acrobat to the PDF.
![The new pdf file has been uploaded.](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/003/939/230/original/e9c78761-27ed-4a18-adf1-8eeff6cadbe0.png)
Article Summary
You have now learned how to convert an image/scanned PDF into a text PDF which will be readable by JAWS or some other screen reader software.