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.
If the text is selectable, then it is readable by a screen reader.
2. Click on the file name.
3. Select Alternative formats.
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.
5. Click on Download.
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.
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.