PDF tools · in the Stamppa PDF viewer and editor
Turn scanned PDFs into searchable text.
A scan is a picture of a page. OCR reads the words and lays an invisible text layer over each one, so you can search, select and copy the text while the page looks exactly as before.
Installs on Windows 10/11 and Mac (Apple Silicon). Send yourself the link.
Free for 14 days with every feature, just your email, no card. If you don’t buy, it stays a free PDF viewer.
Why do it in Stamppa
Your files never leave your computer
Stamppa is a fast PDF viewer and editor for Windows and Mac. It works offline and never uploads your documents: it connects only to confirm your license. Online PDF sites ask you to upload the file first; here it stays on your disk.
It’s at its best with construction drawings: measure to scale, compare revisions and batch stamp whole sets.
Works offline
On a plane, on site or behind a strict firewall, the tools work the same.
Nothing is uploaded
No cloud and no telemetry. Contracts, IDs and drawings stay with you.
Windows and Mac
One app on Windows 10/11 and on Mac (Apple Silicon), in English and Spanish.
How it works
Recognize the text, then search it
Open the scanned PDF
Then Pages ▸ Recognize text (OCR)…. For many files, use the Recognize text (OCR) card in Tools ▸ PDF Tools.
Run the recognition
Stamppa reads every page with the text recognition built into your computer. Nothing to install, nothing sent anywhere.
Search, select and copy
The new copy looks the same, but Ctrl+F (⌘F on a Mac) finds its words and you can copy them.
What it does
Scans you can search
Built into your system
Windows’ own OCR on Windows, and Apple’s Vision text recognition on a Mac. Nothing extra to install.
Pages look the same
The text layer is invisible: the scan keeps its exact look.
Search, copy and more
Once recognized, the text can be searched, selected, copied, converted and redacted.
Many files at once
Run OCR on a batch, a whole folder or every sheet of a set.
In a chain
For example OCR, then a stamp, then page numbers, then compress, saved as one action.
Then redact
With the text recognized, Redact can find names or numbers in many files and remove them for good.
On Windows, the OCR languages are the ones installed in Windows Settings ▸ Time & language ▸ Language. OCR makes a scan searchable; it doesn’t turn the picture into text you can retype.
What it costs
Every tool in every plan
Pay once a year and Stamppa 27 is yours forever, with every 27.x update, including the ones released after you cancel. It renews at your same price. There is a monthly plan too: after 12 months paid in a row, that day’s version is yours.
Prices in US$, excluding tax.Prices in euros, VAT included.Prices in pounds, VAT included.Prices in Swiss francs, VAT included.
Founder price · first 100 customers
Free for 14 days with every feature, just your email, no card.
Common questions
Ask Gus anything elseHow do I make a scanned PDF searchable?
Open it in Stamppa and choose Pages ▸ Recognize text (OCR)…. Stamppa writes a copy with an invisible text layer, so the page looks the same and Ctrl+F finds its words.
Which OCR engine does Stamppa use?
The one built into your computer: Windows’ own OCR on Windows and Apple’s Vision text recognition on a Mac. There is nothing extra to download.
Can I edit the text after OCR?
You can search, select, copy, convert and redact it. The page is still the scanned picture, so OCR doesn’t let you retype the words in place.
Which languages does it recognize?
On Windows, the languages installed in Windows Settings ▸ Time & language ▸ Language. On a Mac, the languages Apple’s text recognition supports.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. Stamppa works on your computer and never sends your documents. It connects only to confirm your license, when it opens and when you sign in, renew or change computer.
Make your scans searchable with Stamppa
Free for 14 days with every tool. Start with the scan you keep scrolling through by hand.
Windows 10/11 · macOS (Apple Silicon)