If you cannot select, copy or search the text of a PDF, the page usually has no text to select. It holds a picture of text (a scan or a photo) or the letters as shapes (text converted to outlines), so there are no characters behind what you see. Less often, the file’s permissions forbid copying, the text sits on a hidden layer or under an image, or the viewer’s selection tool is not on. On a Mac you can tell these apart in about a minute with Preview and two free command-line tools. The fixes follow from the cause: OCR for a scan, a version exported with live text for outlines, and an unrestricted copy from whoever issued a restricted file. If the text selects but pastes as symbols, that is a different problem: see copied PDF text comes out as gibberish.
Is the text selection tool turned on?
Rule this out first. Apple’s guide to the problem starts here: “The Text Selection tool may not be selected: Choose Tools > Text Selection”. The same tool is a button in the Markup toolbar. With the rectangular selection tool active, a drag makes a box instead of selecting words.
Is the page a scan or a photo?
Often the page is a scan: a scanner or a phone app wrote one image per page. The text you see is pixels, which is also why a scanned PDF is not searchable. Signs:
- dragging selects nothing, or selects the whole page as one block;
- at high zoom, the letters turn soft or blocky at the edges;
pdffontslists no fonts for the page, andpdfimages -listshows one large image per page.
pdffonts -f 1 -l 1 document.pdf
pdfimages -list document.pdfThe fix is OCR, optical character recognition, which reads the shapes and adds an invisible text layer so the page can be selected and searched. OCRmyPDF, a free tool, “adds an optical character recognition (OCR) text layer to scanned PDF files, allowing them to be searched.” Many scanner apps offer the same at scan time. Proofread names and numbers after OCR. The guide to editing text in a scanned PDF covers what OCR can and cannot do for changing the words.
Was the text converted to outlines?
Design and print workflows often turn type into vector shapes before a file goes out, so that it prints the same without the fonts. Each letter becomes a filled path. The page stays sharp at any zoom, unlike a scan, but pdffonts lists no font for that text and nothing selects. The glossary entry on text outlines explains the term.
There are no characters to recover: OCR can read the shapes like a scan, and the cleaner route is to ask whoever made the file for a version exported with live text.
Does the file forbid copying?
A PDF can be encrypted with permissions that allow viewing but restrict other actions. The standard defines one flag for this: “Copy or otherwise extract text and graphics from the document by operations other than that controlled by bit 10.” Preview’s guide points to where it shows: “The PDF may require a password before you can select or copy text: Choose Tools > Show Inspector”, then open the Encryption inspector and enter the password. In Terminal, pdfinfo prints the permissions on the Encrypted line. On a test copy of a demo document encrypted without copy rights, it printed:
Encrypted: yes (print:yes copy:no change:no addNotes:no algorithm:AES-256)The restriction was set by the file’s author or the system that issued it. The right fix is to ask them for an unrestricted copy or the source text. The guide to PDFs locked for editing covers passwords and permissions in full; this site does not give instructions for removing restrictions from other people’s files.
Is the text hidden, or under something?
Text can be on the page and still be out of reach:
- Under an image or a shape. A white box, a logo or a full-page image drawn after the text covers it; clicks land on the top object.
- On a layer that is turned off. PDF layers (optional content) can hide text from view while it is still in the file.
- Invisible on purpose. The text layer OCR adds is drawn invisibly over the scan. It selects, but the selection highlight may not line up with the picture.
How do you tell the causes apart in a minute?
| What you see | Likely cause | Quick check |
|---|---|---|
| Drag makes a box, not a selection | Selection tool off | Tools > Text Selection |
| Nothing selects; letters blur at 400% | Scanned page | pdfimages -list shows a page-sized image |
| Nothing selects; letters stay sharp | Text as outlines | pdffonts lists no font for the page |
| Selection needs a password, or Copy is dimmed | Copy permission off | Encryption inspector, or pdfinfo |
| Selection jumps to something else | Text under another object | Try selecting at the edge of the line |
What does each cause mean for editing the text?
The same causes decide whether any editor can change the words. A scan has no text to change: PDF Textfix does not edit scanned pages, and the invisible text layer of an OCR’d scan is locked, with the reason “This is hidden text, such as the text layer of a scan, so it cannot be edited.” Outlines are shapes, not text, so there is nothing to type over. Encrypted files, and files whose permissions forbid changes, open view only. Text that is only covered is still text; when a link or a comment covers a line, PDF Textfix edits it and says the cover “stays where it is”.
For the full list of reasons a PDF’s text will not change, see why can’t I edit the text in a PDF?
Questions people ask
Why can I select the text but search finds nothing?
The text is there, but its fonts lack a map back to characters, or the words are stored in pieces. Copied PDF text comes out as gibberish explains both and how to check.
Why can't I highlight text in a PDF?
For the same reasons it will not select: the highlight tool marks characters, and a scan or outlined type has none. If the page holds text, check that a markup tool is chosen rather than the rectangular selection, and that the file’s permissions allow comments; pdfinfo shows addNotes:no when they do not.
Why can I copy text from some PDFs and not others?
Because some PDFs hold text and others hold pictures of it. A file exported from Word or Pages keeps its characters; a scan, a photo or a print-ready file with outlined type does not. The checks above tell you which one you have.
The PDF opens without a password. How can copying still be blocked?
Permissions use a second password, the owner password. A file can open freely while its permissions restrict copying, printing or changes. Ask whoever issued the file for a copy without the restriction.