Guide
Batch OCR on a Mac: make many PDFs searchable at once
A folder full of scans? Textify adds a Quick Action to the Finder: select the files, Control-click, and each one becomes a searchable PDF.
Updated
Short answer: in Textify’s preferences (⌘,), open the Shortcuts tab and click Add to my shortcuts under Convert to searchable PDF. Then select your PDFs or images in the Finder, Control-click them and choose Quick Actions › Convert to searchable PDF. This needs macOS 12 Monterey or later.
Two ways to OCR many files
| You want | Use | Result |
|---|---|---|
| One searchable PDF per file | The Convert to searchable PDF Quick Action in the Finder | A searchable copy of each file, named after it, with _OCR at the end |
| All the files in one PDF | Open the files together in Textify, or the Make searchable PDF from images Quick Action | One searchable PDF with all the pages |
In the Textify window, select several files at once in the open window (⌘O), or drop them together: Textify puts them in one document that you save as one searchable PDF. The Quick Actions work from the Finder, without opening the files, and need macOS 12 Monterey or later.
Set up the Quick Action
-
Add the shortcut
Open Textify’s preferences (⌘,), click the Shortcuts tab, and click Add to my shortcuts under Convert to searchable PDF. The Shortcuts app opens: click Add Shortcut.
-
Select your files in the Finder
Select the PDFs or images to convert, in any folder. You can mix PDFs and images.
-
Run the Quick Action
Control-click the selection and choose Quick Actions › Convert to searchable PDF. The first time, macOS may ask you to allow the shortcut to use your files.
-
Choose where to save
Choose where to save the searchable PDFs. Each one keeps the name of its original file, followed by _OCR. The original files aren’t changed.
You can also add the two shortcuts from these links: Convert to searchable PDF and Make searchable PDF from images.
Many images, one searchable PDF
Photos of a contract, screenshots of an article, the pages of a scanned book: select the images in the Finder, Control-click them and choose Quick Actions › Make searchable PDF from images. The shortcut puts the images in one PDF, recognizes the text, names the file Searchable_PDF_by_Textify and asks you where to save it. Add it from Textify’s preferences, like the first one.
Change the language and the settings
Convert to searchable PDF recognizes text in the language of your Mac, and Make searchable PDF from images detects the language automatically. Both keep the original image quality. To change that, open the Shortcuts app, double-click the shortcut, and change the options of its Textify action:
- Language: Automatic, or the language of your documents.
- Color: color, grayscale or black and white.
- Quality and Resolution: lower them for smaller files.
- Replace Original File (PDF files only): overwrites each PDF with its searchable version instead of making a copy. Keep a backup of your originals before you turn it on.
Go further with Shortcuts
Textify’s action, Convert PDF file To Searchable PDF file in the Shortcuts app, can be part of any shortcut you build: for example, take the files of a folder, make them searchable and move them to an archive folder. On macOS 26 Tahoe, the Shortcuts app on the Mac can also run automations, for example when files are added to a folder, so new scans can become searchable on their own.
In the free version, the PDFs made by the shortcuts get the same “OCR by Textify on macOS” watermark as in the app. Textify PRO removes it.
Questions and answers
Which macOS version do I need for batch OCR?
The Quick Actions use the Shortcuts app, so they need macOS 12 Monterey or later. On macOS 10.15 and 11, open the files together in Textify to make one searchable PDF of all of them.
Where are the converted files saved?
Where you choose when the shortcut asks. Each file keeps its name with _OCR added, like invoice_OCR.pdf, and the original stays as it was, unless you turn on Replace Original File.
The Quick Action doesn’t show in the Finder. What can I do?
Check that the shortcut is in the Shortcuts app. Open its details and make sure Use as Quick Action is on, with Finder selected. In the Finder, Quick Actions › Customize… also lets you turn Quick Actions on or off.
Can I OCR documents in another language than my Mac’s?
Yes. Edit the shortcut in the Shortcuts app and set the Language option of the Textify action to Automatic, or to the language of your documents.
Are my files uploaded during batch OCR?
No. Shortcuts runs Textify’s text recognition on your Mac, like the app itself. Nothing is sent to a server.
Make a whole folder searchable
Get Textify for free, add the Quick Action, and convert your files from the Finder.
Quick Actions need macOS 12 Monterey or later