What is OCR (Optical Character Recognition)?

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is a technology that converts different types of documents, such as scanned paper documents, PDF files, or images captured by a digital camera, into editable and searchable data.

PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) specialized for use in the archiving and long-term preservation of electronic documents. It prohibits features ill-suited to long-term archiving, such as font linking (as opposed to font embedding) and encryption.

What does it mean to Flatten a PDF?

Flattening a PDF means merging all the layers of the document into a single layer. This makes form fields uneditable, annotations permanent, and ensures the document looks the same on all devices and printers.

What is PDF Redaction?

PDF redaction is the process of permanently removing visible text and graphics from a document. It is used to protect sensitive information such as social security numbers, confidential data, or proprietary information before sharing.

PDF Glossary & Knowledge Base | PDFgear Terminology Guide

OCR (Optical Character Recognition)

OCR is a technology that converts images of text (such as scanned documents or photos) into machine-encoded text. This allows you to edit, search, and copy text from scanned PDFs.

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PDF/A

An ISO-standardized version of PDF designed for long-term preservation of digital documents. PDF/A ensures that the document will look exactly the same in the future, embedding all fonts and disabling external references.

Convert to PDF/A

Flatten PDF

The process of merging all layers (text, images, annotations, form fields) into a single layer. Flattening prevents further editing of form fields and ensures annotations are permanently part of the document content.

Flatten Your PDF

PDF Redaction

Permanently removing visible text and images from a PDF. Unlike simply covering text with a black box, redaction deletes the underlying data, making it impossible to recover the hidden information. Essential for protecting sensitive data.

Electronic Signature (eSign)

A digital way to sign documents without printing them. PDFgear allows you to create, save, and apply electronic signatures to PDFs, streamlining workflows and reducing paper usage.

Sign PDF Online

Hyperlink

A clickable link within a PDF document that directs the reader to a webpage, another file, or a specific location within the same document. Useful for navigation and referencing external resources.

PDF Terminology Glossary