Make Scanned PDFs Searchable and Save Them to Google Drive Using Zapier
Automatically make scanned PDFs searchable when they are uploaded to a Google Drive folder, then save the searchable copies to another folder.
You’ll need connected Google Drive and PDF.co accounts, plus a scanned PDF for testing.
Step 1: Set Up the Google Drive Trigger
Create a Zap and select Google Drive → New File in Folder.
Connect your Google Drive account and choose a folder dedicated to incoming PDFs. Upload a scanned PDF to that folder, then test the trigger and select the sample file.
Step 2: Configure PDF.co
Add PDF.co → Convert Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF.
Connect your PDF.co account by signing in and authorizing Zapier through OAuth.
Configure:
- Source File URL: Map the File output from the Google Drive trigger.
- OCR Language: Select the language used in the document. English is the default.
- Output File Name: Enter a name such as
searchable-document.pdf.
This action uses optical character recognition (OCR) to make scanned text searchable. See the Convert Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF documentation for additional settings.
Step 3: Test the Searchable PDF
Test the PDF.co action and open its returned url.
Search for a word from the document and try selecting or copying text. Check that the recognized text matches the scanned content.
Step 4: Save the PDF to Google Drive
Add Google Drive → Upload File and configure:
- Folder: Choose a destination folder separate from the incoming PDF folder.
- File: Map PDF.co’s output
url. - File Name: Map PDF.co’s output
name. - Convert to Document: Select No / false, if shown, to retain the PDF format.
Test the upload and open the saved PDF. This step stores a copy before PDF.co’s temporary output URL expires. Google Drive action documentation
Step 5: Publish the Zap
Publish the Zap after the conversion and upload tests succeed.
Upload another scanned PDF to the incoming folder and confirm that its searchable copy appears in the destination folder.
Related Tutorials
