Why scanned PDFs need an extra step
A scanned PDF can contain page images without a usable text layer. A Markdown converter cannot reliably extract headings and paragraphs from text that does not exist as characters in the document.
OCR recognises the visible characters and creates searchable text. That searchable result can then be used as the source for Markdown extraction.
Create a searchable PDF with OCR
Open the scan in Searchable OCR and process the pages. Afterward, test whether names, dates and representative sentences can be searched or selected in the OCR result.
Poor contrast, blur, skew and compression artefacts can reduce recognition accuracy. If important text is wrong at the OCR stage, converting it to Markdown will preserve the mistake rather than fix it.
Convert the searchable copy to Markdown
Open the searchable result in PDF to Markdown and extract the document text. Review the generated headings, paragraphs and lists before copying or downloading the Markdown.
The conversion is most reliable when the OCR reading order is sensible. Multi-column scans, complex forms and heavily visual pages can still require manual cleanup.
Check the details that matter
Numbers, names, identifiers, formulas and specialist terminology deserve particular attention because a single OCR error can change the meaning of the extracted Markdown.
If the Markdown will be used with an LLM or retrieval system, correct those errors before the content is indexed or pasted into another service.
Keep the workflow local until you choose otherwise
The OCR and Markdown-preparation steps are designed to run locally in the browser for supported workflows. The document is not automatically sent to an AI provider.
After reviewing the Markdown, you decide whether to keep it as a local note, use it in documentation, or pass selected content to an external AI or RAG system.