Image-only PDF-2

 If the document contains text, but a word search cannot be executed, it could be an image-only PDF file.

Two ways to OCR a scanned image

Perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert the bitmap image of text, to actual characters.

In Acrobat Pro DC, this can be performed in two ways:

1. Scanned Page Alert: Select OK from the Scanned Page Alert dialog after opening the document to bring up the Recognize Text dialog.
2. Recognize Text Using OCR:
   • By selecting Tools > Action Wizard > Make Accessible > Recognize Text using OCR.
   • You will be given the option to recognize the entire document, the current page, or a range of pages within the document. Use the Edit button in the scanned page dialog to set the desired characteristics for the resulting file.
     • When the Make Accessible Wizard is selected, the Recognize Text using OCR and Recognize Text - General Settings dialog will appear. Use the following settings:
       • Primary OCR Language: Acrobat will not recognize a document’s language automatically — the user must indicate which language is used.
       • PDF Output Style: This option should be set to Editable Text and Images, which will allow the resulting PDF to “reflow".  Reflow allows the text on the page to be enlarged, without displaying horizontal scroll bars. As the text size increases, the text wraps, so content is not lost in the margins. 
       • Downsample to: Downsampling should be set to the highest resolution as measured in dots per inch (DPI). This should be 600 DPI.

Resume Through the Rest of the Sections in the Make Accessible Pane

1. Set Language & Tags
2. Run Accessibility Check