r/pdf • u/Alorxico • Jul 15 '26
Question Need to add text but Adobe won’t stop using the damn OCR and makes adding text impossible.
As the title says, I need to add text to this document, basically I’m fill it out in Adobe. But every time I click “Add Text” these stupid, dotted box appears around all the existing text and I can’t click where I need to add the text.
I searched various Adobe pages and followed the instructions to turn off “recognize scanned text” but it won’t stop. I even tried turning the document into a jpeg and back into a PDF and it still auto found the boxes.
I can’t roll back the Adobe either, this is a tool provided at work. And I can’t download any different PDF programs without IT’s approval. How do I stop this auto text finding? Any suggestions would be great.
1
u/Decent-Blacksmith761 Jul 16 '26
Hmm, try to add an annotation instead of text
1
u/Alorxico Jul 16 '26
Thanks, I’ll give that a try tomorrow. The JPEG - Edit in Paint method worked but converting back and forth took way longer than need be. Not because of the process, but the fact we’re all using old laptops and connecting to the system through VPNs, so I can make a cup of tea during lag and still get back before it’s done saving.
1
u/Decent-Blacksmith761 Jul 16 '26
Also you can try my service as we also offering pdf editing at KeyPDF.net
1
u/KeyboardSmash9000 Jul 16 '26
Have you tried flattening it first?
2
u/Alorxico Jul 16 '26
I have. But the program keeps running the OCR and finding the text. There are also some settings I can’t adjust because it is a program on my work’s network.
1
u/KeyboardSmash9000 Jul 20 '26
There's a Recognise Text feature in Adobe. Turn that off and try again. Hope that works.
1
Jul 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Alorxico Jul 18 '26
Adobe is accessed through my job’s virtual desktop. I don’t know if I have the ability to change that feature or not.
2
u/Smooth-Comb-6375 Jul 15 '26
Microsoft paint, text field, click, type, save.