PDFify
PDFify is application for automatic text recognition (OCR) created searchable and paged PDF out your images and scans. Use your...
- Intel, 64-bit processor
- macOS 10.14 or later
Description
PDFify is application for automatic text recognition (OCR) created searchable and paged PDF out your images and scans.
Use your scanner or camera to add new pages to PDF documents.
Drag emails or webpages on PDFify to create paged PDF files which are perfect for app store invoices.
Drag everything on the PDF window to append it to the current document and apply text recognition if required.
WHAT’S NEW
Version 5.2:
• Completely redesigned scanner dialog (macOS 14 and later): Pick source, color mode, resolution, and duplex right in the window, run a preview, and drag to select the scan area. A compact view gets you scanning fast; a detailed view shows the preview and all settings side by side. Older systems keep the classic macOS scan interface.
Choose where each scan goes with a single checkbox: Keep it off for a new document every time, or turn it on to append to the document you’re working on. Set the scan area exactly: Drag in the preview, enter precise measurements in millimeters or inches, or pick a preset like DIN A4 or US Letter – remembered per scanner.
• Automate PDFify with App Shortcuts: Compress a PDF, make it searchable with OCR, convert it to PDF/A, get its text, or export text as JSON – straight from Spotlight, the Shortcuts app, or Siri, without opening the app.
• See PDF/A status at a glance: The status bar shows right away whether the open document is PDF/A (for example “PDF/A-1b”).
• Fit imported images into more page
size
s: Now also A3, A5, US Legal, and Tabloid, in addition to A4 and US Letter.
REQUIREMENTS
• Intel, 64-bit processor
• macOS 10.14 or later
ScreenShots
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Size
– 31.4MB
Previous Versions
Editor-checked details
Recommended for individuals and small teams turning receipts, contracts, letters and scans into searchable PDFs. Keep read-only sources; define scan/OCR profiles; select Vision or Tesseract with representative samples; create a lossless master; sample critical fields and text-layer alignment; derive PDF/A/compressed copies; validate PDF/A independently; record manifest, failed pages, reviewer, date and SHA-256; only then enable batch shortcuts. Compare Acrobat Pro, PDF Expert or PDFelement for deep editing/signatures, OCRmyPDF for auditable server batches, and Preview/Image Capture for occasional scanning.
Pros
- It unifies scanner, image, email, webpage and screenshot input into a drag-and-drop workflow producing searchable PDF, PDF/A, compressed files, text and JSON. Apple Vision and Tesseract offer alternative OCR paths; Finder Quick Actions and 5.2 App Shortcuts suit repeat work. Duplex/area/page-size scanning, visible PDF/A status and compression presets help everyday archives.
Cons
- OCR is not authoritative transcription: low resolution, skew, complex layouts, tables, mixed languages and handwriting reduce accuracy. PDF/A conversion/status still needs independent validation and is not an archive policy. Compression can damage small type, fine lines, stamps and photos. This is not a full PDF editor for complex forms, signatures, structure tags, detailed layout correction or character-level OCR editing. Batch automation can amplify errors—especially with overwrite—and sensitive records require permission, backup and retention controls.
Installation steps
- The site build is PDFify 5.2, requiring macOS 10.14 or later and a 64-bit processor; Apple-silicon compatibility has existed since 3.3.2. Back up original scans/PDFs, confirm the scanner, ScanSnap or Continuity Camera works in Image Capture, and verify installer provenance and SHA-256. Place the app in Applications and grant only required file, camera, scanner and Shortcuts access. Use a copy containing CJK/Latin text, numbers, tables, skew, low contrast and handwritten annotations to compare Apple Vision and Tesseract OCR; lock language, DPI, colour and orientation. On macOS 14+, the redesigned scanner selects source, colour, resolution, duplex, preview and millimetre/inch scan area; older systems retain the classic interface. Confirm whether each scan creates a document or appends, then test images, email, webpages, screenshots and multipage TIFF. Export searchable PDF, PDF/A, compressed PDF, text and JSON; search sampled fields page by page and inspect order, rotation, crop, annotations, links, fonts, and text/image-layer alignment. Validate overwrite policy, naming, errors and logs on copies before Finder Quick Actions or App Shortcuts batch work.
Uninstallation steps
- Before removal, preserve source images, an uncompressed master PDF, searchable PDF, PDF/A, text/JSON, OCR language/engine, scanner/DPI/duplex/crop settings, shortcuts, manifest and SHA-256. Sample multiple languages, tables and annotated pages in Preview and an independent PDF/A validator; confirm open, search, copy and print, with annotations/bookmarks intact. Disable Finder Quick Actions, App Shortcuts, ScanSnap destination and camera/file permissions and ensure no queued or unsaved work. Quit and remove the app; clear preferences/support only if settings need not survive. Uninstallation is not an archive policy, and a PDF/A label does not prove scanned content accuracy. Retain installer, configuration and rollback copies until archival acceptance.
Common errors and fixes
- Missing or garbled OCR: ensure pages are not blank/rotated, choose the correct language and Apple Vision/Tesseract engine, use a clean roughly 300-DPI source, deskew and improve shadows/contrast. Mixed scripts, tables, receipts, handwriting and decorative fonts require sampled human correction. For misaligned text layers, avoid crop/rotation changes after OCR; retain the image and rerun on a copy. If a scanner is absent, verify driver, USB/network, permission and device contention in Image Capture; macOS 14+ and older systems use different dialogs. ScanSnap users should confirm destination/profile. Wrong duplex order or blanks require feed orientation, long/short-edge, append toggle and scan-area checks. For failed Finder actions/Shortcuts, enable extensions/privacy and inspect input type, output path, space and overwrite policy. Use grayscale/B&W compression for pure text but retain a colour master for photos/fine lines. Fonts, encryption, annotations, transparency or damaged objects can block PDF/A; validate the exact conformance level independently.
What changed in this version
- PDFify 5.2 redesigns scanning on macOS 14+ with source, colour, resolution, duplex, preview, exact scan area and new/append control; older systems keep the classic dialog. It adds grayscale and black-and-white compression presets, App Shortcuts for compression/OCR/PDF-A/text/JSON, visible PDF/A status, and A3, A5, US Legal and Tabloid image fitting. Only 5.2 changes are described.
File verification
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