The accent problem, solved
Run French through an OCR engine set to English and you get "ete" for "été" and "francais" for "français". You then spend longer fixing the accents than it would've taken to type the paragraph. Telling the model the text is French avoids that, and it also keeps French typographic details like the space before a colon or question mark and « guillemets ».
Where people use French OCR
- Copying passages from a French novel or textbook for study notes
- Grabbing text from screenshots of French websites or slides
- Digitising French invoices, letters from the mairie, or forms
- Making flashcards from a photographed vocabulary list
- Getting text out of photos of signs and menus while travelling
Printed and handwritten in one pass
A worksheet with printed questions and handwritten answers is read as one document; you don't need to switch modes. If your images are mostly handwriting, the French handwriting to text page has tips aimed specifically at cursive.
Working with scanned PDFs
This tool takes images only. For a scanned PDF, screenshot the pages (or export them as PNG from your PDF viewer) and upload up to five at a time. You'll get each page's text separately, plus a Copy all button.
Mostly handwritten pages? Try French handwriting to text.
Frequently asked questions
Is this French OCR free?
Your first image is free with no sign-up. After that, a free account gives you 3 credits and 1 free credit per day.
Does it work on old French books with the long s (ſ)?
Yes. Older printed French is transcribed into modern letters, so ſ comes out as s while the original spelling is kept.
Can I OCR a French PDF?
Not directly. Convert the pages to images (a screenshot works) and upload those.
Does it handle French mixed with English?
Yes. Each word is kept in the language it was written in, and nothing is translated.
What image quality do I need?
A normal phone photo in good light is enough. Text should be in focus and fill most of the frame.