PDF Rescue (OCR)
Overview
PDF Rescue is a specialised AI-powered OCR tool designed to extract clean, editable text from poorly formatted PDFs. Built into Supervertaler, it uses vision-capable LLM OCR to intelligently recognise text, formatting, redactions, stamps, and signatures–producing professional, translator-ready documents.
🎯 The Problem It Solves
Have you ever received a PDF translation job where:
The text won't copy-paste cleanly?
Line breaks are all over the place?
Formatting is completely broken?
Traditional OCR produces gibberish?
Redacted sections show as black boxes?
Stamps and signatures clutter the text?
PDF Rescue fixes all of this.
Real-World Success Story
"I had a client reach out for a rush job–a 4-page legal document that had clearly been scanned badly. Traditional OCR couldn't handle it, and manual retyping would have taken hours.
I used PDF Rescue's one-click PDF import, processed all 4 pages with AI OCR, and it produced a flawless Word document that I could immediately start working with. What would have been a multi-day nightmare became a straightforward job I could deliver on time.
I was able to tell my client that I could handle the job–and delivered professional quality. PDF Rescue literally saved a client relationship."
– Michael Beijer, Professional Translator
✨ Key Features
1. 📄 One-Click PDF Import
No external tools needed - Import PDFs directly
Automatic page extraction - Each page saved as high-quality PNG (2x resolution)
Persistent storage - Images saved next to source PDF in
{filename}_images/folderClient-ready - Images can be delivered to end clients if needed
2. 🧠 Smart AI-Powered OCR
Vision-capable LLM OCR - High accuracy OCR
Context-aware - Understands document structure and formatting
Intelligent cleanup - Fixes line breaks, spacing, and formatting issues
Redaction handling - Inserts descriptive placeholders like
[naam],[bedrag]in document languageStamps & signatures - Detects and describes non-text elements:
[stempel],[handtekening]
3. 🎨 Optional Formatting Preservation
Markdown-based - Uses
**bold**,*italic*,__underline__Toggle on/off - User-controlled via checkbox
Clean output - Markdown converted to proper formatting in DOCX export
Visual preview - See formatting markers before export
4. 📊 Batch Processing
Process selected - Work on individual images
Process all - Batch process entire document
Progress tracking - Visual progress bar and status updates
Skip processed - Already-processed images are skipped (unless re-selected)
5. 📝 Comprehensive Logging
Activity log integration - All operations logged with timestamps
PDF import progress - Each page extraction logged
OCR processing - Per-image processing logged
DOCX export - Export operations tracked
6. 👁️ Full Transparency
"Show Prompt" button - View exact instructions sent to AI
Configuration display - See model, formatting settings, max tokens
No black boxes - Complete visibility into AI processing
7. 📊 Professional Session Reports
Markdown format - Clean, readable documentation
Complete configuration - All settings recorded
Processing summary - Table of all images and status
Full extracted text - All OCR results included
Statistics - Character/word counts and averages
Supervertaler branding - Professional client-ready reports
8. 💾 Flexible Export Options
DOCX export - Formatted Word documents with optional bold/italic/underline
Copy to clipboard - Quick text extraction
Session reports - Professional MD documentation
9. 🚀 Standalone Mode
Can run independently outside Supervertaler:
Full-featured standalone application with all capabilities.
🎯 Workflow
Quick Start (5 Steps)
Open PDF Rescue - Open the Tools menu at the top of the window → 🔍 PDF Rescue. The tool opens in its own window.
Import PDF - Click "📄 PDF" button, select your badly-formatted PDF
Check formatting option - Leave "Preserve formatting" checked (default)
Process - Click "⚡ Process ALL" to OCR all pages
Export - Click "💾 Save DOCX" to create Word document
That's it! You now have a clean, editable Word document ready for translation.
Detailed Workflow
Step 1: Import Your PDF
Method 1: Direct PDF Import (Recommended)
Method 2: Manual Image Import
Result: All images listed in left panel with ✓ status indicators
Step 2: Configure Settings
Model Selection (vision-capable models, grouped by provider):
OpenAI:
gpt-5.5(Recommended - flagship),gpt-5.4-mini(budget option)Claude:
claude-sonnet-4-6,claude-haiku-4-5-20251001,claude-opus-4-7Gemini:
gemini-3.1-flash-lite,gemini-2.5-pro,gemini-3.1-pro-preview
Formatting Option:
✓ Preserve formatting (bold/italic/underline) - Enabled by default
Unchecked = Plain text output only
Extraction Instructions:
Default instructions optimized for badly formatted PDFs
Handles redactions, stamps, signatures automatically
Can customize if needed (advanced)
Click "👁️ Show Prompt" to see exact AI instructions
Step 3: Process Images
Option A: Process Selected
Option B: Process All (Recommended)
Processing Details:
Each image sent to the OCR model
Text extracted with context awareness
Formatting detected (if enabled)
Redactions/stamps/signatures handled
Results stored in memory
✓ indicator appears when processed
Step 4: Review & Export
Review Extracted Text:
Click any processed image in list
Preview pane shows extracted text
Formatting shown as markdown (
**bold**,*italic*, etc.)Verify quality before export
Export Options:
💾 Save DOCX (Primary export)
Formatted Word document
Markdown converted to proper formatting
One page per document page
Page headers with filenames
Ready for translation work
📋 Copy All
All text to clipboard
Includes page separators
Quick paste into any application
📊 Session Report
Professional markdown documentation
Complete configuration record
All extracted text included
Statistics and metadata
Client-ready deliverable
Last updated