Scan to Searchable PDF

[DSPGuy1]

About a month ago (Feb 2025) HP Smart on my Win 11 PC stopped saving to searchable .PDF files.  Now only saves to image files.  There is no option to Save to Searchable Text when selecting the Save option after scanning.  Also, I never had to specify save to Searchable Text in the past.  It just did it.  Researching this, I keep seeing that I need to download and install The HP Universal Scan Driver, again something I don't recall ever having to do in the past.  Nonetheless I did it.  It seemed to install ok.  It shows up in  Programs and Apps list in Settings, the place where I can uninstall programs.  But, HP Smart still does not have an option to save as searchable text.  It just offers Basic PDF and image(*.jpg).  I've rebooted the machine after the Universal Scan Driver installation.  That did not help.  How do I get back to being able to save to searchable .pdf files?

[Garp_senchau]

@DSPGuy1, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

Got it — thanks for the detailed info. Sounds like HP Smart silently dropped the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature that used to let you save scanned files as searchable PDFs, and now you're only seeing Basic PDF or Image formats after scanning. 😤

I suggest you completely uninstall the hp smart app

• Remove the printer from hp smart 
• uninstall it and then reinstall it 
• then re add the printer if the issue occurs 

Also refer to this guide: HP printers - Scan as Editable Text (OCR) with HP Scan (Windows) | HP® Support

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Regards,

[DSPGuy1]

Garp,

  Thank you for your suggestions.  I had already done all of the things you suggested prior to posting the question.  I had uninstalled and reinstalled the printer.  I had downloaded and installed the HP Universal Scan Driver.  None of those things helped.  There's nothing in the HP printers - Scan as Editable Text (OCR) with HP Scan (Windows) | HP® Support page that I can see which I haven't already done.  Do you know of any other avenues for debugging this?

Thank you,

Jerry V.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @DSPGuy1,

Thank you for the response.

I hear your frustration loud and clear. It sucks when something that used to work flawlessly (like searchable PDFs via OCR) just... vanishes. Let’s dig deeper into why HP Smart on your Windows 11 system suddenly stopped offering the “Save to Searchable PDF” feature.

Here’s a more advanced route to fix this for good, since the basic stuff didn’t work:

Install “HP Scan” (Not HP Smart)

HP Smart is basic. For full OCR features, HP Scan is better:

Go to the HP Scan Software Download page

Search for your printer (HP OfficeJet Pro 8028e)

Select Windows 11

Download and install HP Full Feature Software and Drivers

During setup, make sure “HP Scan” and “OCR Software by I.R.I.S.” are selected.

Verify OCR Component is Installed

After installing the Full Feature Software:

Open C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\HP Scan

There should be a folder or file related to IRIS OCR. If it's missing, the OCR engine didn’t install properly.

If so, manually install the OCR package:

Download OCR Software from HP (I.R.I.S)

Install it separately

Use HP Scan to Save as Searchable PDF

Open the HP Scan application

Select “Document to File”

In Output Type, choose Searchable PDF (.pdf), this will appear only if OCR is installed correctly

Run a test scan

I hope this helps.

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" Your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 👍✨

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,

[DSPGuy1]

Kuroi,

  Thank you for the suggestion.  But it's not clear to me where to get "HP Scan".  I find something on a HP support page with a similar sounding name: "HP Universal Scan Full Feature Software and Driver" at https://support.hp.com/vn-en/drivers/hp-universal-scan-software/2101620481 .  Is that it?  I tried downloading and running it.  But it won't install properly.  It cannot find the HP OfficeJet Pro 6830, even if I specify its wired IP address, 192.168.50.46, which I can ping and get a quick response.  The printer is connected directly to my router through an ethernet cable, as is the computer I'm using to install the software.  I told it to use a Wired Connection in the Connection Options page. I've also tried Wireless, which I know works with it because I've used that with the HP Smart. I enabled the Wireless option through the printer's Setup menu structure and obtained a WiFi IP address of 192.168.50.47.  I've entered that into the HP Scan software and chose the wireless installation option and it still can't find it, even though I can ping it successfully.  I'm an electrical engineer so am familiar with general driver installation and items like this.  Can you advise what next steps I should take?  Please provide the exact URL and the name of the proper driver I am supposed to be installing.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @DSPGuy1,

Thank you for the response:

I understand that the latest driver did not resolve the issue. Let's try installing a previous version of the driver to see if that helps. Please use the following link to download and install the older driver:

HP Universal Scan Software - Full Feature Software and Driver

After installation, please check if the option to save scans as searchable PDFs is restored. Let me know if you encounter any issues during the installation or if the problem persists.

I hope this helps.

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" Your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 👍✨

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,

[DSPGuy1]

Kuroi,

  Thank you again.  However, two issues:

1) I assume you want me to have HP Smart loaded and working prior to installing the HP Universal Scan Tool, right?

2) When I click on your provided link, I get to a page that says "Congrats! Your download has started in your browser window.".  It isn't.  Nothing happens on that page.  However, there is another place on the same page which says "Click on the file to install".  Well, on that page, there is no file to click on.  But there are three steps at the top of the page, 1) Identify, 2) Download, 3) Install.  If I click on the 2) Download step, it brings me to a page on which I can download the HP Universal Scan Software driver.  However, it's the exact same version which I've been trying already several times, Version 63.4.6169 which does not work.  During the installation process, it attempts to find the printer on  my LAN, but cannot find it, even if I supply the printer's LAN IP address, 192.168.50.46.  I can ping that address successfully unless I disconnect the ethernet cable between the printer the router.  So I'm confident that it is the proper IP address for the printer.  I got it from the printer's LCD panel - Setup|Network Settings|Ethernet Settings|View Ethernet Details.  I don't understand why the Universal Scan Driver installation process cannot find the printer.  It's right there.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @DSPGuy1,

Welcome to the HP Support Community! 

We're here to help you tackle that malfunction! Don't worry, we've got your back! 

To get you the best assistance, we need to take this conversation to a private chat. We're inviting you to a private message to protect your privacy and ensure that any sensitive information remains confidential. 

To access your private message, just click the little blue envelope icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile, next to your profile name. Alternatively, you can click on this link. 

You can use this link as well: 

Private Messages - HP Support Community

We're looking forward to helping you resolve this issue! 

Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience! 

Best regards,

[DSPGuy1]

I was finally able to get this problem solved.  I used a SourceForge scanner app for Windows.  It's called NASP2.  It controls the OfficeJet Pro printer fine.  And it creates text searchable pdf documents without problem.   I understand that your prescribed response is to not use 3rd party software because of malware concerns.  But in this case, it was HP's own drivers which corrupted the operation of the scanner.  And the 3rd party software did not.

Thank you,

Jerry Viviano

[Garp_senchau]

Hey @DSPGuy1,

Thank you for your response,

That's awesome to hear everything is working fine now! Glad you were able to get it sorted, and everything is back on track.

Do not hesitate to contact us if anything else comes up. 😊

Take care and have a good day. 

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Regards,