{"id":5363,"date":"2025-07-25T12:44:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T12:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/?p=5363"},"modified":"2026-02-13T13:16:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T13:16:46","slug":"fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Ways to Fix &#8220;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&#8221; Issue Easily"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"block_sum mb-3\"><em>Can&rsquo;t highlight text in your PDF file no matter what you try? It&#8217;s a frequent issue that usually makes users puzzled when the text looks perfectly normal. Here, it becomes essential to highlight the PDF data to read, edit, and review the documents. Because when it stops working, it can disrupt your workflow. So, you should have awareness of the reasons behind the file restrictions to formatting problems. Also, you should know how to solve those issues with the different methods. With this blog, we will learn easy ways to resolve the &#8220;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&#8221; problem. And use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/pdf-unlocker.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Aryson PDF Unlocker Tool<\/strong><\/a> in terms of highlighting the text in secured PDF files.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center mac-win-tab\">\n<div class=\"col-md-6\">\n<ul id=\"myTab\" class=\"nav nav-tabs justify-content-center border-primary\" role=\"tablist\">\n<li class=\"nav-item\" role=\"presentation\"><button id=\"home-tab\" class=\"nav-link bg-transparent px-4 active\" role=\"tab\" type=\"button\" data-toggle=\"tab\" data-target=\"#home\" aria-controls=\"home\" aria-selected=\"true\"><i class=\"icon-windows\"><\/i> Windows<\/button><\/li>\n<li class=\"nav-item\" role=\"presentation\"><button id=\"profile-tab\" class=\"nav-link bg-transparent px-4\" role=\"tab\" type=\"button\" data-toggle=\"tab\" data-target=\"#profile\" aria-controls=\"profile\" aria-selected=\"false\"><i class=\"icon-apple\"><\/i>Mac<\/button><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"myTabContent\" class=\"tab-content\">\n<div id=\"home\" class=\"tab-pane fade active show\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"home-tab\"><span class=\"block_btn\"><a class=\"custom-download-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/demo-version\/Aryson-PDF-Unlocker-Demo.exe\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i class=\"icon-windows\"><\/i> Download Now<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<a class=\"custom-buy-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/pdf-unlocker\/buy-now.php\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i class=\"icon-basket\"><\/i> Purchase Now<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"profile\" class=\"tab-pane fade\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"profile-tab\"><span class=\"block_btn\"><a class=\"custom-download-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/demo-version\/Aryson-PDF-Unlocker-mac.dmg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i class=\"icon-apple\"><\/i> Download Now<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<a class=\"custom-buy-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/mac\/pdf-password-protection-remover\/buy-now.php\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i class=\"icon-basket\"><\/i> Purchase Now<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#Why_Cant_I_Highlight_Text_in_a_PDF\" >Why Can&#8217;t I Highlight Text in a PDF?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#How_to_Resolve_%E2%80%9CCannot_Highlight_Text_in_PDF%E2%80%9D\" >How to Resolve &#8220;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#1_In_PDF_Properties_Turn_Off_Read-Only_Mode\" >1. In PDF Properties, Turn Off Read-Only Mode<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#2_Remove_PDF_Security_Restrictions\" >2. Remove PDF Security Restrictions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#3_Enable_Highlighting_Tool_in_Adobe_Reader\" >3. Enable Highlighting Tool in Adobe Reader<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#4_Update_or_Switch_Your_PDF_Viewer\" >4. Update or Switch Your PDF Viewer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#5_Convert_PDF_to_Editable_Format\" >5. Convert PDF to Editable Format<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#6_Fix_PDF_Corruption_to_Reclaim_Highlighting_Ability\" >6. Fix PDF Corruption to Reclaim Highlighting Ability<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#7_Use_OCR_on_Scanned_or_Flattened_PDFs\" >7. Use OCR on Scanned or Flattened PDFs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#Best_Alternative_Use_Aryson_PDF_Unlocker_Tool_to_Enable_Text_Highlighting_Easily\" >Best Alternative: Use Aryson PDF Unlocker Tool to Enable Text Highlighting Easily<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#Follow_these_Steps_to_Unlock_Fix_%E2%80%9CCannot_Highlight_Text_in_PDF%E2%80%9D\" >Follow these Steps to Unlock &amp; Fix &#8220;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&#8221;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Cant_I_Highlight_Text_in_a_PDF\"><\/span>Why Can&#8217;t I Highlight Text in a PDF?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you can&rsquo;t Highlight Text in a PDF File, it can be for several reasons. Next, we will proceed with the most common causes that stop users and they cannot highlight the content in a PDF:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The first case is, your PDF is just a scanned image, then it doesn&#8217;t contain real text.<\/li>\n<li>If you enable the security settings, it can be the reason for blocking highlighting features.<\/li>\n<li>Also, if your PDF file is just marked as read-only. In that case, editing or highlighting the content is restricted.<\/li>\n<li>Another reason can be that your PDF viewer doesn&#8217;t support the highlight function.<\/li>\n<li>The PDF material has embedded fonts so that it becomes unselectable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now that you are aware of the primary reasons why you may be unable to highlight text in your PDF document.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Resolve_%E2%80%9CCannot_Highlight_Text_in_PDF%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>How to Resolve &#8220;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The following parts of this blog will take you through step-by-step solutions to resolve the problem of not being able to select text in a PDF with ease.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_In_PDF_Properties_Turn_Off_Read-Only_Mode\"><\/span>1. In PDF Properties, Turn Off Read-Only Mode<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Your system limits editing capabilities when a PDF is in read-only mode. Editing tools remain active when this setting is disabled.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Firstly, you should <strong>right-click<\/strong> on your <strong>PDF file<\/strong> and choose <strong>Properties<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Next, examine the <strong>Attributes section <\/strong>under the <strong>General tab.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Then, if <strong>Read-only<\/strong> is checked, uncheck the box next to it.<\/li>\n<li>To save the changes, click on <strong>Apply <\/strong>and then click on the <strong>OK<\/strong> button.<\/li>\n<li>Now, try to <strong>highlight<\/strong> the text when you <strong>open <\/strong>the <strong>PDF<\/strong> again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Remove_PDF_Security_Restrictions\"><\/span>2. Remove PDF Security Restrictions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Your PDF may contain security restrictions. As a result, they won&#8217;t allow you to use the highlight tool. Some PDFs are locked by their creators to disallow editing. Therefore, it&#8217;s preferable to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/unlock-secured-pdf-file-for-editing-and-printing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">unlock Secured PDFs<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Another way is, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.<\/li>\n<li>Then, go to File and find Properties and move to the Security tab.<\/li>\n<li>Now, see if there are any restrictions mentioned in the Document Restrictions Summary.<\/li>\n<li>If password protected, tap on the Permissions and provide the password.<\/li>\n<li>Next, modify the Security Method to &#8220;No Security.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Then, save the file and re-open it to see if highlighting works.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Enable_Highlighting_Tool_in_Adobe_Reader\"><\/span>3. Enable Highlighting Tool in Adobe Reader<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In other instances, you might not be able to highlight because the tool hasn&#8217;t been turned on. It can easily fix the problem by turning it on.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To start with, open the PDF in Adobe Reader on your PC.<\/li>\n<li>After that, click Comment and proceed with the Highlight Text Tool.<\/li>\n<li>In the next step, highlight and drag over the specific text.<\/li>\n<li>If it still fails, the text might not be selectable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If the process does not respond, your file may still be restricted or being scanned. So, you should apply the above methods to unlock it first.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Update_or_Switch_Your_PDF_Viewer\"><\/span>4. Update or Switch Your PDF Viewer<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes the problem is not with the file. So, you should check the viewer that you usually use to check it. Old PDF viewers might not be compatible with newer PDF formats. Hence, they are not able to provide the highlighting feature. To resolve this issue, fix the update or switch the software:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First, see if your existing PDF reader (such as Adobe Acrobat) has any updates.<\/li>\n<li>After that, restart the application and install any updates that are available.<\/li>\n<li>Download a different viewer, such as PDF-XChange Editor or Foxit Reader, if it still doesn&#8217;t work.<\/li>\n<li>Open your PDF after installing the new tool to see if the highlighting functions work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Convert_PDF_to_Editable_Format\"><\/span>5. Convert PDF to Editable Format<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If all the above fail, you should convert the PDF to another file type, such as Word or Text. So that it will grant you complete access to the content<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To begin with, open your PDF using Adobe Acrobat or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/pdf-converter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PDF Converter Software<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Next, upload your file and opt to convert it into Word (.docx) or Text (.txt) format.<\/li>\n<li>After conversion, download the file and open it in MS Word or Notepad.<\/li>\n<li>Now, easily select and highlight any part of the content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Fix_PDF_Corruption_to_Reclaim_Highlighting_Ability\"><\/span>6. Fix PDF Corruption to Reclaim Highlighting Ability<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The text layer might not work properly if your PDF is damaged or incorrectly encoded.<\/p>\n<p>Damaged PDFs may have embedded fonts or unreadable text that prevents highlighting. To resolve the issue of not being able to highlight text in a PDF, follow these steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You should try to use a different PDF reader to open the document.<\/li>\n<li>If the problem persists, <strong>print the file to PDF<\/strong> using your system&rsquo;s Print dialog.<\/li>\n<li>Then, re-save the file under a <strong>new name.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Alternatively, use a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/pdf-repair.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>PDF repair tool,<\/strong><\/a> upload your file, and download the repaired version.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Use_OCR_on_Scanned_or_Flattened_PDFs\"><\/span>7. Use OCR on Scanned or Flattened PDFs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If your PDF is scanned or image-based, you can&rsquo;t highlight text because it doesn&rsquo;t technically exist. Scanned or flattened PDFs convert text into images, which makes them unselectable. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) converts image-based content into real, editable text.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro first.<\/li>\n<li>Then navigate to Tools &gt;&gt; Scan &amp; OCR and select Recognize Text.<\/li>\n<li>Then select the pages and the language and initiate the OCR.<\/li>\n<li>Once it is done, save the PDF.<\/li>\n<li>Lastly, attempt to highlight the converted text.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Alternatively, upload the PDF to Google Drive, then open it in Google Docs, and OCR will default convert it into editable text.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_Alternative_Use_Aryson_PDF_Unlocker_Tool_to_Enable_Text_Highlighting_Easily\"><\/span>Best Alternative: Use Aryson PDF Unlocker Tool to Enable Text Highlighting Easily<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes, the reason you can&#8217;t highlight text is simply that the PDF file is locked with certain restrictions. In such situations, the <strong>Aryson PDF Unlocker Tool<\/strong> can be the effective solution. This utility removes security settings. So, anyone can edit and highlight PDF text without changing the original formatting. Moreover, it can unlock files protected by owner or user-level passwords and restore full access. Additionally, it is embedded with a simple interface. Also, it provides wide compatibility with all PDF versions. So, download this easy-to-use software and unlock a PDF file to highlight the text in PDF within a few clicks.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Follow_these_Steps_to_Unlock_Fix_%E2%80%9CCannot_Highlight_Text_in_PDF%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>Follow these Steps to Unlock &amp; Fix &#8220;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Open<\/strong> the<strong> Aryson PDF Unlocker Tool<\/strong> on your system after installation.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/assets\/img\/screenshot\/pdf-unlocker\/s1.webp\" alt=\"Run Aryson PDF Unlocker Tool\" width=\"811\" height=\"565\" \/><\/li>\n<li><strong>Next, add the PDF file<\/strong> that you\u2019re unable to highlight from the location.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/assets\/img\/screenshot\/pdf-unlocker\/s2.webp\" alt=\"Add PDF File for Unlock\" width=\"811\" height=\"565\" \/><\/li>\n<li><strong>Then, select <\/strong>the<strong> required function<\/strong> like unlock, repair, or edit as per your issue.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/assets\/img\/screenshot\/pdf-unlocker\/s3.webp\" alt=\"Edit PDF File\" width=\"811\" height=\"565\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Along with that, you can also pick the option to <strong>save attachment in Sub folder.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/assets\/img\/screenshot\/pdf-unlocker\/s4.webp\" alt=\"Click on Save Option\" width=\"811\" height=\"565\" \/><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Click on the Unlock button<\/strong> to begin the PDF unlocking process for further use.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/assets\/img\/screenshot\/pdf-unlocker\/s5.webp\" alt=\"Unlock PDF and Highlight Text\" width=\"811\" height=\"565\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 class=\"main_heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>If you are going through the ways to resolve &#8220;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&#8221;, the above-mentioned steps would be quite helpful. As we discussed in this blog, it could be due to read-only settings, file restrictions, corruption, or even image-based content. Although there are multiple ways to fix the issue disabling read-only mode or enabling the highlight tool to using OCR tools or updating your PDF reader. And when the manual tricks don&rsquo;t work, tools like Aryson PDF Unlocker offer a hassle-free way to remove restrictions and make your file fully editable.<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"faq-main_heading\">Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)<\/h5>\n\n\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1753447315864\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>Q1. <strong>How can I made the highlight feature available in a protected PDF?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\"><strong>Ans: <\/strong>To remove restrictions and enable highlighting, you can use a program like Aryson PDF Unlocker to unlock the PDF.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1753447345220\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>Q2. <strong>Is it possible to highlight text in a PDF scan?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\"><strong>Ans: <\/strong>No, not directly. So, when you want to turn image-based text into selectable content, you must perform optical character recognition, or OCR, on the scanned PDF.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1753447367988\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>Q3. <strong>What should I do if I can&#8217;t highlight text in my PDF reader?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\"><strong>Ans:<\/strong> Upgrade to a more sophisticated PDF reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, or try updating your current one.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-auto kksr-align-left kksr-valign-bottom\"\n    data-payload='{&quot;align&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;5363&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;valign&quot;:&quot;bottom&quot;,&quot;ignore&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;reference&quot;:&quot;auto&quot;,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;count&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;legendonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;readonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;4.7&quot;,&quot;starsonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;best&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;gap&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;greet&quot;:&quot;Rate this post&quot;,&quot;legend&quot;:&quot;4.7\\\/5 - (3 votes)&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Best Ways to Fix \\u0026quot;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF\\u0026quot; Issue Easily&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;133.8&quot;,&quot;_legend&quot;:&quot;{score}\\\/{best} - ({count} {votes})&quot;,&quot;font_factor&quot;:&quot;1.25&quot;}'>\n            \n<div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 133.8px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                \n\n<div class=\"kksr-legend\" style=\"font-size: 19.2px;\">\n            4.7\/5 - (3 votes)    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can&rsquo;t highlight text in your PDF file no matter what you try? It&#8217;s a frequent issue that usually makes users<a class=\"read-more ml-1 main-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pdf-management"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Best Ways to Fix &quot;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&quot; Issue Easily<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the best ways to fix the &quot;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&quot; issue easily. Learn quick solutions to enable text highlighting in PDF file.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best Ways to Fix &quot;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&quot; Issue Easily\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore the best ways to fix the &quot;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&quot; issue easily. Learn quick solutions to enable text highlighting in PDF file.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Aryson Technologies Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-25T12:44:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T13:16:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf-issue-easily.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rohan Wiese\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rohan Wiese\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rohan Wiese\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/38690c15f14d77f91207a5427b11e5a2\"},\"headline\":\"Best Ways to Fix &#8220;Cannot Highlight Text in PDF&#8221; Issue Easily\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-25T12:44:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T13:16:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1440,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf-issue-easily.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"PDF Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"WebPage\",\"FAQPage\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\\\/\",\"name\":\"Best Ways to Fix \\\"Cannot Highlight Text in PDF\\\" Issue Easily\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.arysontechnologies.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf-issue-easily.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-25T12:44:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T13:16:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"Explore the best ways to fix the \\\"Cannot Highlight Text in PDF\\\" issue easily. 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He is an expert Email Forensic, Cloud Computing, and a passionate nerd with over 10 years of experience in technical content writing. He writes about Cloud Migration, Database Recovery, Email Backup, Windows, Mac, and Tech.","url":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/author\/rohan\/"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#faq-question-1753447315864","position":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#faq-question-1753447315864","name":"Q1. How can I made the highlight feature available in a protected PDF?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"<strong>Ans: <\/strong>To remove restrictions and enable highlighting, you can use a program like Aryson PDF Unlocker to unlock the PDF.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#faq-question-1753447345220","position":2,"url":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#faq-question-1753447345220","name":"Q2. Is it possible to highlight text in a PDF scan?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"<strong>Ans: <\/strong>No, not directly. So, when you want to turn image-based text into selectable content, you must perform optical character recognition, or OCR, on the scanned PDF.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#faq-question-1753447367988","position":3,"url":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/fix-cannot-highlight-text-in-pdf\/#faq-question-1753447367988","name":"Q3. What should I do if I can't highlight text in my PDF reader?","answerCount":1,"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"<strong>Ans:<\/strong> Upgrade to a more sophisticated PDF reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, or try updating your current one.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5363"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5383,"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5363\/revisions\/5383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arysontechnologies.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}