Learn how AI-powered search lets you find content inside pdfs. Scholaris indexes full content with semantic embeddings for meaning-based search.
The Problem with Traditional PDF Search
Traditional PDF search relies on Ctrl+F, which only finds exact text matches. This fails completely with scanned PDFs (which are just images), ignores synonyms and related concepts, and cannot search across multiple documents at once. Researchers often spend hours manually skimming through dozens of PDFs to find a specific passage they vaguely remember.
How AI Search Works
AI-powered PDF search works by first extracting text using OCR (for scanned documents) and then creating semantic embeddings -- mathematical representations of meaning. When you search, the AI compares the meaning of your query against the meaning of every passage in your documents. This means searching for "climate change effects on agriculture" will find passages about "global warming impact on crop yields" even if those exact words never appear.
Step-by-Step Workflow
1. **Upload your PDFs** -- Drag and drop one or multiple PDF files into Scholaris.
2. **Automatic processing** -- Scholaris runs OCR on scanned pages using GLM-OCR, extracts metadata (title, authors, year), and generates semantic embeddings for every passage.
3. **Search in natural language** -- Type a question or topic in your own words. Scholaris returns the most relevant passages with page numbers.
4. **Review results with context** -- Click any result to jump directly to that page in the PDF viewer, with the matching passage highlighted.
5. **Export citations** -- Generate properly formatted citations for any document in APA, MLA, Chicago, or other styles.
Scholaris Capabilities
Scholaris converts PDFs into Semantic PDFs (SPDFs) -- enriched documents with full-text search, metadata, and AI-generated embeddings. Key capabilities include:
- **OCR for scanned PDFs**: Powered by GLM-OCR, Scholaris can read scanned documents, handwritten notes, and image-heavy papers.
- **Cross-document search**: Search across your entire library of PDFs simultaneously.
- **Multilingual search**: Find content regardless of the language -- search in English and find results in Spanish, German, or Chinese.
- **Citation extraction**: Automatically extract bibliographic metadata for citation generation.
- **Page-level precision**: Results link directly to the specific page and passage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Scholaris search scanned PDFs?
Yes. Scholaris uses GLM-OCR to extract text from scanned PDF pages, including those with complex layouts, tables, and figures. Once OCR is complete, the document is fully searchable.
How many PDFs can I search at once?
There is no hard limit. Scholaris processes documents locally, so the practical limit depends on your storage and RAM. Researchers commonly work with libraries of hundreds or thousands of PDFs.
Does Scholaris modify my original PDF files?
No. Scholaris creates a separate SPDF (Semantic PDF) file alongside your original. Your original PDF is never modified.
Search inside any document with AI
Scholaris uses AI-powered semantic search to find answers across PDFs, videos, audio, and more — all running locally on your machine.