What should you do to verify if PDF text is properly encoded?

To verify if PDF text is properly encoded, copying the text from the original PDF file and pasting it into another application, such as Microsoft Word, is a highly effective method. When you perform this action, you can observe how the text is recognized by the word processor. If the text appears correctly without any garbled characters or missing information, it indicates that the text is properly encoded. This test allows you to assess the integrity of the text encoding directly, providing clear insights on whether the text is accessible and usable.

Other methods, such as reviewing document properties or checking encryption settings, can provide some information about the PDF but do not specifically address text encoding quality. Looking for document searchability can indicate whether the document contains actual text versus images or scans, but it doesn’t confirm whether the text is encoded properly. Copying and pasting directly allows for a practical verification of the text’s encoding and usability.