Q. What does OCR mean?

OCR is short for Optical Character Recognition, a technology that makes it possible to convert text from scanned documents into editable digital files. When you simply scan a document, the resulting file is an image that most computer software does not recognize as text. This means that users are not able to edit and search through the text, alter its formatting, etc. This is especially inconvenient for office documents where the ability to search, index, and edit is essential.

This problem is solved with OCR. The documents are fed into a scanner and then processed with OCR software, thus converting them to electronic documents. Optical character recognition is not a simple technology – it applies complicated mathematical and topological algorithms. However, Smart OCR offers a very convenient and easy-to-use interface, so you can ripe the benefits of the technology without any hassle.

Q. How do I process a document with SmartOCR?

With Smart OCR, you can easily recognize and OCR a document, following these simple steps:

1. Launch the application.
2. To select an image for processing, click any of these buttons located in the upper left corner: Quick Tasks, Scan or Open. You can open an existing image file or one directly from your scanner.
3. The chosen image will be loaded in the Image View. In case you need to have only specific areas of the document recognized, click Draw Text Area, Draw Image Area, or Draw Table Area and select the area for recognition. Otherwise, the software will automatically select the area with text for recognition.
4. Click Recognize to have the application process the image.
5. You will see the recognized text in the Text View. You can apply final corrections to the document before saving it.
6. Click Save in the Image View. You can save the document as PDF, DOC, RTF, TXT or HTML.

Q. How can I convert paper documents to digital files that can be edited?

Start the application and click Scan. This will start a scan wizard that will lead you through the entire scanning process. After all pages have been recognized, click Recognize to have the software process the scanned images. The text will then open in the Text View so that you can make final corrections before saving it. Click Save in the Image View to save the document in the DOC, PDF, RTF, TXT or HTML format.

You do not need to have a scanner attached to your computer in order to convert paper documents to editable files. You can scan the paper documents on another machine and then convert the files with Smart OCR.

Q. How can I convert scanned PDF documents to files that can be edited?

Start the application and click b>Open. You will be asked to select the scanned PDF file, which will then load in the Image View. Click Recognize. When the processing is complete, the text will open in the Text View so that you will be able to make final corrections before saving. Click Save in the Image View to save as DOC, PDF, RTF, TXT, or HTML.

Q. How can I convert scanned image files to files that can be edited?

Start the application and click Open. You will be asked to select a scanned file in any of the following formats: BMP, JPEG, TIFF or GIFF. The image will then load into the Image View. Click Recognize. When the processing is complete, the text will open in the Text View so that you will be able to make final corrections before saving. Click Save in the Image View to save the file as DOC, PDF, RTF, TXT, or HTML.

Q. What is the required resolution of the scanned documents?

One of the features that distinguishes Smart OCR from its competitors is the ability to recognize poor quality and low-resolution documents. You can use the application to convert faxed copies, screenshots, or documents that were copied many times. In most cases, 300 dpi will be a very good resolution in order to achieve optimum OCR results.

Q. Can Smart OCR process pages that were rotated when scanned?

For most OCR software programs, pages containing rotated or skewed images are a great challenge. Smart OCR delivers a new technology that preprocesses the images to identify if they were rotated to a certain angle and then automatically fixes this.

Q. Can I use Smart OCR to convert screenshots to editable text?

Yes. With Smart OCR, you can convert low-resolution images and even screenshots. You may have to manually specify the text region on the screenshot. Simply open the image file in the program and click Draw Text Area from the Image View tab. Specify the text for recognition and click Recognize.

Q. Can Smart OCR handle a PDF file that contains scanned images instead of text?

Yes. Smart OCR supports PDF as both input and output format. Scanned PDF documents can be converted to both searchable PDF and MS Word DOC files.

Q. Can Smart OCR convert many pages at once?

Yes. The application supports batch conversion. Simply open all your pages and click Recognize. Smart OCR will automatically recognize all documents.

Q. My question is not listed here!

Please feel free to contact us at support@SmartOCR.com or use this feedback form.