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? asked in Computers & InternetSoftware · 1 decade ago

Scanning a text document into MS WORD?

Is there a way for me to use a scanner to scan a text document onto my computer into a word processor (hopefully MS Word) and then be able to treat it as a document? By that I mean it would not be a picture but actual text that I can edit?

4 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Yes the type of scan that you are referring to is called optical character recognition aka OCR.

    This type of scanning will look at the document and try to 'see' the characters. It is not a perfect technology but it is better then typing it out :)

    A lot of printer/scanner manafactures include the software on the disk that came with the device.

    So look through the programs or options that came with the scanner.

    OR

    There are third-party software vendors that write software specifically for this.

    A popular program for this is abbyy and can be found at http://www.abbyy.com/

    A list of other programs can be found at: http://download.cnet.com/1770-20_4-0.html?query=op...

    Good Luck,

    Rick

    http://www.rickandandrea.com/rick/

  • 1 decade ago

    You will need a special software to be able to do that. It is called an OCR (optical character recognition) program. Check the software that came with your scanner. Many include a simple OCR software with the purchase of the scanner.

    To scan in something, it usually has to be black text on a white page. You can not scan in something from a magazine, for example, that is on a pictured background. It has to be a common looking font so the program can recognize the different letters.

    The program also reads all the way across a page, so if you try to scan something with two columns on it, it will read across both columns and make them into one line. If it is double columned, you have to cover the right column and scan in the left, then cover the left and scan in the right.

    The text is saved as a text (txt) file with a return at the end of each line. So after you do the scan you may still have to do a lot of "formatting" to make it look nice. Also OCR software is not perfect and you will find a lot of mistakes in it.

    Unless the document is over 8-10 pages in length, the amount of correcting and reformatting can take as long as simply retyping it.

    Once you have everything fixed, you can then paste the text into a Word (or other program) file. You may have to once again adjust the formatting at that point.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Follow the instructions given below:

    Prepare your document to be scanned. If possible, select the option to scan a black and white document. It is not required, however this will allow for a more accurate read of the text later on. After this is complete, scan the document.

    Step 2Open the file you've scanned with any type of image editor that can save .TIFF files. Microsoft Paint and Photoshop can both do this. Adjust the picture so that it is upright, if necessary. Click on "File," then click on "Save As," name your file, and next to "Format", save the file as a ".TIFF."

    Step 3Click on the "Start" button. Go to "Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools" and select "Microsoft Office Document Imaging."

    Step 4Click "File," then "Open." Open the folder where you saved your scanned image, click on the file, then click "Open."

    Step 5Go to "Tools" then click on "Send text to Word." It will prompt a message asking where to save the file (click on "Browse" to choose where you want it to go), then click "OK." At this point, it may prompt a warning that it will take a while to process. The overall process shouldn't take more than a minute or two. Additionally, it may prompt to install the feature that allows the Word conversion to work. In this instance, you may need a copy of your Microsoft Office Installation CD, as it may prompt for it as well.

    Step 6Look for your file to open in Word automatically once the process is complete. If it does not, go to the folder where you saved it, and open the file from there. The document will not be the exact format of the original document, but it will recognize all the words and lay them out for you automatically.

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  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    The text fabric in a scanned PDF is easily in photographs. it particularly is why you won't manage to locate the cursor. you pick the OCR technologies to extract text fabric from photographs. the article under tells you greater approximately a thank you to transform scanned photographs or pdfs into editable format. additionally you are able to some stable concepts like OCRTerminal, on line OCR and unfastened-OCR.

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