When it runs interactively, you typically use image-enhancement tools to straighten or sharpen an image, layout tools to block out parts of a page that you don't want in the output, and then a proofreading tool to correct any misreadings by the software. When an OCR app runs automatically, all you do is click a button, walk away, and come back to find your output files already created. When you choose an OCR app, you'll want to decide whether you want it to run automatically, interactively, or a combination of both. High-powered OCR software can also convert printed text into HTML files that anyone can view in a browser.
#OCR SOFTWARE MAC REVIEWS PDF#
For archiving, you'll typically feed your documents (receipts, business cards, handouts, or anything else) into your scanner and let your OCR software create searchable PDF files that show a scanned image of the original document but also contain-hidden underneath the scanned image-text that you can copy from the PDF and paste into other applications, or that you can search for when you need to find the original.įor repurposing, OCR typically converts a printed table into an Excel spreadsheet, or an old book either into a PDF with searchable text hidden under the page images or into a word-processing document that you can edit and reuse. You use OCR for two basic functions: archiving documents or repurposing documents.