Editing a scanned document in Word

[freklfys]

I have a Lexmark printer/scanner/copier X2350. I've scanned a document with
letterhead & text with OCR to Word, but when it opens in Word to edit the
text is distorted & not exactly like the original scanned. The preview on
screen is the same but the Word document is different. Is there other
software that I can download that keeps settings or formats the same so that
I can add or edit the text that I need to?

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Not all software is created equal.. the OCR software supplied with scanners
is not always the best and most often a 'cut down' version.. you can pay for
better..

http://www.nuance.com/omnipage/ or try others that are free..
http://www.simpleocr.com/

 

[James Silverton]

Mike wrote on Thu, 9 Mar 2006 09:28:17 -0500:
Not all software is created equal.. the OCR software supplied
with scanners
is not always the best and most often a 'cut down' version.. you
can pay for
better..


MHM> http://www.nuance.com/omnipage/ or try others that are
free..
MHM> http://www.simpleocr.com/

For interest, would you describe the Microsoft Document Scanning
facility in Office XP as "cut down"? In my experience it works
very well and sometimes does not require any *character* editing
tho' there may be a few format glitches.

James Silverton.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

James

I don't use Office XP.. I have Office Pro 2003..

Re. OCR abilities within Office 2003, take a look here..

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP030812601033.aspx

Note the suggestion to upgrade to ScanSoft's OnmniPage Pro, and the reasons
for so doing.. the facilities included in Office may well work in some
instances, but are hardly the cutting edge of OCR technology..

The Scansoft OmniPage SE provided with Canon scanners has more ability than
anything in MS Office

 

[Ed O'Brien]

I second that, Mike.

I've used Omnipage for years and their latest version is right up there with
the best. Worth every penny.

Best wishes,

Ed

 

[freklfys]

I've downloaded the simple OCR software but my document is still distorted &
in black & white. The letterhead & picture is all over the page & most of the
text doesn't make sense. The reason for scanning these documents is that they
are forms & I need to add contact details, phone no's etc. therefore need
Word to keep the form in the same format as well as the different sections in
blocks the same. What do I do now? Help!

 

[Og]

If you need to scan forms with editable text while retaining the original
format, you are going to have to listen to what the experts have been trying
to tell you: Purchase an OCR program, such as OmniPage, that is designed to
do that:
http://www.nuance.com/omnipage/

Steve

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

Like Mike said, not all OCR software is the same. I've found the results to
be hit or miss. The software that came with my scanner isn't too bad. It's
awful woth formatting tho. I use it just so that I don't have to retype
everything. I always assume that I will have to reformat the document.