#Ocr scanner free software#

Some will not retain the layout of the original document. The main purpose of these programs is to convert image text into text. However, you will find out that interactive input offers the most accurate results.

#Ocr scanner free software#

Most free OCR software have limited automation. With such a program, in a few clicks you start scanning documents, go on with other tasks, and come back to find the editable PDF, txt, or doc file. If you will need to scan many documents at a time, you should consider OCR programs that ran automatically. OCR software can either run automatically or interactively. So, if you are going to be archiving handwritten documents, look for OCR programs that recognize handwriting. Decent OCR programs, however, can recognize neatly hand written text. Some write neatly, while most handwritings are not legible enough for humans, leave alone computers. However, handwritten text is a totally different ordeal. Printed text (produced by a printer) is easily recognizable by any OCR program.

When using a software that supports multiple languages, you have to specify the language of the document so that it can OCR accurately. Such software will represent these characters with the nearest equivalent in English. Software programmed to only recognize English characters will not accurately interpret special characters such as β or accented letters such as é. OCR software scan an individual character to determine what letter it is. Such programs should be your choice if you will scan documents in another language. Some OCR programs recognize more than one language. Until you test the program, always take the accuracy claims of the manufacturer with a grain of salt. Good OCR programs will always achieve a 98% when used with a good scanner and with the original documents in mint condition. Factors such as the quality of the original scanned documents, and quality of the scanner itself greatly influence the final result. Nonetheless, it is unrealistic to expect 100% accuracy from any OCR software. We tested and reviwed each of the software putting the following factors into consideration AccuracyĪccuracy is what differentiates a good OCR program from the bad ones. We did not just randomly pick the best free OCR software. How we arrived at this list of best free OCR Software Also, these files can be accessed remotely. Saving documents in digital form not only saves office space, but also allows quick access of documents. Each step of the process is important in determining the accuracy of the final text. These formats can then be edited and manipulated using programs such as Microsoft Word. These software convert images of text into DOC file or TXT file. So, OCR software helps the computer convert image of text into text itself. In other words, an image of the text is no different from an image of the Eiffel Tower. An image is nothing but a pattern of pixels. First you have to present the computer with an image of the text, a scanned file or an image from a digital camera. The brain recognizes the character patterns (which are letters, numbers, and punctuation marks), and converts the characters to words, and words to sentences.Ĭomputers too can recognize characters and convert them to text. When you are presented with a page of written text, like this one, it is only valuable to you if you can recognize the language and read it. Top 5 Quick Picks: Best Free OCR Software How we arrived at this list of best free OCR Software.Top 5 Quick Picks: Best Free OCR Software.