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To convert an image into a real text Optical Character Recognition software (OCR) is used. Suppose you have PDF that is in a picture format, jpeg or jpg, and you want to edit text on that PDF in a text editor. OCR program will then be used to convert the image into text.
PDF can be created as a picture or a text file if its an image file
then you do not have any option to edit it. Here OCR will convert that
PDF image file into an editable text file.
Now you can click a picture on your mobile device and can easily turn the texinto that image into an editable version.
Sometime before OCR programs were only available in premium versions,
means you need to purchase it to use, but now there are many freeware options available. One thing that has to be noted here is that an image with lower resolutions will have more errors in conversion than a picture with higher resolution. Proper cameras with good resolution will always have better results.
means you need to purchase it to use, but now there are many freeware options available. One thing that has to be noted here is that an image with lower resolutions will have more errors in conversion than a picture with higher resolution. Proper cameras with good resolution will always have better results.
More factors like font size, type of font are also dependable on the
conversion techniques. A Google-owned program Tesseract was used and
considered as a top 3 rated OCR engines and is still in use. Although it
needs demarcation in areas, but it can duplicate anything that has
columns and tables. Below you will find the best free OCR software that will make your text conversions to be easy.
1. FreeOCR
FreeOCR is a free Optical Character Recognition tool and uses the
latest Tesseract OCR engine-the most powerful engine for this type of
software. It’s regarded as one of the most precise OCR engines
currently. It supports multi image files and TIFF files of multiple
pages. This service can be used to extract text from a supplied image.
Moreover, it’s free of cost.
The Tesseract engine was initially developed by Hewlett Packard Labs
between 1985-1994. Some changes were made to it in 1996. In 1995, it
featured in the top three OCR engines. It supports Windows, Linux and
Mac OS X.
FreeOCR can handle images having multi-column text. It supports the
following languages-Czech, Catalan, Bulgarian, English, Dutch, Danish,
Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese among others. It handles PDF formats and
supports TWAIN devices, such as scanners.
Free OCR has the widely popular double window interface with the settings being easily comprehensible.
2. Free OCR to Word
Free OCR to word is a software that can recognize the entered text
and can save you a lot of time without the requirement to re-type the
work which is already written. The software takes a document, scanned
item or image and convert it into a readable, editable and precise Word
document. OCR can be downloaded to Word for free. It also permits for
zooming along with specification of the portion of an image you require.
OCR to word is optimized to function with any type of scanner and has
an accuracy rating of 98%. It has a modern interface which permits to
access all tasks in an easy manner. It has rotation functions in case
the image does not fit on to the screen correctly.
The software extracts text from captured images with smartphones or
digital cameras with a great deal of accuracy and high-quality. The time
has come to put an end to retyping-simply scan an OCR.
It’s 100% free and totally safe to be installed on your system, and
has an uninstaller. You can remove Free OCR to Word from your system
within seconds if you don’t require it any more.
3. Cuneiform Open OCR
Cuneiform Open OCR was developed by Cognitive Technologies as a OCR
solution for commercial use. However, it was released as a freeware
eventually. It has an unpolished interface-however, underneath is a
great OCR engine. Algorithms used in this software stem from the rules
associated to writing letters and do not need pattern recognition
learning. It can identify any print font-those that are scanned from
magazines, newspapers, books, dot-matrix printer output, typewriter text
and laser printer output to name a few.
Cuneiform does not recognize handwritten or even pseudo-handwritten
text. It also fails to identify decorative fonts like Gothic. It can
save text formatting and identifies complex tables. The software
supports text in the following languages-Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian,
English, Swedish, Ukrainian etc. It saves identified text in the
following formats-HTML, RTF or plain text.
This is a great program started by Cognitive Technologies to make OCR
available for almost all users. The software giant plans to work on a
new version of the software as a co-ordinator and investor of the
project.
4. Simple OCR
SimpleOCR is a popular OCR software that is free to use and has
countless users worldwide. A majority of OCR software have a complicated
interface and this is why many users tend to avoid using them.
Contrastingly, SimpleOCR makes almost all tasks easy on account of its
user-friendly interface and forthright functions. It supports a majority
of Window versions and runs smoothly even on hardware which is
considered obsolete.
Downloading the software and installing it on your system is a pretty
easy task. It tries to recognize text that is handwritten or printed.
You can select any of these recognition modes from the window which
shows up right after the program is launched. It has a compact user
interface and hardly slows down. Text can be imported from a file, .ink
file or a scanner. The scanned image appears on the main interface area
after you preview it. If you require only a part of the text, simply
highlight it after which you just need to click and drag over it.
SimpleOCR is the perfect tool if you want to extract text from a document that is scanned.
5. Google Docs
When you upload a
scanned PDF or an image to Google Docs, find the option which
says-Convert text to Google Docs format. Click on it and Google Docs
will perform OCR on the chosen file after which it saves it to your
account. If the operation turns out to be successful, the text that is
extracted will be stored as a new document. If not, the software will
store the original image without making any changes.
Google Docs can allow you to perform OCR on PDFs and images as big as
2MB. Also, the text recognition precision is appreciable and there are
no restrictions on the amount of files you wish to get processed
everyday. However, it can’t retain the initial formatting of your
document. With images of low-resolution, the OCR engine very often
fails.
It’ s free to use but businesses need to pay at least $5 per month to access this service.
6. FreeOCR
FreeOCR is a free Optical Character Recognition Software for Windows
and supports scanning from most Twain scanners and can also open most
scanned PDF’s and multi page Tiff images as well as popular image file
formats. FreeOCR outputs plain text and can export directly to Microsoft
Word format
