ATL Quickstart: ABBYY FineReader

ABBYY FineReader is a powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) program available for use in the Access Technology Lab. It can be used in conjunction with the OpticBook scanner, or alone to recognize PDF files. You can convert printed materials to electronic text in a number of formats.

Using ABBYY FineReader

Use ABBYY's scanning functionality instead of the scanner buttons. There are two ways to use ABBYY: 1) you can use it in conjunction with the OpticBook scanner for your printed material or 2) to recognize image files you may already have (including PDF format).

Using ABBYY FineReader with the OpticBook Scanner

1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar on the bottom of the screen.
2. Click the Accessibility Technology folder.
3. Click the ABBYY FineReader icon

Now you are ready to scan. You can also set various other options in this panel, such as letting ABBYY FineReader know you want to scan multiple pages at once. It is recommended that a small delay is set between pages or a verification to scan the next page to be set.

4. Click the "Scan" icon on the toolbar, or press < ctrl > + < K >.
5. Once you're done scanning all the pages, it is recommended you hover over the "Read", click the small downward facing arrow, and select "Read All", or press < ctrl > + < shift > + < R >.

ABBYY FineReader will now perform OCR on the images you just scanned. After it is complete, you can have it check for spelling mistakes, or you can edit it yourself in the right-hand panel.

6. Click the "Save" icon. Using the Save Wizard shows all the ways a file can be saved. Clicking the "Formats Settings" button, allows further customization on how that filetype will be saved.

Using ABBYY FineReader to Convert a PDF

1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar on the bottom of the screen.
2. Click the Accessibility Technology folder.
3. Click the ABBYY FineReader icon
4. Click the small downward facing arrow next to the "Scan", and select "Open Image". Alternatively the "Open & Read" can be chosen from under the first icon.
5. After FineReader has processed and you've performed edits, save the file as outlined above.

Tips for using ABBYY

1. A dpi of 300 or 400 is recommended for most documents. If the text is lighter a higher dpi may help the OCR process.
2. While editing, any mistakes can be corrected by re-reading the current page. However exiting edits on the page will be lost.
3. If the PDF is standard font, such as a Word document, using the "PDF/Images to Word" option may save a few minutes.

Help

To access help, select the Help option under the Help menu, or press < F1 >. For additional help, contact ATL staff.