free OCR program?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OCR+free

"ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:eArwt$G2HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> WTF does everyone use an acronym when they want help ??

> Too lazy to spell it out so they make everyone else look it up !!!

> Don't deserve any help.

> --

> _ct_

>

> Jean wrote:

>> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win ME?

>>

>> Thanks,

>>

>> Jean

>

August 6, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

AFAIC, it's hard to find a decent OCR program that you PAY for. I doubt I

would consider any free OCR "decent", but then, I'm a perfectionist with

high demands when it comes to OCR. I've done several projects wherein I

batch-process hundreds or thousands of already scanned images and then put

them into searchable databases. (Largest project, and the first I did, was

~650,000 pages.) I use ABBYY FineReader http://tinyurl.com/2pdrbo

That said, Google is your friend. Here's a few. Why don't you test them out

and report back?

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

http://www.google.com/search?q=free+ocr+app&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

"Jean" <Jean@spam.not> wrote in message

news:e2%23z6WF2HHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win ME?

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jean

>

August 6, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Gotta agree with Gary on this one, no doubt. Besides, don't you see

yourself doing the same thing with "_ct_"?.....and we can't even look up

what the 'c' stands for! And 'WTF'.....this is the Me NG......"We Think

Friendly". Even an old f*rt like myself knows what OCR stands for!

Computers are a myriad of acronyms.......get a life.....get a book...get

used to it!

And for the OP: take a look at the following Google search for OCR

freeware, the first one on the list looks pretty good.

I have one that has only been used once and it came with my scanner.

Hope you find what you need.......

Heirloom, old and the world is made of

acronyms

"Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

news:%23J9VgOH2HHA.4476@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> If you don't know what OCR means, then you can't possibly have a decent

> answer for the OP. Move on.

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OCR+free

>

> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

> news:eArwt$G2HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>> WTF does everyone use an acronym when they want help ??

>> Too lazy to spell it out so they make everyone else look it up !!!

>> Don't deserve any help.

>> --

>> _ct_

>>

>> Jean wrote:

>>> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win ME?

>>>

>>> Thanks,

>>>

>>> Jean

>>

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Once again, I have to agree........the OCR that came with my scanner leaves

a LOT to be desired, hence, the reason it was used only once <g>.

Heirloom, old and 650,000

pages?.......whew.

"Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

news:u9RRQUH2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> AFAIC, it's hard to find a decent OCR program that you PAY for. I doubt I

> would consider any free OCR "decent", but then, I'm a perfectionist with

> high demands when it comes to OCR. I've done several projects wherein I

> batch-process hundreds or thousands of already scanned images and then put

> them into searchable databases. (Largest project, and the first I did, was

> ~650,000 pages.) I use ABBYY FineReader http://tinyurl.com/2pdrbo

>

> That said, Google is your friend. Here's a few. Why don't you test them

> out and report back?

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Mostly legal documents... Transcripts, evidence documents, etc. That big one

was a decades long environmental lawsuit. It's California, what can I say?

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

>> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OCR+free

"Heirloom" <roland58XX@XXcox.net> wrote in message

news:eNcI4rI2HHA.3916@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> Once again, I have to agree........the OCR that came with my scanner

> leaves a LOT to be desired, hence, the reason it was used only once <g>.

> Heirloom, old and 650,000

> pages?.......whew.

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

> news:u9RRQUH2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> AFAIC, it's hard to find a decent OCR program that you PAY for. I doubt I

>> would consider any free OCR "decent", but then, I'm a perfectionist with

>> high demands when it comes to OCR. I've done several projects wherein I

>> batch-process hundreds or thousands of already scanned images and then

>> put them into searchable databases. (Largest project, and the first I

>> did, was ~650,000 pages.) I use ABBYY FineReader

>> http://tinyurl.com/2pdrbo

>>

>> That said, Google is your friend. Here's a few. Why don't you test them

>> out and report back?

>>

>> --

>> Gary S. Terhune

>> MS-MVP Shell/User

| http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OCR+free

>>

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Being resourceful, I did a google search before I posted here. I was hoping

that someone in the newsgroup could make a recommendation.

"Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

news:u9RRQUH2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

| AFAIC, it's hard to find a decent OCR program that you PAY for. I doubt I

| would consider any free OCR "decent", but then, I'm a perfectionist with

| high demands when it comes to OCR. I've done several projects wherein I

| batch-process hundreds or thousands of already scanned images and then

put

| them into searchable databases. (Largest project, and the first I did,

was

| ~650,000 pages.) I use ABBYY FineReader http://tinyurl.com/2pdrbo

|

| That said, Google is your friend. Here's a few. Why don't you test them

out

| and report back?

|

| --

| Gary S. Terhune

| MS-MVP Shell/User

| http://www.grystmill.com

|

| "Jean" <Jean@spam.not> wrote in message

| news:e2%23z6WF2HHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

| > Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win ME?

| >

| > Thanks,

| >

| > Jean

| >

|

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

OK, I give up.....what is an OCR program?? Exactly, I mean. Is it a

scanning one, or one you can touch up photos. Help this blonde

Canadian, please.....8-))

As for California (Land of the Nuts) and environmental stuff.....that

figures. But having worked in law for 25 years, I know how wordy stuff

gets. Hated doing Appeals. 7 copies....3 Appellate Court Judges.

Yuck.

Da Blonde

"Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

news:eJdJ1PJ2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> Mostly legal documents... Transcripts, evidence documents, etc. That

> big one was a decades long environmental lawsuit. It's California,

> what can I say?

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OCR+free

>

> "Heirloom" <roland58XX@XXcox.net> wrote in message

> news:eNcI4rI2HHA.3916@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> Once again, I have to agree........the OCR that came with my scanner

>> leaves a LOT to be desired, hence, the reason it was used only once

>> <g>.

>> Heirloom, old and 650,000

>> pages?.......whew.

>>

>> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

>> news:u9RRQUH2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>>> AFAIC, it's hard to find a decent OCR program that you PAY for. I

>>> doubt I would consider any free OCR "decent", but then, I'm a

>>> perfectionist with high demands when it comes to OCR. I've done

>>> several projects wherein I batch-process hundreds or thousands of

>>> already scanned images and then put them into searchable databases.

>>> (Largest project, and the first I did, was ~650,000 pages.) I use

>>> ABBYY FineReader http://tinyurl.com/2pdrbo

>>>

>>> That said, Google is your friend. Here's a few. Why don't you test

>>> them out and report back?

>>>

>>> --

>>> Gary S. Terhune

>>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>> http://www.grystmill.com

>>>

>>

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Optical Character Recognition. It looks at an image of a document and then

does its best to decipher it and produce a text file, assuming there is text

involved. Scanners often come bundled with cheap, lousy OCR apps.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

"Heather" <figgyd@nospam.invalid> wrote in message

news:O94rucJ2HHA.5360@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> OK, I give up.....what is an OCR program?? Exactly, I mean. Is it a

> scanning one, or one you can touch up photos. Help this blonde Canadian,

> please.....8-))

>

> As for California (Land of the Nuts) and environmental stuff.....that

> figures. But having worked in law for 25 years, I know how wordy stuff

> gets. Hated doing Appeals. 7 copies....3 Appellate Court Judges. Yuck.

>

> Da Blonde

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

> news:eJdJ1PJ2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> Mostly legal documents... Transcripts, evidence documents, etc. That big

>> one was a decades long environmental lawsuit. It's California, what can I

>> say?

>>

>> --

>> Gary S. Terhune

>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>>> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OCR+free

>>

>> "Heirloom" <roland58XX@XXcox.net> wrote in message

>> news:eNcI4rI2HHA.3916@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>>> Once again, I have to agree........the OCR that came with my scanner

>>> leaves a LOT to be desired, hence, the reason it was used only once <g>.

>>> Heirloom, old and 650,000

>>> pages?.......whew.

>>>

>>> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

>>> news:u9RRQUH2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>>>> AFAIC, it's hard to find a decent OCR program that you PAY for. I doubt

>>>> I would consider any free OCR "decent", but then, I'm a perfectionist

>>>> with high demands when it comes to OCR. I've done several projects

>>>> wherein I batch-process hundreds or thousands of already scanned images

>>>> and then put them into searchable databases. (Largest project, and the

>>>> first I did, was ~650,000 pages.) I use ABBYY FineReader

>>>> http://tinyurl.com/2pdrbo

>>>>

>>>> That said, Google is your friend. Here's a few. Why don't you test them

>>>> out and report back?

>>>>

>>>> --

>>>> Gary S. Terhune

>>>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>>> http://www.grystmill.com

>>>>

>>>

>>

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

I thought you might have... Just wanted to cover the bases. Sorry that I

can't honestly recommend any but the high-priced ones. I once went through a

lot of testing, and even the ones that cost less than a hundred bucks all

failed in my book. Too many errors that needed correcting, and no easy way

to do that correcting. What are your exact needs? To do a lot of scanning? A

little every once in a while? Scanning what kinds of documents?

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

> | http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OCR+free

"Jean" <Jean@spam.not> wrote in message

news:%23CbA6QJ2HHA.1124@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> Being resourceful, I did a google search before I posted here. I was

> hoping

> that someone in the newsgroup could make a recommendation.

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

> news:u9RRQUH2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> | AFAIC, it's hard to find a decent OCR program that you PAY for. I doubt

> I

> | would consider any free OCR "decent", but then, I'm a perfectionist with

> | high demands when it comes to OCR. I've done several projects wherein I

> | batch-process hundreds or thousands of already scanned images and then

> put

> | them into searchable databases. (Largest project, and the first I did,

> was

> | ~650,000 pages.) I use ABBYY FineReader http://tinyurl.com/2pdrbo

> |

> | That said, Google is your friend. Here's a few. Why don't you test them

> out

> | and report back?

> |

> | --

> | Gary S. Terhune

> | MS-MVP Shell/User

> | http://www.grystmill.com

> |

> | "Jean" <Jean@spam.not> wrote in message

> | news:e2%23z6WF2HHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> | > Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win ME?

> | >

> | > Thanks,

> | >

> | > Jean

> | >

> |

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

"Jean" <Jean@spam.not> wrote in message

news:e2%23z6WF2HHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win ME?

Take your pick:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Free+OCR+Program+for+WinME&btnG=Search

You should find something to suit yourself. <H>.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Jean

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Thanks......not too sure I am any further ahead. I will stick with my

photo proggies and leave the complicated stuff to you guys!!

Heather

"Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

news:uCdw$iJ2HHA.6128@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> Optical Character Recognition. It looks at an image of a document and

> then does its best to decipher it and produce a text file, assuming

> there is text involved. Scanners often come bundled with cheap, lousy

> OCR apps.

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

> http://www.google.com/search?q=free+ocr+app&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

>

> "Heather" <figgyd@nospam.invalid> wrote in message

> news:O94rucJ2HHA.5360@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>> OK, I give up.....what is an OCR program?? Exactly, I mean. Is it a

>> scanning one, or one you can touch up photos. Help this blonde

>> Canadian, please.....8-))

>>

>> As for California (Land of the Nuts) and environmental stuff.....that

>> figures. But having worked in law for 25 years, I know how wordy

>> stuff gets. Hated doing Appeals. 7 copies....3 Appellate Court

>> Judges. Yuck.

>>

>> Da Blonde

>>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

1. Gary assumes everyone either has a question or can provide an answer.

2. "WTF" and "acronym" were intentionally ment to be used together.

3. There is nothing wrong with using an acronym, as long as it's defined

first:

Official Cash Rate (OCR) - now everyone is on the same page - get it?

--

_ct_

Heirloom wrote:

> Gotta agree with Gary on this one, no doubt. Besides, don't you see

> yourself doing the same thing with "_ct_"?.....and we can't even look

> up what the 'c' stands for! And 'WTF'.....this is the Me NG......"We

> Think Friendly". Even an old f*rt like myself knows what OCR stands

> for! Computers are a myriad of acronyms.......get a life.....get a

> book...get used to it!

>

> And for the OP: take a look at the following Google search for OCR

> freeware, the first one on the list looks pretty good.

> I have one that has only been used once and it came with my scanner.

> Hope you find what you need.......

> Heirloom, old and the world is made of

> acronyms

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

> news:%23J9VgOH2HHA.4476@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>> If you don't know what OCR means, then you can't possibly have a

>> decent answer for the OP. Move on.

>>

>> --

>> Gary S. Terhune

>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>

>> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

>> news:eArwt$G2HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>>> WTF does everyone use an acronym when they want help ??

>>> Too lazy to spell it out so they make everyone else look it up !!!

>>> Don't deserve any help.

>>> --

>>> _ct_

>>>

>>> Jean wrote:

>>>> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win

>>>> ME? Thanks,

>>>>

>>>> Jean

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

I monitor newsgroups for various reasons, one of which is for information

that may be beneficial to me. It helps if a question is clearly stated and

cannot be misinterpreted.

--

_ct_

Gary S. Terhune wrote:

> If you don't know what OCR means, then you can't possibly have a

> decent answer for the OP. Move on.

>

> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

> news:eArwt$G2HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>> WTF does everyone use an acronym when they want help ??

>> Too lazy to spell it out so they make everyone else look it up !!!

>> Don't deserve any help.

>> --

>> _ct_

>>

>> Jean wrote:

>>> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win ME?

>>>

>>> Thanks,

>>>

>>> Jean

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Ummm... And Official Cash Rate is related to computers how? Whereas OCR as

Optical Character Recognition is inherently a computer topic.

FYI, the OP *did* come here with a question, one that was perfectly

understood by everyone here, including you, I presume. Your only purpose was

to strut your imagined superiority and harass the OP to no purpose.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

>> http://www.google.com/search?q=free+ocr+app&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

"ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:u%23oVD5J2HHA.5884@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> 1. Gary assumes everyone either has a question or can provide an answer.

> 2. "WTF" and "acronym" were intentionally ment to be used together.

> 3. There is nothing wrong with using an acronym, as long as it's defined

> first:

> Official Cash Rate (OCR) - now everyone is on the same page - get it?

> --

> _ct_

>

> Heirloom wrote:

>> Gotta agree with Gary on this one, no doubt. Besides, don't you see

>> yourself doing the same thing with "_ct_"?.....and we can't even look

>> up what the 'c' stands for! And 'WTF'.....this is the Me NG......"We

>> Think Friendly". Even an old f*rt like myself knows what OCR stands

>> for! Computers are a myriad of acronyms.......get a life.....get a

>> book...get used to it!

>>

>> And for the OP: take a look at the following Google search for OCR

>> freeware, the first one on the list looks pretty good.

>> I have one that has only been used once and it came with my scanner.

>> Hope you find what you need.......

>> Heirloom, old and the world is made of

>> acronyms

>>

>> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

>> news:%23J9VgOH2HHA.4476@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>>> If you don't know what OCR means, then you can't possibly have a

>>> decent answer for the OP. Move on.

>>>

>>> --

>>> Gary S. Terhune

>>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>> http://www.grystmill.com

>>>

>>> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

>>> news:eArwt$G2HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>>>> WTF does everyone use an acronym when they want help ??

>>>> Too lazy to spell it out so they make everyone else look it up !!!

>>>> Don't deserve any help.

>>>> --

>>>> _ct_

>>>>

>>>> Jean wrote:

>>>>> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win

>>>>> ME? Thanks,

>>>>>

>>>>> Jean

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Be very glad you don't need to use one! Seldom am I as frustrated as when I

try to use a cheap OCR app, or even a very good one when the image is poor.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

"Heather" <figgyd@nospam.invalid> wrote in message

news:eOnRMpJ2HHA.3400@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> Thanks......not too sure I am any further ahead. I will stick with my

> photo proggies and leave the complicated stuff to you guys!!

>

> Heather

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

> news:uCdw$iJ2HHA.6128@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> Optical Character Recognition. It looks at an image of a document and

>> then does its best to decipher it and produce a text file, assuming there

>> is text involved. Scanners often come bundled with cheap, lousy OCR apps.

>>

>> --

>> Gary S. Terhune

>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>> http://www.google.com/search?q=free+ocr+app&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

>>

>> "Heather" <figgyd@nospam.invalid> wrote in message

>> news:O94rucJ2HHA.5360@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>>> OK, I give up.....what is an OCR program?? Exactly, I mean. Is it a

>>> scanning one, or one you can touch up photos. Help this blonde

>>> Canadian, please.....8-))

>>>

>>> As for California (Land of the Nuts) and environmental stuff.....that

>>> figures. But having worked in law for 25 years, I know how wordy stuff

>>> gets. Hated doing Appeals. 7 copies....3 Appellate Court Judges. Yuck.

>>>

>>> Da Blonde

>>>

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

My only point is there are people not intimately familiar with computers

that do monitor these newsgroups.

--

_ct_

Gary S. Terhune wrote:

> Ummm... And Official Cash Rate is related to computers how? Whereas

> OCR as Optical Character Recognition is inherently a computer topic.

>

> FYI, the OP *did* come here with a question, one that was perfectly

> understood by everyone here, including you, I presume. Your only

> purpose was to strut your imagined superiority and harass the OP to

> no purpose.

>

> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

> news:u%23oVD5J2HHA.5884@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> 1. Gary assumes everyone either has a question or can provide an

>> answer. 2. "WTF" and "acronym" were intentionally ment to be used

>> together.

>> 3. There is nothing wrong with using an acronym, as long as it's

>> defined first:

>> Official Cash Rate (OCR) - now everyone is on the same page - get

>> it? --

>> _ct_

>>

>> Heirloom wrote:

>>> Gotta agree with Gary on this one, no doubt. Besides, don't you see

>>> yourself doing the same thing with "_ct_"?.....and we can't even

>>> look up what the 'c' stands for! And 'WTF'.....this is the Me

>>> NG......"We Think Friendly". Even an old f*rt like myself knows

>>> what OCR stands for! Computers are a myriad of acronyms.......get a

>>> life.....get a book...get used to it!

>>>

>>> And for the OP: take a look at the following Google search for OCR

>>> freeware, the first one on the list looks pretty good.

>>> I have one that has only been used once and it came with my scanner.

>>> Hope you find what you need.......

>>> Heirloom, old and the world is made

>>> of acronyms

>>>

>>> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

>>> news:%23J9VgOH2HHA.4476@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>>>> If you don't know what OCR means, then you can't possibly have a

>>>> decent answer for the OP. Move on.

>>>>

>>>> --

>>>> Gary S. Terhune

>>>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>>> http://www.grystmill.com

>>>>

>>>> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

>>>> news:eArwt$G2HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>>>>> WTF does everyone use an acronym when they want help ??

>>>>> Too lazy to spell it out so they make everyone else look it up !!!

>>>>> Don't deserve any help.

>>>>> --

>>>>> _ct_

>>>>>

>>>>> Jean wrote:

>>>>>> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win

>>>>>> ME? Thanks,

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Jean

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

And if they don't understand an acronym, even a common one like OCR, they

can ask, can't they?

Doesn't matter what your point was, your effect was to belittle the OP.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

>>>> http://www.google.com/search?q=free+ocr+app&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

"ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:O%23y%23BSK2HHA.4400@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> My only point is there are people not intimately familiar with computers

> that do monitor these newsgroups.

> --

> _ct_

>

> Gary S. Terhune wrote:

>> Ummm... And Official Cash Rate is related to computers how? Whereas

>> OCR as Optical Character Recognition is inherently a computer topic.

>>

>> FYI, the OP *did* come here with a question, one that was perfectly

>> understood by everyone here, including you, I presume. Your only

>> purpose was to strut your imagined superiority and harass the OP to

>> no purpose.

>>

>> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

>> news:u%23oVD5J2HHA.5884@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>>> 1. Gary assumes everyone either has a question or can provide an

>>> answer. 2. "WTF" and "acronym" were intentionally ment to be used

>>> together.

>>> 3. There is nothing wrong with using an acronym, as long as it's

>>> defined first:

>>> Official Cash Rate (OCR) - now everyone is on the same page - get

>>> it? --

>>> _ct_

>>>

>>> Heirloom wrote:

>>>> Gotta agree with Gary on this one, no doubt. Besides, don't you see

>>>> yourself doing the same thing with "_ct_"?.....and we can't even

>>>> look up what the 'c' stands for! And 'WTF'.....this is the Me

>>>> NG......"We Think Friendly". Even an old f*rt like myself knows

>>>> what OCR stands for! Computers are a myriad of acronyms.......get a

>>>> life.....get a book...get used to it!

>>>>

>>>> And for the OP: take a look at the following Google search for OCR

>>>> freeware, the first one on the list looks pretty good.

>>>> I have one that has only been used once and it came with my scanner.

>>>> Hope you find what you need.......

>>>> Heirloom, old and the world is made

>>>> of acronyms

>>>>

>>>> "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

>>>> news:%23J9VgOH2HHA.4476@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>>>>> If you don't know what OCR means, then you can't possibly have a

>>>>> decent answer for the OP. Move on.

>>>>>

>>>>> --

>>>>> Gary S. Terhune

>>>>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>>>> http://www.grystmill.com

>>>>>

>>>>> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

>>>>> news:eArwt$G2HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>>>>>> WTF does everyone use an acronym when they want help ??

>>>>>> Too lazy to spell it out so they make everyone else look it up !!!

>>>>>> Don't deserve any help.

>>>>>> --

>>>>>> _ct_

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Jean wrote:

>>>>>>> Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win

>>>>>>> ME? Thanks,

>>>>>>>

>>>>>>> Jean

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Gary S. Terhune wrote:

>

> Doesn't matter what your point was, your effect was to belittle the

> OP.

Point taken.

--

_ct_

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

I'm with Heirloom here, I think I've only used mine a couple of times. I

got OmniPage with my scanner and I can't even remember what version as

it's been that long since I used it <g>

Joan

Gary S. Terhune wrote:

> Be very glad you don't need to use one! Seldom am I as frustrated as

> when I try to use a cheap OCR app, or even a very good one when the

> image is poor.

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

It's not a super common acronym like HD/MB/OS. My first thought was they

should mention what it stands for. Then I figured someone would know what

it stands for, and anyone who has to look it up must not work with that

frequently enough to provide a very useful answer. Offhand it sounds like

it stands for something like Obsessive Compulsive Redundancy. I thought

maybe they needed help with a mental condition. I haven't had to use any

character recognition software lately, but I'd have to guess the responses

are accurate, that to get one that works great out of the box is going to

cost a bit. I hear they've done a lot with voice recognition, but somehow I

believe characer recognition is still a long way from the movies where they

can just snap a pic with a spycam, upload it to the computer, and suddenly

have a nice searchable document on file.

"Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

news:OwSrQEK2HHA.3940@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> Ummm... And Official Cash Rate is related to computers how? Whereas OCR as

> Optical Character Recognition is inherently a computer topic.

>

> FYI, the OP *did* come here with a question, one that was perfectly

> understood by everyone here, including you, I presume. Your only purpose

> was to strut your imagined superiority and harass the OP to no purpose.

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

| http://www.grystmill.com

>

> "ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

> news:u%23oVD5J2HHA.5884@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> 1. Gary assumes everyone either has a question or can provide an answer.

>> 2. "WTF" and "acronym" were intentionally ment to be used together.

>> 3. There is nothing wrong with using an acronym, as long as it's defined

>> first:

>> Official Cash Rate (OCR) - now everyone is on the same page - get it?

>> --

>> _ct_

>>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

I want to scan several years worth of minutes for board of directors

meetings. Obviously I could scan them in as images, but then I'd lose the

ability to search through the documents for key words. My scanner (an old

cheapo HP) comes with a primitive OCR program, but I was hoping to find a

freebie that was less error prone.

"Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

news:#2sbLlJ2HHA.4680@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

| I thought you might have... Just wanted to cover the bases. Sorry that I

| can't honestly recommend any but the high-priced ones. I once went

through a

| lot of testing, and even the ones that cost less than a hundred bucks all

| failed in my book. Too many errors that needed correcting, and no easy

way

| to do that correcting. What are your exact needs? To do a lot of

scanning? A

| little every once in a while? Scanning what kinds of documents?

|

| --

| Gary S. Terhune

| MS-MVP Shell/User

|

| "Jean" <Jean@spam.not> wrote in message

| news:%23CbA6QJ2HHA.1124@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

| > Being resourceful, I did a google search before I posted here. I was

| > hoping

| > that someone in the newsgroup could make a recommendation.

| >

| > "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote in message

| > news:u9RRQUH2HHA.5772@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

| > | AFAIC, it's hard to find a decent OCR program that you PAY for. I

doubt

| > I

| > | would consider any free OCR "decent", but then, I'm a perfectionist

with

| > | high demands when it comes to OCR. I've done several projects wherein

I

| > | batch-process hundreds or thousands of already scanned images and

then

| > put

| > | them into searchable databases. (Largest project, and the first I

did,

| > was

| > | ~650,000 pages.) I use ABBYY FineReader http://tinyurl.com/2pdrbo

| > |

| > | That said, Google is your friend. Here's a few. Why don't you test

them

| > out

| > | and report back?

| > | http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OCR+free

| > |

| > | --

| > | Gary S. Terhune

| > | MS-MVP Shell/User

| > | http://www.grystmill.com

| > |

| > | "Jean" <Jean@spam.not> wrote in message

| > | news:e2%23z6WF2HHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

| > | > Anyone know of a decent basic free OCR program that works on Win

ME?

| > | >

| > | > Thanks,

| > | >

| > | > Jean

| > | >

| > |

| >

|

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

You're a gentleman, at least, (unless you're a lady?) <s>

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

"ctowers" <ctowers@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:%23eD6z$N2HHA.4584@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> Gary S. Terhune wrote:

>>

>> Doesn't matter what your point was, your effect was to belittle the

>> OP.

>

> Point taken.

> --

> _ct_

>

August 7, 2007

Re: free OCR program?

Well, as you've noted, nobody here has a decent recommendation for you,

other than to try several and see what the results are. If I recall

correctly, most of the paid versions have trial demos that you can at least

test for efficacy before purchasing. While the user interface may not make

it easy to find, you should be able to process stored images and not have to

scan each time you want to process a page. IOW, you can scan several pages

and store them, then try the same images on different OCR apps. Note that

the best formats for images headed for OCR are loss-less types like BMP or

TIFF. JPEGs are lossy compressed and the edges of fonts get blurred. OK for

large type, not good for small type or where the paper quality of the

document is less than pristine. Unless the software states its preferred

resolution, you scan at the highest resolution your scanner is capable of,

but if the paper is dirty or aged, using a lower resolution can actually

work better. You judge that based upon false returns of text where there

isn't any, or mistaken returns that visual inspection suggests are due to

smudging, dirt, etc. It's an acquired talent, even with the good software.

Underlining, italics and colors other than black are major tripping points.

Be sure to include those cases in your testing if they apply. (Scanning in

B&W sometimes helps with colors.)

"...board of directors..." Is that a corporation, government agency, or a

non-profit? If non-profit, I offer my services for a *very* reasonable price

(but you do the scanning.) If not, it would cost you a lot less to simply

buy the ABBYY software. You won't get the database I usually produce,

because I use Concordance (http://www.dataflight.com) -- it's expensive and

requires that the *user* own a copy. Besides, it's designed for legal usage,

and while it would work for other purposes, it's overkill. If you take me up

on the offer, just know that I'm pretty busy at the moment with house

repairs and a couple of other projects. Might be a month or two (or three or

four) before I could get to it. You can contact me at

gryst_at_grystmill.com.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User