What Is an OCR Reader?

If you've ever worked with PDF files or Word documents, you've probably stumbled across "OCR" or "Paper Capture" in one of the application menus. OCR stands for "Optical Character Recognition," a technology that can save you time when working with documents, PDF files, scanned pages of text and even digital camera images of text sheets or pages.

OCR Reader

• An OCR reader recognizes text characters and converts PDF files and scanned static images into editable text documents. OCR technology can also provide searchable results in PDF documents, allowing easier navigation and management of PDF files. In short, OCR is a very useful bit of technology that can save you a lot of time.

Benefits and Uses of OCR Reader Software

• OCR gives you the ability to convert a scanned static image into editable text documents. It also allows scanning directly into editable text documents, without first having to scan and save an image file.

  One of the coolest OCR reader features is the ability to convert digital camera images of text pages into editable text documents (although this is trickier than scanner-created files because of focus and lighting issues and inconsistencies).

  OCR helps with document management by allowing you to search for specific words in PDF document files via "paper capture," which is an OCR technology. Without first paper capturing a PDF document, you wouldn't be able to search for specific words.

  Another OCR application is available in tablet PCs: recognition of handwritten digital notes on the tablet PC screen, which can then be saved as text files.

How OCR Works

• OCR works by breaking down a page into blocks of text or images. The software then breaks down the blocks of text into words and then into individual characters. It then compares the characters to a set of character pattern images built into the software. Then it makes probable guesses as to what each character is and presents you with the recognized text.