Omnipage Pro X and Snow Leopard

Question

Level 1

85 points

Omnipage Pro X and Snow Leopard

I have used Omnipage for years even though it's been years since it was supported for the Mac. I scan recipes from cookbooks and I like the way Omnipage does OCR. I've tried Readiris and it doesn't compare. I haven't heard of any other OCR software for the Mac that works well and even if there is, I can't justify a big expense. Has anyone been successful with Omnipage using Rosetta and Snow Leopard?

iMac G5, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Sep 23, 2009 8:22 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Sep 23, 2009 10:25 AM in response to Javajoe

It works for me, as long as I go through the trouble of installing it so that it works with newer versions of OS X. Their FAQs almost explain how to install it, but the final step is to change the permissions on the folder it is installed into so that everyone can read and write to it. If you do not do that, you may be able to use it from the administrator account that installed it, but no other user will be able to use it. This is a problem even with the version supplied by Canon for their printers.

I doubt that Omnipage has any more Mac developers left. It is a shame, as it could probably be much improved with just a little work.

Reply

Answer 2

Javajoe Author

Level 1

85 points

Sep 23, 2009 11:16 AM in response to Bruce De Benedictis

Do you mean that you had to reinstall it with Snow Leopard? I haven't had to do a reinstall of Omnipage for a long time. Once I figured out how to get it to work with System 10 I've left it alone and it has worked up until now with 10.5.8. I have an old Epson Scanner that works with 10.5.8. According to Epson's web site the scanner will only work with Rosetta. Do you have a newer Canon scanner?

Reply

Answer 3

Sep 23, 2009 11:45 AM in response to Javajoe

I did not need to reinstall. I just added that information for those who might be considering it.

Omnipage requires Rosetta, so the scanner driver should not be a problem.

Reply

Answer 4

Javajoe Author

Level 1

85 points

Sep 23, 2009 11:50 AM in response to Bruce De Benedictis

Bruce,
Thanks so much! This was the only application that I was worried about as far as upgrading to Snow Leopard was concerned. You're right that it is a shame that Nuance won't upgrade Omnipage for the Mac. It could be so much more useful and I'll bet that there is a good market for them now.

Reply

Answer 5

Sep 23, 2009 3:19 PM in response to Javajoe

I run OmniPage X under Snow Leopard with an Epson 3200 Photo scanner very successfully. The install went without issues and worked straight away.
OmniPage is a GREAT application, even scanning cruddy faxes with an amazing degree of accuracy.

Reply

Answer 6

Oct 30, 2009 8:07 AM in response to Javajoe

If you did not have to re-install it then you must have upgraded Leopard to Snow Leopard without doing a clean install (format and clean install). If you did that you would have realized that OmniPage Pro X or SE will NOT install properly. I actually got mine to install but when I Launched it, it told me it needed a serial number and quit. It did not provide me the opportunity to put one in AND I have the SE edition that has never asked me for a serial number until now. I called Nuance and they told me that OmniPage is NOT compatible with Snow Leopard. They are working on a "Fix" is all they could tell me.

In the mean time I have tried ReadIRIS Pro and I have found that it is very good. I don't understand what problems the first poster had, but compared to OmniPage Pro SE...(which may have been a bit limited), ReadIRIS does a much better job when scanning things that include tables, and graphics. It does the same with books and text and I don't have to set columns which I had to do in OmniPage Pro. There is also AABBY FineReader Special Edition for the Mac too. It got high ratings and is supposed to be the simplest of the three to use. I hope this info helps.

Reply