The OCR software that came with my HP c5180 all-in-one no longer works under Mountain Lion. As I don't use OCR very often, I'm looking for free (or really inexpensive) OCR software that works with Mountain Lion. There seem to be several free programs that work with Windows and others that don't specify an operating system. Can anybody recommend a good package?
Thanks.
iMac, OS X Mountain Lion
I found a package named SimpleOCR Freeware but it does not specify an operating system. Does anybody know anything about this?
I just downloaded a 14-day trial at http://ocrkit.com
Not sure yet how well or if it works, but try it and let's find out!
Also found this app on another thread. Just an archiver, but overlays the text for easy searches. Not sure what you need, but maybe this will do the trick?
Not sure your full range of use either. I have been suing using the OCR function in PDFpen for my limited needs. I use this software all the time for most PDF needs.
Thanks. Usefdul input. While I was waiting for user suggestions, I looked through some previous OCR postings and found a free app called PDF OCR X which is fairly primitive but may meet my needs. When you open the application, it presents a space to drag your PDF into and then does the conversion for you to text that can be edited, etc. Does only a single page at a time but the OCR quality is acceptable and you can't argue about the price. I'm going to try this first before I buy something. Thanks again for your suggestion.
Thanks. Gonna try both PDF Pen and OCR X. Ultimately I need to scan an entire manuscript and get it back into Pages for full edit. Anyone know the BEST software to do that, barring an OCR scanner?
Complain to HP. They are supposed to have embedded the OCR software for their machines into Apple's OSX along with all the other functions relating to scanning and printing. Also, may I suggest that you bring it to Apple's attention via the Feedback link.
Have you checked the HP web site for a download to solve your problem.
Good ideas. I actually used PDF Pen and it worked very well.
If you main purpose is to convert PDF to editable document file, may suggest PDF2Office:
Eric Root wrote:
Have you checked the HP web site for a download to solve your problem.
Yes, I've had a quick look. I've currently got HP Scan 2.1.3 (dated 2009). I think I will look for an update again at a later date.
I'll give it a try. Thank you.
Just to let you know that I have just successfully upgraded to Mountain Lion. I have just tested out HPScan 2.1.3 and I can confirm that the OCR on it still works.
Download it here
HP Scan is part of a software suite that came, with my HP PhotoSmart C7280 All-in-one, on a CD. All the other items on the suite basically repeat what's in other software provided by Apple but I still find them useful. HP PhotoSmart Studio for instance is another item in the suite that may be used to make panoramic pictures amongst other things.
HP Scan however is compatible with Preview but works separately. With HP Scan, first you scan then you save the "output" (after cropping perhaps). Before you save however, you need to select the right 'Profile' (i.e. either Picture or Document)
Select 'Document' profile. From the 'Options' menu at the bottom, choose "Optimize for OCR".
Then save the file as an .rtf or TEXT file. Go into Finder (or TextEdit or Pages). Open the document to find your OCR'd text. Check for, and correct, any errors and then re-save.
Enjoy
I have HP Scan, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to OCR anything.
I have a Photosmart 7520 which uses HP Scan as well. I've got the latest software bundle for the 7520 (currently dated Sep. 2012), which includes HP Scan v4.0.50. Using this software under Moutain Lion, there's no mention of OCR anywhere. When you start a scan job, you can choose a preset for "Documents with Text," but after scanning a document, the only file formats available for saving are images (PNG, JPG, TIFF) and PDF. And the PDFs are not searchable, so I know it didn't silently do OCR or something. Is there something I'm missing? The software is so simplistic, I can't imagine how, but if there's a way to do OCR, I'd love to know it.
Thanks!
Try choosing a Profile BEFORE scanning. I too at first found that the option to save as TXT was gone once I had scanned and was about to save. I also found that I have to scan in colour, not black and white or greyscale.
Open HP Scan. Click on HP Scan Profiles (top left). Then, with the HP Scan Profiles selected, select the Documents profile in the window right next to it.
Duplicate this Profile by clicking on the arrow next to Profile settings option at the bottom of the window. A version of that profile will now be selected and Custom Profiles will be selected instead of HP Scan Profiles.
So you should now be working on a copy of a Documents Profile under the Custom Profiles Tab.
Set this before the scan button is hit.
Rename it OCR Documents, then amend the Profile settings at the bottom left of the window as displayed in the window itself - that is choose "Resolution - Optimise for text recognition (OCR)". It's under the "Capture" tab by the way.
After Scanning, choose SAVE. You should save as TXT or RTF.
My version of HP Scan is 2.1.3 (7), Copyright © 1999 - 2009, Hewlett-Packard. My printer is C7200 series so the software may be different for your 7520. On the other hand it may not.
If you still cannot find the option, its possible that you may still have the installer .pkg for HP Scan v4.0.50 (or know where to re-download it). If so, you could try moving it somewhere safe then downloading my version of HP Scan and try running that.
Message was edited by: El Deanio
I realise that I haven't tried searchable PDFs with HP scan yet. I'll have to try that out tomorrow night.
Looking for an OCR software recommendation.
