[Skim-app-users] best OCR program

[Noam A. Osband]

Well, if there is nothing good that's free, does anyone have a suggestion
for a good OCR program for my Mac? The main thing I need it for is
converting PdF files I have on my computer into the kind of PdF where I can
do things like highlight and underline.

thanks,
noam

[Alex Hamann]

Post by Noam A. Osband
Well, if there is nothing good that's free, does anyone have a
suggestion for a good OCR program for my Mac? The main thing I need
it for is converting PdF files I have on my computer into the kind
of PdF where I can do things like highlight and underline.
thanks,
noam

Hi Noam,

this is not an expert's opinion but Adobe Acrobat Professional does a
decent job in the most recent version. I am not sure whether you can
find a Mac version of Abby Fine Reader but its OCR is good. I had to
work with it for some time performing ocr on quite difficult prints.
With computer generated files the ocr capabilities do not have to be
highly advanced, though.
HTH,

Alex

[mf]

Unfortunately Adobe Acrobat Professional isexpensive at full price
(about $300 I think). A cheaper less powerful option (about $50) is
PDFPen 4 which has an OCR function built in. Its fine for short
documents, but on long documents the slow place is very noticeable.
DevonThink Pro Office has a better OCR function, and a 150 hour fully
functional demo, but is about $150. None of these 3 is a dedicated
OCR application, so you're paying for functions you may not want. For
example, PDFPen does little that isn't already done by Skim.

ReadIris, on the other hand, is a dedicated OCR app ($130) but some
people - me included - have serious problems with it (eg see: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/14235/readiris-pro)
.

mf

Post by Alex Hamann

Post by Noam A. Osband
Well, if there is nothing good that's free, does anyone have a
suggestion for a good OCR program for my Mac? The main thing I need
it for is converting PdF files I have on my computer into the kind
of PdF where I can do things like highlight and underline.
thanks,
noam

Hi Noam,
this is not an expert's opinion but Adobe Acrobat Professional does a
decent job in the most recent version. I am not sure whether you can
find a Mac version of Abby Fine Reader but its OCR is good. I had to
work with it for some time performing ocr on quite difficult prints.
With computer generated files the ocr capabilities do not have to be
highly advanced, though.
HTH,
Alex
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[Rolf Schmolling]

Hi,

in my experience AdobeAcrobat Pro (latest version) is indeed very
fast, effective, especially compared to previous versions.

Maybe you could try to get the edu-version? I am not sure if CS4 (or
single applications like AcrobatPro) are available with this discount
yet…

On a sidenote: DevonThinkProOffice bought now will give you a free 2.0-
Version when it is out (currently in piublic beta) later this year.
They plan some Skim-features-compatibillity (Notes, Annotations)
though I am not sure how well this will work.

Personally I will shy away from database-programs in Leopard because
Spotlight and Tagging within Finder or through third-party
applications (HoudahSpot) are more flexible and easier to backup.

Greetings,

Rolf

Post by mf
Unfortunately Adobe Acrobat Professional isexpensive at full price
(about $300 I think). A cheaper less powerful option (about $50) is
PDFPen 4 which has an OCR function built in. Its fine for short
documents, but on long documents the slow place is very noticeable.
DevonThink Pro Office has a better OCR function, and a 150 hour fully
functional demo, but is about $150. None of these 3 is a dedicated
OCR application, so you're paying for functions you may not want. For
example, PDFPen does little that isn't already done by Skim.
ReadIris, on the other hand, is a dedicated OCR app ($130) but some
people - me included - have serious problems with it (eg see: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/14235/readiris-pro)
.
mf

Post by Alex Hamann

Post by Noam A. Osband
Well, if there is nothing good that's free, does anyone have a
suggestion for a good OCR program for my Mac? The main thing I need
it for is converting PdF files I have on my computer into the kind
of PdF where I can do things like highlight and underline.
thanks,
noam

Hi Noam,
this is not an expert's opinion but Adobe Acrobat Professional does a
decent job in the most recent version. I am not sure whether you can
find a Mac version of Abby Fine Reader but its OCR is good. I had to
work with it for some time performing ocr on quite difficult prints.
With computer generated files the ocr capabilities do not have to be
highly advanced, though.
HTH,
Alex
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--
Rolf Schmolling M.A. Historian, ***@Alumni.TU-Berlin.DE
http://rolf_schmolling.macbay.de/