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Tag: OCR

Unlock Accessibility: Use MathPix Snip for Accessible Math in MS Word

Making math accessible to everyone is crucial. Today, we explore how MathPix Snip can help. This tool captures math problems and turns them into accessible Math ML.

Video Overview

Why MathPix Snip is a Game Changer for Math Accessibility

Accessibility in math is often overlooked but highly essential. One key tool to bridge this gap is MathPix Snip. The tool captures math equations and converts them into accessible Math ML format. This means more people can interact with math content, especially those using assistive technologies like screen readers.

The Importance of Accessible Math

Inaccessible math content can create barriers. It excludes those who rely on assistive technology. Making math accessible opens doors for inclusive learning. That’s why tools like MathPix Snip are crucial. They make math available to a broader audience, promoting equal opportunities in education and the workplace.

Sample MathPix Snip image

Steps to Create Accessible Math using MathPix Snip

Here is how you can use MathPix Snip to make math problems accessible.

  1. Open MS Word: First, prepare a new Microsoft Word document where you will paste the equations.
  2. Launch MathPix Snip: Open the MathPix Snip tool and select the ‘New Snip’ option. This allows you to draw a box around the math content you want to capture.
  3. OCR Technology: MathPix Snip uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. It reads the math equation inside the box.
  4. Copy Math ML: Navigate to the Data tab within the tool. Here, you can copy the Math ML code with just a single click.
  5. Paste in MS Word: Go back to your Microsoft Word document and paste the copied Math ML code.
  6. MathType Option: If MathType is installed on your computer, it will prompt you. Choose to create a MathType equation.
  7. Accessible Math: The pasted equation is now in Math ML format. This format is readable by screen readers and other forms of assistive technology.
  8. Adding More Equations: You can add more equations to the document using the same process. You can either leave them in the Word document or use them in a web page.
  9. Accessibility First: The main goal is to ensure that the math content is accessible to everyone, including those who use assistive technologies.

MathPix Snip should be part of your accessibility toolbox if you work regularly with math content. By using this tool, you are taking an essential step toward creating a more inclusive and accessible environment.

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Converting PNG Images to Editable Documents with Abbyy FineReader 16

Introduction

In today’s digital world, working with different file formats is a common task. One such scenario involves converting a PNG image into an editable document. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the process of using Abbyy FineReader 16 to achieve this task efficiently. Join us as we explore the Accessibility Guy channel and learn how to convert a PNG file with table structures and checkboxes into a searchable PDF or Word document.

Video overview

Step 1: Prepare your PNG file

For this demonstration, we’ll use a PNG file containing a table with rows, columns, and checkbox images. This file represents a common scenario where one needs to extract the data from a static image format and convert it into an editable document.

Step 2: Open the PNG file in Abbyy FineReader 16

Launch Abbyy FineReader 16 and select the OCR Editor. Open the PNG file, and the software will automatically run Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on the image.

Step 3: Analyze the table structure

Zoom in on the image panel and check the text panel. If Abbyy doesn’t recognize the table structure correctly, delete all text areas by right-clicking in the image panel. Use the table tool to draw a box around the table and click on “Analyze Table Structure” located in the bottom corner of the window. This action will analyze the table and apply rows and columns accordingly.

Step 4: Recognize the text

Click on the “Recognize” button to OCR the file. If the document is not in English, change the recognition language accordingly, and run the recognition process again. Visually spot-check the text for accuracy.

Step 5: Adjust the table content

In case Abbyy replaces certain icons or images with text, manually type the appropriate text in the corresponding cells. For instance, if the original file had checkboxes indicating whether an item met certain specifications, replace the text with the translated phrase for “meets specifications” or “does not meet specifications.”

Step 6: Export the file as a searchable PDF

Change the export settings to “Searchable PDF” and save the file. If the image quality is blurry, go to Tools > Options > PDF, and adjust the image quality settings. Disable the MRC compression if necessary to improve the text quality.

Step 7: Save the file as a Microsoft Word document

If you prefer working with a Word document, save the file in that format. Keep in mind that the alternate texts might appear in the document, depending on how the file was zoned in Abbyy. To retain the checkboxes, apply picture zones to the cells and manually insert the icons as a table.

Conclusion

Abbyy FineReader 16 makes it simple to convert a PNG file, even with complex table structures, into an editable PDF or Word document. With this step-by-step guide, you can easily transform static images into dynamic, editable documents for further analysis and collaboration. As always, thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more tips and tricks from the Accessibility Guy channel!

Converting Scanned PDF to Word Documents with Abbyy FineReader

Introduction: Turning Scanned PDFs into Editable Word Documents

Handling scanned PDFs with poor image quality can be challenging. Thankfully, Abbyy FineReader offers an effective solution for converting such documents into editable Word files. In this blog post, we will demonstrate how to use Abbyy FineReader’s OCR capabilities to turn a scanned PDF into a Word document, even with blurry text and marked-through sections.

Step 1: Launch Abbyy FineReader and Load the Scanned PDF

Open Abbyy FineReader and choose the OCR Editor. Navigate to the file explorer window and select your scanned PDF file. For this example, we will work with a 72-page document.

Step 2: Complete the OCR Process and Clean Up the File

Once the OCR process is complete, zoom out of the image and text panels. Identify and correct any errors, such as misplaced signatures or incorrect text.

Step 3: Zone Text Fields and Add Image Zones

Create appropriate text and image zones to maintain the document’s visual structure while editing the text in the background. Reorder the fields to ensure proper reading order, then recognize the page once more.

Step 4: Apply Alternate Text to Images

Add alternate text to images, such as signatures, to improve the document’s accessibility. This step actually occurs in word.

Step 5: Validate and Edit Text in Tables

Check the text in tables, making sure it is accurate and correctly recognized. Edit any inconsistencies as needed.

Step 6: Delete Unwanted Text and Validate Low Confidence Characters

Remove any unwanted text by selecting and deleting it in the text panel. Pay special attention to low confidence characters highlighted in blue, ensuring they are correct.

Step 7: Edit and Update Misspellings

Go through the document page by page, correcting any misspellings or errors. This process may take some time, but it is crucial for producing an accurate Word document.

Step 8: Save the Document as a Microsoft Word File

Once you have corrected all errors and validated the text, save the document as a Microsoft Word file.

Step 9: Review the Word Document and Make Final Adjustments

Open the converted Word document and review it for any remaining issues. Make any necessary adjustments before finalizing the document.

Conclusion: Unlocking the Power of Abbyy FineReader for Scanned PDF to Word Conversion

Abbyy FineReader makes it easy to convert scanned PDFs into editable Word documents, even when dealing with poor image quality or challenging text recognition. By following this step-by-step guide, you can streamline your document conversion process and work more efficiently with scanned documents. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks on the Accessibility Guy channel, helping you to optimize your document management and editing tasks.

ABBYY FineReader 16: Efficient PDF Editing and OCR

Video Overview

Welcome to the Accessibility Guy channel! We’re excited to share that ABBYY FineReader 16 is now on our computer. This latest version of ABBYY FineReader provides a stronger OCR engine and a host of PDF editing tools that can make document processing easier and more efficient. In this video, we’ll provide an overview of some of the most common workflows we personally work through when using ABBYY FineReader, so let’s jump right in.

Launching ABBYY FineReader PDF presents two main distinctions: the PDF document side and the OCR editor. While you can use the tool as a PDF editor, we want to focus on the OCR editor, as ABBYY FineReader has one of the strongest OCR engines on the market. It can assist you in converting file types, from PDF to Word, for example, or editing underlying text of a document and updating language settings.

When you launch the OCR editor, it will prompt you to open a file. Once you’ve selected your file, ABBYY FineReader will perform OCR on all the pages, and you’ll see a thumbnail section on the far left side of the screen that displays a snapshot of all the different pages in your document. The image panel displays the visual aspect of your PDF, and typically matches directly with the file. On the far right side of the screen, you’ll find the text area of ABBYY FineReader, where you can edit any of the underlying text of the program. If the OCR is poor, or you need to update a spelling mistake or add in information for acronyms, you can make changes in the text panel. Finally, a zoom panel appears on the bottom of the screen and will update depending on where you are in the image panel.

Before we dive into the settings, we like to adjust our settings. For example, we’ll take this document into a searchable PDF, so we need to adjust our PDF settings. To do that, we’ll select the Tools button and then select Options. This brings up the options window where you can set a variety of settings. In the General tab, you can choose when the OCR editor begins, or you can set up a scanning device to scan documents directly into ABBYY FineReader. We really want to spend most of our time under format settings.

Earlier, we mentioned that we’re going to be exporting to PDF, so we need to select our document type. We can adjust the settings for documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoints, text files, HTML ePubs, etc. For PDF, we’ll dive into the preferred settings. When creating accessible files, the first thing we want to adjust is the image quality. If you have a lot of images in your document, be sure to set custom. We’ll change our color control from automatic to “do not change image color,” as we don’t want any quality loss on our file. Then we’ll change the dropdown menu for quality to “quality loss not allowed” and select OK. We have additional settings that may not be relevant for you, such as creating PDF view a documents, which requires OCR. Additionally, we have the checkbox selected to use MRC compression, which also requires OCR. We like to apply the ABBYY precise scan to smooth characters on page images, which makes the font and images a bit crisper and easier to work with under searchable PDF settings.

We like to have the text under the page image, but you can adjust the settings for better results depending on the document you’re working with. We’ll have the option selected to create bookmarks from headings, create PDF tags, and ensure that our fonts are embedded. Additionally, you can set metadata in this way.

In conclusion, ABBYY FineReader 16 offers a range of OCR and PDF editing tools

Scan and OCR a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Do you ever have an image in your PDF that you need to OCR and make text? Adobe Acrobat has a feature called Scan and OCR which can do just that. This is useful for when you have a scanned image or poor-quality PDF.

Best practice

Try to avoid using images of text as this is a direct violation of accessibility guidelines. This is why the Scan and OCR feature is useful.

Video Overview of how to use the Scan and OCR feature in Adobe Acrobat

Text Overview of how to use the Scan and OCR feature

  1. Select the scan and ocr tool
  2. Select recognize text in this file
  3. Select recognize text
Select the scan and ocr tool Select recognize text in this file Select recognize text

How do I test to make sure that it worked?

The best method to ensure that your Scan and OCR worked is to try and copy and paste the text into another program. This will tell you that the OCR took place and will allow you to check for accuracy.

Are there any better OCR programs?

Adobe Acrobats OCR tool is not the best when it comes to accuracy. If you are using OCR for textbooks or high quantities of documents, id refer you to check out Abbyy FineReader. Lucky for you – I have a bunch of videos about this program too.

Need additional help on accessible PDFs? Review the links below

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