Nuance OMNIPAGE PRO FOR WINDOWS 95 User Manual

OmniPage Pro
for Windows 95
CAERE CORPORATION
100 Cooper Court Los Gatos, California 95030
European Offices: Caere GmbH Innere Wiener Strasse 5 81667 Munich Germany
Please Note
In order to use this program, you should know how to work in the Microsoft Windows environment. Please refer to Windows documentation if you have questions about how to use menu commands, dialog boxes, scroll bars, edit boxes, and so on.
OmniPage Pro for Windows 95 Version 7.0
Copyright© 1996 Caere Corporation. All rights reserved. CAERE®, OmniPage®, Language Analyst®, 3D OCR®, True Page®, AnyPage, and AnyFax are trademarks of Caere Corporation
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Such designations appearing in this manual have been printed in initial caps.
Product Serial Number:
_______________________________________________ (from Disk #1 label)
ii
Welcome
Help Menu Commands....................................................................................................................vi
Context-Sensitive Help.....................................................................................................................vi
Chapter 1 Introduction to OmniPage Pro
What Is Optical Character Recognition (OCR)?..........................................................................1-2
What OmniPage Pro OCR Can Do ...............................................................................................1-2
Chapter 2 Installation and Setup
System Requirements .....................................................................................................................2-2
Installing OmniPage Pro ................................................................................................................2-2
Setting Up Your Scanner With OmniPage Pro ...........................................................................2-3
Starting OmniPage Pro...................................................................................................................2-5
Registering OmniPage Pro.............................................................................................................2-5
The OmniPage Pro Desktop ..........................................................................................................2-6
Chapter 3 Basic Procedures
The Basic Steps of OmniPage Pro OCR........................................................................................3-2
The AutoOCR Toolbar....................................................................................................................3-3
Setting Process Commands.....................................................................................................3-3
AUTO Button Commands ......................................................................................................3-3
Image Button Commands .......................................................................................................3-4
Zone Button Commands .........................................................................................................3-4
OCR Button Commands .........................................................................................................3-5
Export Button Commands ......................................................................................................3-6
Automatic Processing.....................................................................................................................3-6
Bringing Document Images into OmniPage Pro ........................................................................3-7
Scanning Pages.........................................................................................................................3-7
Loading Image Files.................................................................................................................3-8
Loading Exchange Faxes.........................................................................................................3-9
Creating Zones for OCR...............................................................................................................3-10
Creating Zones Automatically.............................................................................................3-10
Creating Zones Manually .....................................................................................................3-11
Table of Contents
iii
Creating Zones Using a Template.......................................................................................3-12
Deleting Zones........................................................................................................................ 3-13
Reidentifying Zone Types..................................................................................................... 3-13
Performing OCR on a Document................................................................................................ 3-14
Checking OCR Results ..........................................................................................................3-14
Verifying Text.........................................................................................................................3-16
Exporting Documents...................................................................................................................3-16
Saving a Document................................................................................................................ 3-16
Copying a Document to the Clipboard...............................................................................3-18
Sending a Document With Microsoft Exchange................................................................3-18
Chapter 4 Settings Guide
Selecting OmniPage Pro Settings..................................................................................................4-2
What Is the Quality of the Original Document?.........................................................................4-3
What Type of Document Are You Processing? .......................................................................... 4-4
How Much Original Formatting Do You Want to Keep? .........................................................4-6
Do You Want to Retain Graphics in Your Document?.............................................................. 4-7
How Many Languages Are in Your Document?........................................................................ 4-8
Are You Processing a Multiple-Page Document? ....................................................................4-10
Chapter 5 Technical Information
Troubleshooting Solutions.............................................................................................................5-2
General Troubleshooting Solutions.......................................................................................5-2
Setup Program Requests the Same Disk............................................................................... 5-3
Uninstalling the Software.......................................................................................................5-3
Testing OmniPage Pro in Safe Mode ....................................................................................5-4
Low Memory Problems...........................................................................................................5-4
Low Disk Space Problems ......................................................................................................5-5
Scanning Problems...................................................................................................................5-5
OCR Problems ..........................................................................................................................5-6
Scanner Setup Issues.......................................................................................................................5-8
Scanner Drivers Supplied by the Manufacturer..................................................................5-8
Scanner Drivers Supplied by Caere ......................................................................................5-8
Scanner Message on Launch ..................................................................................................5-8
Using Visioneer PaperPort with OmniPage Pro .................................................................5-9
Using TWAIN-Compliant Scanners......................................................................................5-9
Product Support ............................................................................................................................5-10
Product Support Services......................................................................................................5-10
International Product Support Numbers ........................................................................... 5-10
Information Product Support Needs From You................................................................ 5-10
iv

Welcome

Welcome to OmniPage Pro for Windows 95. This manual introduces you to the basics of using OmniPage Pro. It includes installation instructions, basic procedures, settings guidelines, and troubleshooting information.
Please look in OmniPage Pro’s online help for detailed information on features and procedures. OmniPage Pro’s online help conforms to Windows 95 online help conventions and has been designed for quick and easy information retrieval.
Please continue reading this section to find out how to use OmniPage Pro’s online help. Topics include:
• Help Menu Commands
• Context-Sensitive Help
v

Help Menu Commands

Help Menu Commands
After installing OmniPage Pro, you can open its online help by choosing commands in the Help menu.
• Choose listings of online help topics available for OmniPage Pro.
• Choose Pro.
• Choose features in OmniPage Pro that are similar to features used in OmniPage Limited Edition.
• Choose services for OmniPage Pro.

Context-Sensitive Help

You can get specific information about a particular OmniPage Pro command, toolbar button, or dialog box option in the following ways.
• Click the Help button in the Standard toolbar and then click any toolbar button, menu command, or area of the OmniPage Pro desktop to display information about that item.
• Click the question-mark button in the upper-right corner of a dialog box and then click an item in the dialog box to get an explanation of that item.
• Some dialog boxes have a information about that dialog box.
OmniPage Pro Help Topics
Getting Started
OmniPage Limited Edition Help
Product Support
to get introductory topics to OmniPage
to find out how to get product support
Help
to get contents and index
button. Click
to find out how to use
to get
Help
To learn more about using Windows 95 online help systems, please refer to Windows 95 documentation.
vi
Chapter 1
Introduction to
OmniPage Pro
You probably do most of your business correspondence and other projects on your computer. Sometimes, however, information that you need cannot be used immediately on a computer.
For example, if you want to incorporate information from a magazine article into a document in your word processor, you somehow have to get the text from the article into your computer. Painstakingly retyping the article is not an appealing solution.
OmniPage Pro offers a smart solution to increase your work productivity. OmniPage Pro’s technology accurately and easily converts scanned paper documents and image files into editable text for use in your favorite computer applications. You do not have to retype anything — OmniPage Pro automatically does it for you.
optical character recognition (OCR)
Please continue reading this chapter for information on these topics:
• What Is Optical Character Recognition (OCR)?
• What OmniPage Pro OCR Can Do
Introduction to OmniPage Pro 1-1

What Is Optical Character Recognition (OCR)?

What Is Optical Character Recognition (OCR)?
Optical character recognition (OCR
computer-editable text. An image is an electronic picture of text such as a scanned paper document or an electronic fax file. Images do not have editable text characters; they have many tiny dots ( form a picture of text.
During OCR, OmniPage Pro analyzes an image and defines characters to produce editable text. After OCR, you can export the resulting text to a variety of word-processing, page layout, and spreadsheet applications. See “The Basic Steps of OmniPage Pro OCR” on page 3-2 for an overview of the OCR process.
Please look in OmniPage Pro’s online help for detailed information on OmniPage Pro features, settings, and procedures.
) is the process of turning an

What OmniPage Pro OCR Can Do

In addition to text, OmniPage Pro can retain these other elements of a document during OCR:
•Graphics Photos, logos, and drawings are examples of graphics.
• Text formatting Font types, font sizes, and font styles (such as bold or italic) are
examples of text formatting.
• Page formatting Column structure, paragraph spacing, and placement of graphics
are examples of page formatting.
) that together
pixels
image
into
1-2 Introduction to OmniPage Pro
The graphics, text formatting, and page formatting elements that OmniPage Pro retains depend on the settings you select for your document. See Chapter 4, Settings Guide, for more information.
OmniPage Pro recognizes printed text characters only. However, it can retain handwritten text, such as a signature, as a graphic element.
Chapter 2

Installation and Setup

This chapter provides installation and setup information for OmniPage Pro and the Scan Manager. If you have any trouble during installation, look in Chapter 5, Technical Information, for troubleshooting solutions.
After installing OmniPage Pro, please look in the online help for detailed information on features, settings, and procedures.
Please continue reading this chapter for information on these topics:
• System Requirements
• Installing OmniPage Pro
• Setting Up Your Scanner With OmniPage Pro
• Starting OmniPage Pro
• Registering OmniPage Pro
• The OmniPage Pro Desktop
Installation and Setup 2-1

System Requirements

System Requirements
You need the following setup to install and run OmniPage Pro:
• Computer with an 80386 or higher processor
• Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.51 Please see the
on features supported by Windows NT 3.51 and later versions.
• Windows-compatible mouse
• Total system memory of at least 8MB RAM for Windows 95 and 12MB RAM for Windows NT
• 15MB free hard-disk space
• SVGA or VGA monitor
• A compatible scanner if you plan to scan documents Be sure your scanner is connected, compatible with your system,
and runs with the software provided by the manufacturer you install OmniPage Pro.
To use OmniPage Pro, you should know how to work in the Microsoft Windows environment. Please refer to Windows 95 documentation or online help if you have any questions about working in Windows 95.
Release Notes
for the most up-to-date information
before

Installing OmniPage Pro

OmniPage Pro’s Setup program takes you through installation with onscreen instructions at every step. For best results, do not run any other programs — especially anti-virus programs — during installation.
To install OmniPage Pro on Windows 95:
1 Click
2 Double-click 3 Click the 4 Insert OmniPage Pro disk #1 in your computer’s floppy disk
5 Click
2-2 Installation and Setup
Start
Settings
drive and click The Setup program starts.
Next
in the Windows 95 taskbar and choose
Control Panel
Add/Remove Programs
Install/Uninstall
Next
to continue with installation
.
tab and click
.
.
Install...
.
.

Setting Up Your Scanner With OmniPage Pro

6 Follow the onscreen instructions and insert the other
installation disks as prompted.
To install OmniPage Pro on Windows NT 3.51:
1 Start Windows NT and open the Program Manager. 2 Insert OmniPage Pro disk #1 in your computer’s floppy disk
drive.
3 Choose 4Type a:\setup (or b:\setup) in the
and click OK.
5 Follow the onscreen instructions and insert the other
installation disks as prompted.
in the Program Manager’s File menu.
Run
Command Line
Setting Up Your Scanner With OmniPage Pro
You must install the Scan Manager and select your default scanner if you plan to scan with OmniPage Pro. You are prompted to install the Scan Manager during OmniPage Pro installation, but you can also install it at a later time.
Be sure your scanner is connected, compatible with your system, and runs with the software provided by the manufacturer with OmniPage Pro. See “Scanner Setup Issues” on page 5-8.
To install the Scan Manager at a later time:
1 Click
Settings
2 Double-click
in the Windows 95 taskbar and choose
Start
Control Panel
Add/Remove Programs
.
.
before
text box
you use it
3 Click the 4 Insert the Scan Manager disk in your computer’s floppy disk
drive and click The Setup program starts.
5 Click
select your default scanner. Once the Scan Manager is installed, you can change the default
scanner anytime.
Install/Uninstall
Next
and follow the onscreen directions to install and
Next
tab and click
.
Install...
.
Installation and Setup 2-3
Setting Up Your Scanner With OmniPage Pro
The default scanner will be used with OmniPage Pro.
Scanners that have installed drivers appear here.
To change your default scanner in OmniPage Pro:
1 Exit OmniPage Pro if it is running. 2 Click
Programs
in the Windows 95 taskbar and choose
Start
Caere ApplicationsScan Manager 2.0
.
The Scanner Setup dialog box appears.
3 Click
and insert the Scan Manager disk when prompted.
Add>>
The dialog box expands to show a list of available scanners. Some scanners are listed more than once because they have different driver options. If you are unsure about which scanner driver to use, see the
Scanner Setup Notes
4 Select your scanner in the
List of Scanners
booklet.
list box and click
Install.
The driver for that scanner is installed and the name of the scanner appears in the
Installed Scanners
5 Select your scanner in the
As Default Scanner
.
Installed Scanners
list box.
list box and click
Set
2-4 Installation and Setup
6 Click
Close
.
If you use a Visioneer scanner or if your scanner is set up to work with Visioneer’s PaperPort software, see “Using Visioneer PaperPort with OmniPage Pro” on page 5-9.

Starting OmniPage Pro

Make sure your scanner is attached to your computer, turned on, and working before you start OmniPage Pro if you plan to scan.
To start OmniPage Pro:
• Windows 95 users: click
Programs
The OmniPage Pro launcher is located in the program folder you selected during installation;
• Windows NT 3.51 users: double-click the OmniPage Pro icon in the Caere Applications program group.
Caere ApplicationsOmniPage Pro for Windows 95

Registering OmniPage Pro

You are prompted to call in and register your copy of OmniPage Pro during installation if you are an unregistered user. Unregistered users can only use OmniPage Pro for 25 sessions without registering it. After 25 sessions, the Registration dialog box appears when OmniPage Pro is launched and the program exits if you do not register at that time.
You will not be prompted to register if you are already a registered user.
in the taskbar and choose
Start
Caere Applications
Starting OmniPage Pro
.
is the default.
To register OmniPage Pro:
1 Click the Register menu to open the OmniPage Pro Product
Registration dialog box. This dialog box also appears during installation and the first
time you start OmniPage Pro.
Installation and Setup 2-5

The OmniPage Pro Desktop

2 Click the
drop-down list and locate the phone number for
Call
your country.
3 Call the phone number and ask for a registration number.
You will be asked to provide the serial and key numbers listed in the dialog box.
4 Enter the registration number that is given to you in the
Registration Number
The Registration menu disappears from the menu bar after you register.
The OmniPage Pro Desktop
OmniPage Pro can display the pages of a document in its thumbnail viewer, image viewer, and text viewer. You can activate operations using toolbar buttons or menu commands. See Chapter 3, Basic Procedures, for more information.
Standard toolbar AutoOCR toolbar
text box and click
OK.
Zone toolbar
The thumbnail viewer displays miniature pictures of pages and puts a box around the current page.
2-6 Installation and Setup
The image viewer
displays the current
page’s original image.
The text viewer displays the
current page’s recognized
text and retained graphics.
Use the OCR Wizard if you want to be guided through the entire OCR process. Select
OCR Wizard
in the
button’s drop-down list and
AUTO
then click the button to activate the wizard. The OCR Wizard will ask you questions about your page and set the appropriate settings for you.
Chapter 3

Basic Procedures

This chapter gives an overview of processing documents in OmniPage Pro from start to finish. It describes the basic steps of OCR and provides instructions for each step.
There are different ways to accomplish the same tasks in OmniPage Pro. For example, you can use toolbar buttons or menu commands to start procedures. You can have OmniPage Pro perform all OCR steps automatically, or you can start each step individually.
For detailed information on all OmniPage Pro settings and procedures, please look in OmniPage Pro’s online help.
Please continue reading this chapter for information on these topics:
• The Basic Steps of OmniPage Pro OCR
• The AutoOCR Toolbar
• Automatic Processing
• Bringing Document Images into OmniPage Pro
• Creating Zones for OCR
• Performing OCR on a Document
• Exporting Documents
Basic Procedures 3-1

The Basic Steps of OmniPage Pro OCR

The Basic Steps of OmniPage Pro OCR
Optical character recognition
computer-editable text so you do not have to retype the text manually.
These are the basic steps of OmniPage Pro OCR:
1 Bring a document image into OmniPage Pro.
You can scan a paper document, load an image file, or load an Exchange fax. The resulting image appears in OmniPage Pro’s image viewer.
See “Bringing Document Images into OmniPage Pro” on page 3-7 for more information.
2 Create zones to identify the parts of the document you want to
recognize as text or retain as graphics. Zones are boxes that identify which areas of the document
image get processed. You can create zones on the image manually, automatically, or with a template. Any areas not enclosed by zones are ignored during OCR.
See “Creating Zones for OCR” on page 3-10 for more information.
3 Perform OCR to convert text information into editable text
characters. During OCR, OmniPage Pro defines text characters in an
image. After OCR, you can check for and edit unrecognizable characters, suspect characters, and misspelled words.
See “Performing OCR on a Document” on page 3-14 for more information.
(OCR) is the process of turning an image into
3-2 Basic Procedures
4 Export the document to the desired location.
You can save your document to a specified file format, send it as a mail attachment, or copy it to the Clipboard.
See “Exporting Documents” on page 3-16 for more information.
You can also initiate OCR outside OmniPage Pro in a variety of ways. For example, you can use the another application — recognized text will be pasted directly into your open document. Please see OmniPage Pro’s online help for more information on OCR Aware and other ways of initiating OCR.
OCR Aware
feature to initiate OCR from

The AutoOCR Toolbar

The AutoOCR toolbar buttons allow you to take a document through each step of the OCR process. Every toolbar button has different process commands that can be set for the operations you want to perform. OmniPage Pro can go through all steps automatically, or you can start each step individually.
The AutoOCR Toolbar
AUTO button
Image button

Setting Process Commands

You can set process commands in two locations:
• Click the down arrow next to each AutoOCR toolbar button and select a process command in the drop-down list.
• Choose
Process Settings...
commands in the Options dialog box.
The pictures in the AutoOCR toolbar buttons change as you set different process commands. The commands can be activated by clicking the AutoOCR toolbar buttons or choosing commands in the Process menu.

AUTO Button Commands

Use the AUTO button to process a document from start to finish. The AUTO button’s drop-down list contains the commands.
AutoOCR
Select
AutoOCR
to the selected process commands. See “Automatic Processing” on page 3-6.
to finish processing a new or open document according
Zone
button
OCR
button
Export button
in the Process menu and select process
AutoOCR
and
OCR Wizard
OCR Wizard
Select
OCR Wizard
OCR process.
to have the OCR Wizard guide you through the entire
Basic Procedures 3-3
The AutoOCR Toolbar

Image Button Commands

Use the Image button to bring a document image into OmniPage Pro’s image viewer. The Image button’s drop-down list contains the
Image, Load Image,
Scan Image
and
Load Exchange Fax
commands.
Scan
Select
Scan Image
command only appears in the drop-down list if you have installed the Scan Manager and have selected your default scanner. See “Scanning Pages” on page 3-7.
If you use a Visioneer scanner or if your scanner is set up to work with Visioneer’s PaperPort software (such as the HP ScanJet 4s scanner), see “Using Visioneer PaperPort with OmniPage Pro” on page 5-9.
Load Image
Select
Load Image
See “Loading Image Files” on page 3-8.
Load Exchange Fax
Select
Load Exchange Fax
command only appears in the drop-down list if you have Microsoft Exchange installed. See “Loading Exchange Faxes” on page 3-9.
to scan paper documents in your scanner. This
to load existing image files such as TIFF or PCX files.

Zone Button Commands

Use the Zone button to create zones on document images. Zones are boxes that specify what will be recognized as text or retained as graphics on an image. The Zone button’s drop-down list contains the and
Manual Zones
have created.
commands and the names of any zone templates you
to load faxes from Microsoft Exchange. This
Auto Zones
3-4 Basic Procedures
Auto Zones
Select
Auto Zones
zones on document images. If you use a scanner that supports HP AccuPage, you can select scanned pages. See “Creating Zones Automatically” on page 3-10.
to have OmniPage Pro automatically draw and order
HP AccuPage
as the auto zoning option for
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