OCR - Can't figure out. Help please.

[matthewb18341747]

I scanned a sheet with handwritten notes with Adobe Scan. I opened it into Acrobat, hoping to convert the handwritten words into text (like I typed it). All of the online helps say it can be done, but I see no options as to actually do it. Can someone help please?

[gary_sc]

Can you select the text in Adobe Scan?

Not seeing the script, I have to say that any expectations that it would be viable are small. Very small. OCR, in general, has many mistakes and failures, and that's with actual text, not script. I have enough problems understanding my handwriting, so to think that any OCR would get it any better is hopeless! :>)

I've been using OCR for about 25 years, and every once in a while, the original content is so poor that rewriting is the best course of action. Even if the OCRing of script was 50% accurate, it would take you significantly more time to fix it than to retype it. 

I am not trying to dampen your enthusiasm; I am just shining a bit of light on what to expect if you can get anything to help.

[matthewb18341747]

Thank you for your feedback.

That is helpful to know for the future, but my issue is that I don't know
how to do it at all. Can you or another explain how to actually convert the
handwritten PDF into typed-text?

[gary_sc]

To be honest, I do not know of any commercial OCR that can handle script. Some software can translate hand-printed text into text, but not script. I've seen ads for these that accompany large whiteboards for company meetings so that everything that is written on the boards is captured for future reference. But that's not what you're looking for.

If you have a long document you wish to extract the text from, one approach is using speech-to-text software. This might work if you read the text, the software translates your speech into written text, and then you'd follow up by setting the preferred paragraph structure, fixing the homonyms, etc. 

Unless you already own one, I suggest you Google " speech-to-text software" and look for programs compatible with your OS, hardware, etc.

Good luck. 

[matthewb18341747]

Thank you for your help.

I am familiar with and use speech to text, but I just wanted to try this OCR as an option.

What I do not understand is that Adobe says it is something that can be done. At this point, I am not concerned with how well it works. I just want to know how to do it.

Why does Adobe say it is a thing if it isn’t?

[gary_sc]

I was about to say that the "Best I can guess is that sometimes Adobe's marketing is a bit ahead of the engineers." but I looked it up (thanks google) and found this:

Tips for scanning handwriting to text smoothly.

You can easily convert handwriting to text via OCR technology. By using a free scanner app like Adobe Scan, a smartphone, or an online OCR option, you can scan the handwriting with your smartphone. From there, the technology will recognize the text and translate it into text on a document.

Although OCR can recognize handwriting, the writing has to be reasonably neat in the first place. OCR relies on uniformity to recognize text, and — like people — it can have trouble reading messy handwriting. Here are some tips to make OCR scans more successful:

• Use lined paper to keep your handwritten lines straight.
• Write in capital letters to help OCR recognize different symbols.
• Write slowly to keep your handwriting as uniform as possible.
• Try not to smudge or crumble the paper as you write.

In a nutshell, the closer your handwriting is to a digital font, the better OCR can recognize it. But you may be able to convert even smudged or messy writing, so it’s always worth a try.

So, while they are talking about "handwriting," they sidestep into "make your text look like a digital font."

So, I think it's safe to say that your best bet is to get your printing to look like Helvetica or Times New Roman.

Meanwhile, I'd go with the Speech to Text approach,

Good luck!

[matthewb18341747]

Thanks again.

I read that same thing but that took me nowhere when I followed through.

Still think it is bizarre for Adobe and lacking credibility to claim it does something when it does not.

Thanks anyway.

I know there has to be software that does this, even if not well. I’ll keep looking. Just wish I knew someone who has actually done it.