Adobe OCR From VBA

[felipe_9337]

I'm working on a VBA macro for Outlook that should automatically apply Acrobat Pro's OCR to any image attachments in incoming emails. However, I haven’t found a reliable way to trigger Acrobat’s OCR functionality from VBA. Do you have any suggestions or workarounds?

Thanks in advance!

[Thom Parker · Accepted solution]

That functionality is not available from any of the the Acrobat SDKs. There is a messy solution though, which is to use a keyboard simulator to activate it.  

[felipe_9337]

Dear Mr. Parker,

Thank you very much for your response regarding the regrettable absence of direct access to Adobe Acrobat Pro’s OCR functionality via the available SDKs. While the notion of employing a keyboard simulator may, at first blush, appear inelegant, I appreciate your candor in presenting it as a viable, if unconventional, recourse.

Your exhortation to consult the Acrobat JavaScript Reference “early and often” shall not go unheeded. I shall endeavor to do so with the same reverence one might reserve for a sacred text—albeit one with a slightly more cryptic syntax.

With sincere appreciation and a touch of admiration for your pragmatic ingenuity,

Felipe