DonationCoder.com Forum
Main Area and Open Discussion => General Software Discussion => Topic started by: jeromg on January 13, 2007, 09:29 AM
-
Hi dc'ers,
I'd like to try implement something close to a paperless office, what I'd like to do is:
1. Scan all paper documents received at home (bank statements, letters,...)
2. Use OCR if applicable (maybe, I'm not sure whether it's a good thing to do at the moment)
3. Store the scanned document in the right format (multi-page TIFF, multi-page PDF, other?)
4. Use a clever document storage (filesystem with nice/clean directory structure, dedicated database/revision management system,...)
Interesting user story: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/11/02/personal_document_management.html
Possible software I've seen so far:
PDFFactory : http://www.fineprint.com/products/pdffactory/index.html ($49.95 or $99.95 for the pro version)
ABBY Fineprint Reader Pro: http://www.abbyy.com/finereader8/?param=44890 (~$160)
Perforce (see article by Jason Hunter referenced above) : http://www.perforce.com/ (free version available, limited to 2 clients)
Any comments on this? Has anyone set up a similar system?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers /jerome
-
There are plenty of good options out there. For a single solution, Paperport should do it all.
Personally, I use a simple scanner and a comprehensive folder structure. I bought Fineprint and pdfactory just recently as they are discounted for DonationCoder members. Another great program is Scan2PDF (Freeware). That will allow you to scan in documents, including combining pages. I like to save magazine articles this way instead of keeping stacks of magzines laying around. Easier to find that way too.
Mostly, nowadays I can get most of my paperwork digitally off the web. All my financial paperwork comes digital now. I feel it is safer that way as I'm less of a threat for identity theft.
Along the same lines, the Scrapbook extension for Firefox is great. I save and categorize articles from the web using Scrapbook. An alternative is to print web articles to PDF using pdfactory.
Because I usually save in PDF format, I have rarely needed an OCR capability.
-
The current version of Paperport is 11 and is really powerfull, but it is expensive (+$150)
http://www.nuance.com/paperport/
You can find older versions (such as V9) online for much less.
http://www.ibuildcomputer.com/cgi-bin/szc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_partnum=SFT-PPDL9&p_vlt=L
Review
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,109694-page,1/article.html
-
I'd like to try implement something close to a paperless office, what I'd like to do is:
1. Scan all paper documents received at home (bank statements, letters,...)
2. Use OCR if applicable (maybe, I'm not sure whether it's a good thing to do at the moment)
3. Store the scanned document in the right format (multi-page TIFF, multi-page PDF, other?)
4. Use a clever document storage (filesystem with nice/clean directory structure, dedicated database/revision management system,...)
-jeromg
I'm using something in that direction:
1. scan to PDF with my CanoScan scanner (automatically OCRs it, so I can search within the created documents)
2. give good names to the documents, like "invoice XYZ Inc. Samsung HD 2005-12-12.pdf"
3. put them into distinct folders
4. use Locate to find a document later very, very quickly: https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=1385.0
Interesting user story: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/11/02/personal_document_management.html
-jeromg
Looks good, will read it later!
-
We use a program called 'Paper Valet' at work
http://www.chocksettsoftware.com/products.asp
It performs beautifully, with some 4600 pieces of paper scanned in over the last 12 months.
Its quick and easy, and straight to a folder structure.
Includes a PDF viewer, and search.
but it appears to of been abandoned now :(
There is a free and Pro version still on the website, but the author has not been heard from for nearly 12 months.
We use the Pro version that allows renaming of Headers and scan to PDF.
Overall, for ease of use and simplicity 8/10
Brett
-
Interesting user story: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/11/02/personal_document_management.html
-jeromg
I didn't read it completely yet, just want to comment this:
Some advice when buying a scanner: get one with a document feeder in addition to the flat glass plate. Come April 15th when you have a long tax return to scan, you want to just push a button and let things go without intervention.
He got a point. I remember procrastinating about scanning documents for two reasons:
- I piled up various stuff on top of the scanner (it *is* flat...)
- scanning several pages forces you to wait while every document is scanned, regular household scanners aren't that fast*
Getting a real document scanner like the Canon DR-1210C would fix both problems!
(http://www.canon.de/Images/83_344856.jpg)
You can't pile anything on top and it scans 12 pages per minute! :-*
Downside: it's expensive :o
So, who here has a real document scanner already?
*if this could be(come) a problem for you too depends on how busy you are, how much you need/want to scan, and on how patient you could be, just watching a scanner in action
-
Hi BrotherS
So, who here has a real document scanner already?
We use a Brother, of course.
But we did not get a dedicated document scanner.
We purchased a Brother MFC All in One because it was cheap. cheaper then most dedicated scanners.
But it does Scan, Print, Fax, and has a Document feeder.
something like this
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Brett
-
But we did not get a dedicated document scanner.
We purchased a Brother MFC All in One because it was cheap. cheaper then most dedicated scanners.
But it does Scan, Print, Fax, and has a Document feeder.
I had a dedicated scanner but its feeder died at one point and all that was available locally, and RIGHT NOW, was an all-in-one Canon Multipass F80 with a feeder. With that installed I never bothered to fix the dedicated job, which is now (one hopes) a bunch of recycled material. The Canon's not nearly as fast as dedicated hardware but time's not a critical issue for me as long as it'll work unattended. My typical multi-page job is only 30 pages or so.
-
I've always liked PaperPort, and i like NigelH's idea of buying an older version to save some money, since i'm not sure the new features are all that needed.
-
brett and cranioscopical, thanks to much for pointing out the document feeder feature!
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000I2JRXG.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_V38620719_.jpg)
This Brother MFC-240C (http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/modeldetail.aspx?ProductID=MFC240C) costs about €140/$180, that's just a third of the Canon DR-1210C document scanner I mentioned above! :o
Sure, its automatic document feeder (ADF) just holds 10 pages and it's slow in comparison, but that would be totally OK for the price.
Having a nick like the one I have, it's tempting to buy this Brother MFC... 8) Does anyone of you have any experience with alternatives to this one?
The current version of Paperport is 11 and is really powerfull, but it is expensive (+$150)
http://www.nuance.com/paperport/
-NigelH
I've always liked PaperPort, and i like NigelH's idea of buying an older version to save some money, since i'm not sure the new features are all that needed.
-mouser
Damn, PaperPort looks really good! Why wasn't there ever a (mini) review on DC? :(
Do I get this right? I would scan all the pages as single files (by using the automatic feeder - see my previous post) and then use PaperPort to combine multi-page documents, right?
Seems so, I just found this in the PaperPort How-To Guides (http://www.nuance.com/paperport/howtoguides/#):
Stacking
You can stack a group of PDF files into a single PDF.
Move the files to be stacked to a single folder.
Select the files in the order you want them in the stack.
Click the Stack button and choose Stack in the drop-down list.
or
Choose Stack in the shortcut menu.
Source files do not remain after stacking – make copies before stacking if you want to keep the sources.
EDIT: Just now I stumbled upon http://www.scanstore.com/Hardware/scanners.asp - lots of info, mostly about expensive scanners though.
EDIT #2:
Holy sweet FSM, I just saw that the Brother MFC-5440CN is currently being sold for a price even less than the other MFC! :up:
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0007GDUMW.03._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Its automatic document feeder (ADF) holds 35 pages, which is very cool because I just read about this PaperPort feature:
The 'PaperPort - Scan' dialog box lets you apply subjects, authors and keywords to documents. This dialog box appears for each separate document scanned, one after the other. Scanning more than one document at a time is enabled by checking the 'Blank page is a job separator' option in the Scanning Profiles under the SET options tab.
So I would just have to put blank pages in between the pages I want to scan... awesome! :-*
-
regarding printers, I think Carol and I have both posted about our love of our Canon inkjets and the drivers on them.
-
regarding printers, I think Carol and I have both posted about our love of our Canon inkjets and the drivers on them.
-mouser
If you want a printer, the Brother MFC with the lovely feeder mentioned above isn't a great choice, but even after searching Google for a long time I found no alternative device with a feeder at such a low price!
It looks like Brother has no competition in this price segment.
-
Hi BrotherS
Before we all go and shell out some hard earned dollars.
I do suggest you download a trial version of 'PaperValet'
http://www.chocksettsoftware.com/downloads.asp
even though it appears to be abandoned. it has served us well for two years now.
Most of the request asked here it already meets.
So for $25standard, $45Pro you can get a product that will give you a great start.
From the screenshots below.
- Single scan
- Scan multiple pages to a single PDF. (using either Append, or Add to Batch)
- Documents are kept in a Tree Folder Structure (easy to backup, copy to CD, etc)
- File Name can have different fields auto appended/prepended. (we have the date auto prepended to all scans)
- OCR via Microsoft Office or Scansoft (but we dont use)
- Customize Fields in Pro version (we do use this)
- Has a inbuilt PDF/Tiff viewer that navigates via a folder layout. This alone is brilliant.
For searching , I prefer to use Copernic Desktop,
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
any questions regarding what Papervalet can do, just ask.
If you want a printer, the Brother MFC with the lovely feeder mentioned above isn't a great choice, but even after searching Google for a long time I found no alternative device with a feeder at such a low price!
It looks like Brother has no competition in this price segment.
-brotherS
Yep, the brother is a dog for printing, we use the office laser for print, and only use the brother for scanning, some photocopying, the occasional fax or print.
Brett
-
If you are going to use Copernic for searching then what is the advantage of Paper Valet? I have a freeware program that will scan single/multiple pages and save to PDF. By using intelligent filenaming and folder structures, it is very easy to find documents, especially if you use Copernic.
I have a copy of Paperport 9 but I uninstalled it because even that didn't do much more than I could do with a manual system. I already had a search program (Copernic) so I didn't need Paperport to always be indexing in the background. And, pdfs are more portable than .max files.
-
True... if you only need to scan/archive one or two pages a week, you just need a regular scanner and not a huge program to handle the PDF work for you.
-
I use NeatReceipts in my home office. Within the application, there are specific modules for receipts, business cards and documents. It's a time saver due to OCR capabilities in the receipt and business card organizers. It's pretty accurate at reading dates, vendor, amount, etc. I scan in all of my receipts and I run various reports (huge help at tax time!) and I can export info to PDF, Quicken, etc.
I also scan in my business cards and export to Outlook. Only downside is lack of OCR in the doc organizer.
Runs about $200 for the scanner and software. www.neatreceipts.com
-
If it is as handy as you say, the time/aggravation would be worth every penny (maybe more). You would never miss the the two-hundred bucks. Nice find!
-
I use NeatReceipts in my home office. www.neatreceipts.com
-joychen
Wow, they have nice video demos on their site! Combining a small, easy-to-handle scanner with some special is a nice idea. It must be close to perfect if you want a small and portable solution.
I ordered the Brother MFC-5440CN I described above, looking forward to less paper! :)
-
Hmm, no one seems to have mentioned the ScanSnap.
I don't own one but I have tried one on loan to me. It is very fast, has a 50 page ADF, double sided scanning capability and a rather small footprint. The version I tried is the somewhat older model without OCR and Microsoft Office support which the current model has. Please be aware that ScanSnap is non twain compliant (at least the model which I tried fi-5110EOX wasn't). So using this older model, I could not detect the scanner from a software that required a twain-compliant scanner to scan say an image or even a document in.
However, if works very well with the software that came with it.
There's also an accessory software that can be purchased called
"Rack2-Filer™ converts scanned documents and digital data into PDF files and inputs this data into e-files for total document management purposes. This "life-like" data can then be viewed by flipping through "e-binders" with the simple click of a mouse. Furthermore, Rack2-Filer is also loaded with a vast array of editing functions that renders troublesome digital data management a relic of the past."
http://www.fujitsu.com/us/services/computing/peripherals/scanners/workgroup/rack2-filer.html
Quote Smallbiztechnology.com - technology is a tool! Use it to GROW your business.
"Fujitsu's ScanSnap scanner is good.
USA Today reports that Fujitsu's new $495 scanner is worth it, not only because it bundles Adobe Acrobat Standard 6.0 which retails for $300, but because of the many features it includes such as it scans up to 15 pages per minute and converts them into the ubiquitous Portable Document Format with the touch of a button. It also captures both sides of a sheet of paper at the same time. (Unlike a flatbed, paper feeds through the top, much like many printers.)
The document feeder can accept up to 50 pages. To save disk space, it eliminates blank pages. It also automatically detects paper size, straightens and rotates images and figures out whether the document is in color or black and white.
The device also can scan business cards and includes software that reads the text and organizes it into a database. (It does require some manual setup through ScanSnap software)."
http://www.smallbiztechnology.com/avantgo/2004/06/fujitsus-snapscan-scanner-is-good.shtml
Check it out further at
ScanSnap S500 Instant PDF Sheet-Fed Scanner : FUJITSU United States
"ScanSnap S500 Instant PDF Sheet-Fed Scanner"
http://www.fujitsu.com/us/services/computing/peripherals/scanners/workgroup/s500.html#Tab0/tab2
-
Been away recently, I'm still not sure which system I'm going to start with.
I've downloaded a trial version (15 days) of ABBYY FineReader 8.0 Pro, I've used it on my last bank statements, and the OCR did a great job (maintain layout, multi-page PDF). I may give a try to Paperport, but I'm not sure I'll need all the functionality.
Both (Paperport and Finereader) are quite expensive solutions ($150 range) and have comparable features. I need to get going and start something soon, my goal is to go paperless at home on Feb. 1st. :-[
I'll keep you posted.
-
I need to get going and start something soon, my goal is to go paperless at home on Feb. 1st. :-[
-jeromg
Is that an artificially set date or do you marry/divorce/start your own business/... on Feb. 1st?
Looking forward to a paperless home too! :)
-
The Brother MFC is here and installed! :up:
But the documentation sucks... they almost only focus on the printing and fax option... The PaperPort doc isn't as good as I wished either... :down:
What I wonder most: how is OmniPage going to work together with PaperPort? As in: how can I automate the creation of PDF files that are searchable? The PDF files that PaperPort now creates aren't searchable :(
The software for my Canon scanner used to do that in one fell swoop, I just had to click a button. How do I reach that goal now?
-
Is that an artificially set date or do you marry/divorce/start your own business/... on Feb. 1st?
-brotherS
somehow artificial, as I'm going to work for a new company on Feb. 1st after 8 years in this one...
-
Is that an artificially set date or do you marry/divorce/start your own business/... on Feb. 1st?
-brotherS
somehow artificial, as I'm going to work for a new company on Feb. 1st after 8 years in this one...
-jeromg
Ah, good luck with that!
Noone here could help with regard to my problem above? :(
-
What I wonder most: how is OmniPage going to work together with PaperPort? As in: how can I automate the creation of PDF files that are searchable? The PDF files that PaperPort now creates aren't searchable
Noone here could help with regard to my problem above?
I can't give you the help you need, which is why I didn't respond sooner. All I can tell you is that Omnipage 15 creates searchable PDFs (can't now recall whether V14 did, but I think so). l don't use Paperport so I can't help with the mechanism used to call Omnipage from within that, nor do I know with which version(s) of Omnipage it will correspond.
-
Have you ever been able to automate input to OmnniPage? What I mean is have you ever batched a job where you created a text file, etc. that was then able to be read into OmniPage and used OmniPage to create the final, searchable doc? We used to do this in college...
-
Hopefully this is on-topic: I have Omnipage Pro 15 and PDFConverter Professional 4 and I am trying to figure out why I need PaperValet or PaperPort? PaperPort is on sale at Staples for $49 so I am kind of tempted (and PaperValet is attractive because it's a small download with lots of features) but I can't quite see the point. I am meticulous about digital file organisation (sadly this doesn't equate to ANY organisational abiliity in the physical world :-[) and I don't have, and do not intend to buy, a scanner with multifeed capabilities. Is there any benefit to be derived from use of an app like Paperport?
Sorry to be dim, but I keep getting the come ons from Nuance about PaperPort and can never quite understand why I would need such an application.
Thanks,
Mike
-
Darwin: I keep getting the come ons from Nuance about PaperPort and can never quite understand why I would need such an application.
I honestly don't think you do need it. I once used its forerunner (nearly 10 years back) and it was useful then because electronic filing of documents as images was relatively new for home users. My own view is that, now, for someone without a blizzard of documentation to handle it's just irrelevant (as long as that someone has a system of some kind and doesn't just drop files with random names into the root of C:).
This probably is one of those subjects (like favourite editors) where proponents, pro and con, have quite strong views. I'd never condemn using a document manager if that's what you like...it's just not something I need. I guess I file about 1000-1500 documents in the course of a year and I've had no trouble locating one yet.
Had I hundreds of pages a day, on closely similar topics, I certainly could see the use for a more sophisticated system.
(FWIW what I need is something that can read and convert tens of thousands of handwritten pages [from many different hands, in many different layouts] into editable and searchable text.)
-
Farmsteader: Have you ever been able to automate input to OmnniPage? What I mean is have you ever batched a job where you created a text file, etc. that was then able to be read into OmniPage and used OmniPage to create the final, searchable doc? We used to do this in college...
I just use Omnipage on an ad hoc basis when I want a bit of material converted in a hurry. Acrobat Pro handles most of what I need. I'm sure what you suggest is perfectly feasible with most scripting languages. Good point, Farmsteader.
Even easier, though would be to use this:
Omnipage 15 Pro help file: In OmniPage Professional, you can specify folder watching and mailbox watching as job input, setup recurring jobs and the time options for watched folder jobs, create barcode driven jobs and request E-mail notification of job completion.
That being said, I'd still expect PaperPort to provide its own linking mechanism to Omnipage, especially if it claims to be OP friendly in its sales blurb.
Mind you, what would be common sense from a customer viewpoint doesn't always penetrate the vendor's awareness :)
-
Thanks Cranioscopical! That pretty much confirms my suspicions. I'm still "feeling my way" with OmniPage - love it's accuracy and builit in text editor. I've been with ReadIris Pro for several versions (through 11) and find it very easy to use and light on resources (loads in about a tenth of the time of OmniPage) but it's not as accurate when converting pdfs into editable text.
-
brotherS: What I wonder most: how is OmniPage going to work together with PaperPort? As in: how can I automate the creation of PDF files that are searchable? The PDF files that PaperPort now creates aren't searchable
Which version of PaperPort did you obtain?
According to the PaperPort site, PaperPort 11 Pro automatically hands stuff off to the OmniPage Workflow but PaperPort 11 (standard) does not.
If you don't have the PaperPort Pro version it looks as if a good bet might be to scan to an Omnipage 'watched' folder (possibly in an OmniPage-friendly format other than .pdf).
-
brotherS: What I wonder most: how is OmniPage going to work together with PaperPort? As in: how can I automate the creation of PDF files that are searchable? The PDF files that PaperPort now creates aren't searchable
Which version of PaperPort did you obtain?
According to the PaperPort site, PaperPort 11 Pro automatically hands stuff off to the OmniPage Workflow but PaperPort 11 (standard) does not.
If you don't have the PaperPort Pro version it looks as if a good bet might be to scan to an Omnipage 'watched' folder (possibly in an OmniPage-friendly format other than .pdf).
-cranioscopical
Hi!
Yes, I upgraded to the PaperPort 11 Pro since the price was ok, but I can't get the automation regarding creating searchable PDF files to work.
:(
-
I have a freeware program that will scan single/multiple pages and save to PDF. -edbro
What is the program?
Chris
-
For a cheaper option for the capture process, it's possible to use a digital camera on a fixed stand along with OCR software, in place of a scanner. Here are a couple of article's outlining the process:
- Digital Camera Scanning? (http://studenttabletpc.blogs.com/the_student_tablet_pc/2004/12/digital_camera_.html)
- Capturing Books with a Digital Camera (http://runeberg.org/admin/camera.html)
The Tesseract OCR (http://sourceforge.net/projects/tesseract-ocr/) project is open and free for personal use. The excellent looking but as yet unreleased application Snapter (http://www.atiz.com/snapter.html) is also targeting exactly this type of functionality.
(Edited to fix broken links)
-
Paperport/Omnipage are great, but try out eCopy desktop. Much simpler to use, and cheaper!!!
Link below:
http://www.scanguru.com/e107_plugins/links_page/links.php?cat.2
-
Paperport/Omnipage are great, but try out eCopy desktop. Much simpler to use, and cheaper!!!
http://www.scanguru.com/e107_plugins/links_page/links.php?cat.2
-sboals
I couldn't find a price there, how much is it?
Since when do you use it and how often do you use it?
-
what I need is something that can read and convert tens of thousands of handwritten pages [from many different hands, in many different layouts] into editable and searchable text.)
-cranioscopical
cranioscopical,
That seems to be what Evernote Plus (http://www.evernote.com/en/products/evernote/) ($39.95) claims to do...
-
Hi dc'ers,
I'd like to try implement something close to a paperless office, what I'd like to do is:
1. Scan all paper documents received at home (bank statements, letters,...)
2. Use OCR if applicable (maybe, I'm not sure whether it's a good thing to do at the moment)
3. Store the scanned document in the right format (multi-page TIFF, multi-page PDF, other?)
4. Use a clever document storage (filesystem with nice/clean directory structure, dedicated database/revision management system,...)
Interesting user story: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/11/02/personal_document_management.html
Possible software I've seen so far:
PDFFactory : http://www.fineprint.com/products/pdffactory/index.html ($49.95 or $99.95 for the pro version)
ABBY Fineprint Reader Pro: http://www.abbyy.com/finereader8/?param=44890 (~$160)
Perforce (see article by Jason Hunter referenced above) : http://www.perforce.com/ (free version available, limited to 2 clients)
Any comments on this? Has anyone set up a similar system?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers /jerome
-jeromg
Paperport is great for desktop document management, but I would also recommend eCopy desktop. Very powerful tool, with a lot of neat options.
Check out the article at http://www.scanguru.com on the levels of Document Management.
Hi dc'ers,
I'd like to try implement something close to a paperless office, what I'd like to do is:
1. Scan all paper documents received at home (bank statements, letters,...)
2. Use OCR if applicable (maybe, I'm not sure whether it's a good thing to do at the moment)
3. Store the scanned document in the right format (multi-page TIFF, multi-page PDF, other?)
4. Use a clever document storage (filesystem with nice/clean directory structure, dedicated database/revision management system,...)
Interesting user story: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2006/11/02/personal_document_management.html
Possible software I've seen so far:
PDFFactory : http://www.fineprint.com/products/pdffactory/index.html ($49.95 or $99.95 for the pro version)
ABBY Fineprint Reader Pro: http://www.abbyy.com/finereader8/?param=44890 (~$160)
Perforce (see article by Jason Hunter referenced above) : http://www.perforce.com/ (free version available, limited to 2 clients)
Any comments on this? Has anyone set up a similar system?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers /jerome
-jeromg
-
what I need is something that can read and convert tens of thousands of handwritten pages [from many different hands, in many different layouts] into editable and searchable text.)
-cranioscopical
rjbull: cranioscopical,
That seems to be what Evernote Plus (http://www.evernote.com/en/products/evernote/) ($39.95) claims to do...
-rjbull
Thanks for the reply.
I'll look into it some more. It wouldn't the last time I looked at it, but that was a while back.
The trouble is, I'll have 100 documents at a time, each with unique handwriting. I've yet to see the software that can handle it, outside of HUGELY expensive applications (and they're not perfect).
-
what I need is something that can read and convert tens of thousands of handwritten pages [from many different hands, in many different layouts] into editable and searchable text.)
-cranioscopical
This seems like it might be a task for the "Amazon Mechanical Turk" (http://requester.mturk.com/mturk/welcome).
You can scan the documents into image files, then create a bunch of 'HITs' (Human Interface Tasks) to have someone transcribe the documents. You indicate how much you'll pay per task, and if someone chooses to do the work, Amazon pays them the agreed amount out of your account (taking their cut, of course) once the work is verified. I'm not sure how much you'd have to pay per page to get people interested, but I believe it costs nothing to set the tasks up (though you do have to place some funds in an account that will be used to pay any tasks that are completed).
When I browsed through the lists of available tasks, many of them are asking to identify images - these seem to pay about 5-10 cents for identifying a small set of images.
In reality, I think you might not have much success, but I think it would be an interesting experiment to try out for a couple dozen pages. If you do this, please let us know how it goes.
-
That seems to be what Evernote Plus (http://www.evernote.com/en/products/evernote/) ($39.95) claims to do...
The trouble is, I'll have 100 documents at a time, each with unique handwriting. I've yet to see the software that can handle it, outside of HUGELY expensive applications (and they're not perfect).
-cranioscopical
I should have made it clearer that that's what the beta of EverNote Plus 2.0 claims to do, rather than the existing version. You have a stiff test regime; maybe you should apply to be a beta tester :)
-
what I need is something that can read and convert tens of thousands of handwritten pages [from many different hands, in many different layouts] into editable and searchable text.)
-cranioscopical
This seems like it might be a task for the "Amazon Mechanical Turk" (http://requester.mturk.com/mturk/welcome).
You can scan the documents into image files...If you do this, please let us know how it goes.-mwb1100
Thanks for the link, it's nice of you to post it for me. I'll take a look as soon as I have a bit more time to experiment. The problem is that my stuff is time critical. Currently I employ people directly who read and type the material, and it has to be in a specific format Computers ought to be able to handle these kinds of operations, and probably can if I can just find the right contacts/software/combinations thereof.
-
I should have made it clearer that that's what the beta of EverNote Plus 2.0 claims to do, rather than the existing version. You have a stiff test regime; maybe you should apply to be a beta tester :)-rjbull
Yes, good idea, that should bring them to their knees :D
-
I wrote up some info on how to examine the features of a new scanner and make the right choice:
http://www.scanguru.com/page.php?15
-
I wrote up some info on how to examine the features of a new scanner and make the right choice:
http://www.scanguru.com/page.php?15
-sboals
Nice! What about linking that page to this thread?
-
Hmph! I just RMA'd my copy of PaperPort Professional 11 after having it loaded for three weeks. Two categories of issue for me: 1. BUGGY and SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW! 2. My suspicions were confirmed - I can't see the point. Don't misunderstand, there are some fantastic features - the cleanup tools for scans are BRILLIANT, but not worth the price for me. I can achieve everything with DOpus and do it a lot quicker. Note, too, that indexing using OCR is ridiculously slow.
I also have reservations about Scansoft/Nuance's technical support policy - one free call/e-mail and $9.95 per incident after that, regardless of whether it is a problem with their product or not. Note that even if they can't fix your problem, you're still on the hook for $9.95. Paying to report bugs is not something I am prepared to do...
OK Rant over.
-
I have a freeware program that will scan single/multiple pages and save to PDF. -edbro
What is the program?
Chris
-Chris
Sorry, I just noticed this request from a while back. The prog is Scan2PDF.
http://www.koma-code.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=82
-
A thought/request: as noted above, I was very impressed with PaperPort 11 Pro's toolset for cleaning up scans (actually, any image file) and wonder if anyone knows of any standalone app that will accomplish the same thing? I'm using to Paint Shop Pro to achieve the same thing but it is not nearly as easy and, at least where the colour correction/replacment feature is concerned, seems more "lossy".
PS am editing jpgs that someone sent me from their scanner. I save that as psp files and then work on them - this does, to a degree cut down on "loss"...
-
PS am editing jpgs that someone sent me from their scanner. I save that as psp files and then work on them - this does, to a degree cut down on "loss"...-Darwin
another thing you can do is re-save it as a jpeg (same name or new name as you wish) and make sure its saved at lowest compression.
-
Thanks for the tip tomos - I'll give that a shot.
-
Oh, an update (of sorts) too: I downloaded and installed the trial for PaperValet 2.16 (thanks for pointing that one out, Brett). Very impressive for such a small download. One thing that I like about it is that it doesn't take an "everything AND the kitchen sink" approach but is instead a straightforward, simple, and easy to use scan manager. Of course, I don't think that I *need* it but thought I'd post to say that I like what I see anyway...
-
Have you tried this fabulous document manager <b><a href="http://www.baltsoft.com/">General Knowledge Base</a></b>? It stores not only documents, but photos, spread sheets, programs, web pages, and other computer files. It is readily organized as a free form relational database and has search, sort, and organizing features not found in other document managers.
-
Just a follow-up: after tomos kindly posted a link to Ashampoo's new Batch Image Optimizer in this thread (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=7953.0), I was spurred to action and actively sought an alternative to Paperport's wonderful image editing tools. I found that using a combination of Vicman's Photo Toolkit (http://www.vicman.net/phototoolkit/index.htm) and Photo Editor (http://www.vicman.net/vcwphoto/index.htm) provides the functionality that I seek. These are both now free. I went with an alternative, however: PhotoFiltre (http://www.photofiltre-studio.com/news-en.htm), which is available in both free and shareware versions. I love this app - it would be perfect if it had an easier to use straighten tool. I liked it enough to spring for the Studio version (25 Euros) and will be requesting modifications to the straighten tool. Why did I go with shareware? I want the tools in one package, not spread over two, and I wanted to support development of PhotoFiltre. PhotoFiltre has a much better GUI (IMHO) than the Vicman offerings as well. I'll probably be uninstalling PaintShopPro (v.9,X, and XI) soon, PhotoFiltre is that good and so much more stable, less resource hungry, and, most importantly, QUICK.
I'm still waiting to hear from Nuance about my request that they release Paperport's tools as a standalone app. My gut tells me that they won't be rushing to make it happen though...
-
Hi all,
Saw this and wnated offer up 2 cents. I am in the bus of doc mngmt. And we have two products one very high end and one at entry level. There are a few things to watch for 1) can you migrate data/file at a later date. With some its quite difficult. 2) What files types are supported? You may want to diverse at a later date. How laong has it been around? Many many packages are disappearingas they cannot grab enough market share to maintain. We offer free basic help so dont hesitate to contact us. http://docs2digital.com/docs2digital.html
-
Thanks rbruce - I'll take a look. Welcome to the site, too!
-
sure Darwin, hope it helped a bit even with the whacky typo's, Been cruising the site and there are a lot of great folks on here.