Author Topic: Scanahand RC1 Released (Read 72,188 times)

Darwin · « **Reply #25 on:** February 15, 2008, 06:41 PM »

I wondered if the discount code shouldn't perhaps be moved to a secure area... Anyway, thank you again for this discount and for the nifty new app, erwind

f0dder · « **Reply #26 on:** February 16, 2008, 12:47 AM »

Quote from: erwind on February 15, 2008, 07:05 AM

Quote from: f0dder on February 15, 2008, 01:42 AM
Pretty cute idea.

Does it generate bitmap fonts, or does it go all the way and convert your handwriting to vector fonts?

Scanahand creates vector based fonts that you can use in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Notepad, and any Windows application. The fonts are technically speaking OpenType fonts (although they don't contain OpenType Layout Features like Ligatures). Windows "identifies" them as TrueType fonts.

So it actually converts the scanned-in pixel data to the mathy vector stuff? If so, that's pretty impressive

erwind · « **Reply #27 on:** February 27, 2008, 10:09 AM »

Yes, it detects all contours and then converts them into a vector based format that consists of a series of contours where each contour is composed of straight lines and Bézier curves.

The small letter "a" shown in the image below is converted to 2 contours. The inner contour is made out of 11 points, and the outer contour is made out of 22 points. On the left you see the original source, in the middle you'll see the conversion from bitmap to vector, and on the right you see how the "a" looks like when you use the generated font.

[attach]

f0dder · « **Reply #28 on:** February 27, 2008, 11:34 AM »

Thanks for taking the time to explain, erwind! Pretty nifty

Ampa · « **Reply #29 on:** February 27, 2008, 05:40 PM »

Nice to have a visual example.

Does the user have any control over the number of points used?

If so...

Can the results of more / fewer points be viewed (in a manner similar to your image above) in real-time?

Perhaps these are more advanced features that are suitable for the forthcoming Pro edition, or may be the are outside the scope of Scanahand, which I assume was designed for speed and simplicity.

Ampa

erwind · « **Reply #30 on:** February 27, 2008, 06:47 PM »

Quote from: Ampa on February 27, 2008, 05:40 PM

Does the user have any control over the number of points used?

Not directly, but the size of the source image, the threshold value, and the filter setting all affect the result.

The source image of the lower case "a" was scanned at 300 dpi. A 600 dpi scan will most likely result in more points, but in this case I don't think it will benefit the result as that is already very good (if I may say so myself). A 600 dpi scan resolution is useful when your characters contain little details (e.g. thin strokes).

Scanahand needs to find out what pixels belong to the characters. The threshold value is used to make that decision. Usually the Auto value gives best results, but you can also choose between Low, Medium, and High. The Low threshold removes all light colored pixels, while the High threshold includes all light colored pixels. When you use the High threshold you get slightly fatter characters, but you risk inclusion of unwanted pixels.

You can also reduce the number of points by applying either the Smooth or Super filter. Those filters polish the outlines and that usually results in more rounded contours.

Erwin Denissen

High-Logic Software
http://www.high-logic.com/

Deozaan · « **Reply #31 on:** February 28, 2008, 08:16 AM »

Any idea when version 1.0 will be released?

I just remembered this thread and wanted a couple days to try out the trial version before making a decision and am hoping to be able to get the super discounted version if I decide I really want it.

Deozaan · « **Reply #32 on:** February 29, 2008, 02:30 AM »

DISCLAIMER: This is a joke! Click to see.

Hmm... Looking at the print out sheet, I now know the purpose of this program! It's to scan our handwriting and signature and upload them to a secret server so that Erwin can easily forge documents with the information gathered by everyone using this program!

Ahahaha! Imagine programming with this!

I messed up on my small 'd' and I didn't realize those lines were there to help me align where the letters go, so my handwriting actually looks worse using scanahand because the letters and symbols are all over the place! Also, my scanner only scans at 200dpi apparently.

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mouser · « **Reply #33 on:** February 29, 2008, 03:16 AM »

hahahaha funny though.

Darwin · « **Reply #34 on:** February 29, 2008, 05:04 AM »

I thought the lower case d was some sort of stylized thing - I inferred that you're a musican, Deozaan, because it looks like a musical note!

Deozaan · « **Reply #35 on:** February 29, 2008, 06:44 AM »

Quote from: Darwin on February 29, 2008, 05:04 AM

I thought the lower case d was some sort of stylized thing - I inferred that you're a musican, Deozaan, because it looks like a musical note!

Okay, I'll shame myself with the truth: I went to write 'd' but my hand wrote 'e' instead.

Deozaan · « **Reply #36 on:** February 29, 2008, 06:52 AM »

Maybe this would look better if I took the time and filled out the sheet correctly and with a better marker, but it seems to me that the whitespace space is too small between words. Seems like when I press the space bar, there should be a more noticeable space between the words.

I'm also curious as to why the carat (^) is used as space for a signature. Why not just use one of the - ? - for the carat and put the signature somewhere else.

Also in my observation, there was no character for the ` key (next to the number 1).

Anyway, I'll print out another template and do it correctly and see how it affects the results.

f0dder · « **Reply #37 on:** February 29, 2008, 12:46 PM »

Haha, that looks absolutely wicked, Deozaan!

I'll have to actually try the app myself now

Darwin · « **Reply #38 on:** February 29, 2008, 01:41 PM »

Well... no worries, Deozaan - you're handwriting is still better than mine. I'll prove it to you and the world soon...

Lashiec · « **Reply #39 on:** February 29, 2008, 02:32 PM »

Be thankful that I don't have a scanner... although thousands of people would be glad that my handwriting can finally be zoomed in

Deozaan · « **Reply #40 on:** February 29, 2008, 05:00 PM »

I tried it again, following the guide lines more closely and using a Sharpie. It was perhaps a little too thick, but now it looks a lot more like my real handwriting.

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Sometimes when I consider writing a letter to someone, I usually end up typing it out, for fear that they won't be able to read my handwriting. I could make a template using this program where I took a lot of time to slow down and make my penmanship legible, then still type out the letter and have it look handwritten.

I really like this program!

Darwin · « **Reply #41 on:** February 29, 2008, 06:52 PM »

Heh, heh - I tried with a Sharpie and Scanahand couldn't generate a font from it

I'll have to find a thinner felt tip and try again.

Deozaan - I wish my handwriting were as neat as yours is!

Deozaan · « **Reply #42 on:** February 29, 2008, 07:39 PM »

Quote from: Darwin on February 29, 2008, 06:52 PM

Heh, heh - I tried with a Sharpie and Scanahand couldn't generate a font from it I'll have to find a thinner felt tip and try again.

Deozaan - I wish my handwriting were as neat as yours is!

I used a Sharpie when I did my second one... But it was a little too thick for my tastes. Oh, and also, I noticed that for some reason the font preview was at font size 18. It looks much better at size 12.

[attachthumb=#]

Just don't use a pen. That's what I did the first time and it was too thin. I'd go for one of those finer point Sharpies because "fine point" for Sharpie really means "not quite as smurfing huge as normal."

Deozaan · « **Reply #43 on:** February 29, 2008, 08:05 PM »

Okay, this is just too much fun. I bought it.

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Darwin · « **Reply #44 on:** February 29, 2008, 08:07 PM »

jgpaiva · « **Reply #45 on:** February 29, 2008, 11:51 PM »

Deozaan: man, i love your handriting, that really turned out great!

Mine would look way worse, since i write like a 1st grade student, and some of the letters are different depending on the next letter.

PS: if it's ok with you, i would really like to give your font a try

f0dder · « **Reply #46 on:** March 01, 2008, 12:54 AM »

Deozaan: looks nice, except your '&' character is *bad' for coding!

Deozaan · « **Reply #47 on:** March 01, 2008, 01:00 AM »

Quote from: f0dder on March 01, 2008, 12:54 AM

Deozaan: looks nice, except your '&' character is *bad' for coding!

Yeah, but so is handwriting.

Quote from: jgpaiva on February 29, 2008, 11:51 PM

Deozaan: man, i love your handriting, that really turned out great!
Mine would look way worse, since i write like a 1st grade student, and some of the letters are different depending on the next letter.

PS: if it's ok with you, i would really like to give your font a try

Thanks! I still need to refine it before I'm really happy with it. I need a not quite so thick marker for those smaller and more intricate characters. Anyway, here's the font I used in the past couple of screenshots.

jgpaiva · « **Reply #48 on:** March 01, 2008, 01:34 AM »

Deozaan: that's an impressive font, really really cool! (the 'z' character is hard to distinguish from a blur, though

)

f0dder: Dina is unbeatable when it comes to coding fonts anyways

Still, code looks pretty funny in Deozaan's handwriting!

f0dder · « **Reply #49 on:** March 01, 2008, 01:41 AM »

Quote from: jgpaiva on March 01, 2008, 01:34 AM

f0dder: Dina is unbeatable when it comes to coding fonts anyways

Yeah, I haven't found anything that comes even close... without cleartype (but still with standard font smoothing), most of those coding fonts look totally fubar. And I just can't stand cleartype for some reason :-s