Nuance TextBridge Pro 9.0 User manual

User’s Guide

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retrieval system or translated into any language or computer language

in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, magnetic, optical,

chemical, manual, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of

ScanSoft, Inc., 9 Centennial Drive, Peabody, Massachusetts 01960.

This digital version contains the full copyrighted text.

The software described in this book is furnished under license and may

be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license.

I

MPORTANT NOTICE ScanSoft, Inc. provides this publication “as is” without warranty of any

kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied

warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Some

states or jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of express or implied

warranties in certain transactions; therefore, this statement may not

apply to you. ScanSoft reserves the right to revise this publication and to

make changes from time to time in the content hereof without obligation

of ScanSoft to notify any person of such revision or changes.

T

RADEMARKS AND CREDITS TextBridge is a registered trademark, and Smart Zones, Instant Access

OCR, and Custom Proof are trademarks, of ScanSoft, Inc.

Excel, Word, and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corp.

Other terms used in this manual are the trademarks of their respective

holders.

Animated character designed by Dreamlight Incorporated.

www.dreamlight.com

Authors: Lois West and Beth Paddock

9 Centennial Drive

Peabody, Massachusetts 01960

TextBridge Pro 9.0 User’s Guide

Part Number 00-09510-00

March 1999

TextBridge Pro User’s Guide iii

CONTENTS

PREFACE

About This User’s Guide ............................. vii

Organization of this user’s guide ....................viii

Documentation conventions.........................ix

Related Documentation ............................... x

Technical Support ...................................xi

1 INTRODUCTION TO TEXTBRIDGE

Basic OCR Concepts ............................... 1–1

Features and Benefits .............................. 1–3

New Features ................................. 1–4

Enhanced Features ............................. 1–6

Other Features ................................ 1–8

Documents TextBridge Can Recognize................. 1–10

Input Image File Formats .......................... 1–11

Output Text File Formats .......................... 1–12

Output Image File Formats......................... 1–13

Where to Go From Here............................ 1–14

iv TextBridge Pro User’s Guide

2 INSTALLING AND SETTING UP TEXTBRIDGE

What Comes with TextBridge ........................ 2–2

Supported Scanners................................ 2–2

Installing and Testing Your Scanner ................... 2–4

System Requirements .............................. 2–5

Before Installing TextBridge ......................... 2–6

Using TextBridge with Pagis...................... 2–6

Uninstalling a Previous Version of TextBridge ........ 2–6

Learning about TextBridge ....................... 2–8

Installing TextBridge .............................. 2–9

Scanner Setup................................... 2–12

Setting Up Instant Access to TextBridge ............... 2–13

Uninstalling TextBridge ........................... 2–15

Where to Go From Here............................ 2–16

3 OCR AND BASIC TEXTBRIDGE OPERATIONS

What is TextBridge OCR? ........................... 3–2

Page types.................................... 3–2

Page sources .................................. 3–4

Recomposition ................................. 3–4

Running TextBridge Standalone and Instant Access ....... 3–6

Standalone Program ............................ 3–6

Instant Access ................................. 3–7

Improving Page Recognition with Settings .............. 3–8

Page Type Settings ............................. 3–8

Text Document Settings ........................ 3–13

Recognizing Other Languages ....................... 3–15

Language Installation .......................... 3–16

Language Processing........................... 3–16

Where to Go From Here............................ 3–18

Table of Contents v

4 LEARNING TO USE TEXTBRIDGE

Before You Begin.................................. 4–2

Ways You Can Use TextBridge ....................... 4–2

Starting TextBridge................................ 4–3

Using Automatic Processing ......................... 4–5

Using Manual Processing ........................... 4–8

Performing Basic Operations......................... 4–9

Selecting the Page Source ....................... 4–10

Selecting the Page Type ........................ 4–11

Previewing the Page ........................... 4–12

Zoning the Page............................... 4–14

Proofreading the Document...................... 4–17

Saving the Document .......................... 4–18

Getting Help While Using TextBridge ................. 4–20

Using the Welcome Window ..................... 4–20

Using the Show Me How Window ................. 4–21

Using Tips................................... 4–22

Getting Information from Help ................... 4–22

Using the TextBridge Web Site ................... 4–24

Where to Go From Here............................ 4–24

5 SAMPLE SESSIONS WITH TEXTBRIDGE

Using the Sample Documents ........................ 5–2

Session 1: Recognizing a Simple Document Using

Auto Processing............................. 5–7

Session 2: Using Instant Access to TextBridge........... 5–14

Session 3: Recognizing a Complex Document Using

Manual Processing ......................... 5–20

Session 4: Processing Text, Pictures, and a Table ........ 5–29

Where to Go From Here............................ 5–38

vi TextBridge Pro User’s Guide

6 ADVANCED SAMPLE SESSIONS

Session 1: Processing a Document to Use in a Database..... 6–1

Session 2: Using Zone Templates and Page Types ......... 6–7

Session 3: Training TextBridge OCR .................. 6–14

Where to Go From Here............................ 6–20

INDEX

TextBridge Pro User’s Guide vii

PREFACE

ScanSoft, Inc. welcomes you to TextBridge Pro 9.0 for

Windows

®

95, 98, 2000, and Windows NT 4.0. (Subsequently

referred to as “TextBridge.”)

The documentation that comes with TextBridge should provide

all the information you need to operate TextBridge. The

documentation includes this user’s guide, a Help system, and

Release Notes. ScanSoft invites your comments about the

information provided in the documentation.

Before going on to find out more about TextBridge, please read

this preface because it describes these important items:

◆ About this user’s guide

◆ Related documentation

◆ Technical support

ABOUT THIS USER’S GUIDE

This user’s guide is a reference tool that provides information

about TextBridge. It is for users with a wide range of computer

experience. It assumes that you are familiar with the

management and operation of your computer and Windows.

This manual is provided both in print and electronic form. The

entire user’s guide is provided as a digital document in Adobe

®

Portable Document Format (PDF).

viii TextBridge Pro User’s Guide

To view the user’s guide you need Adobe Acrobat Reader which is

installed with TextBridge unless you already have it on your PC.

You can access the user’s guide from the installation menu and

the TextBridge Program menu from the Start menu, or you can

open it from Adobe Acrobat Reader. After you open it, you can

view it on your PC and print all or part of it using Adobe Acrobat

Reader.

Organization of this user’s guide

The user’s guide organization is as follows:

This Preface describes the documentation provided with

TextBridge and technical support.

Chapter 1 “Introduction to TextBridge” discusses TextBridge

features. It also describes basic OCR concepts, documents

TextBridge can recognize, supported scanners, and input file

formats TextBridge can read and output file formats to which

TextBridge can save the recognized text.

Chapter 2 “Installing TextBridge” describes what comes with

TextBridge, system requirements, installation, Instant Access set

up, and TextBridge uninstall.

Chapter 3 “OCR and TextBridge” explains document

recognition and OCR concepts and the basic TextBridge functions.

Chapter 4 “Learning to Use TextBridge” describes the basic

processes of using TextBridge.

Chapter 5 “Sample Sessions with TextBridge” walks you

through several practice sessions designed to help you to learn

and use the important features of TextBridge.

Chapter 6 “Advanced Sample Sessions” describes more

complex and less frequent uses of TextBridge.

The Index provides a comprehensive list of topics to assist you in

quickly locating the information you need.

Preface ix

Documentation conventions

TextBridge documentation uses certain graphical elements and

formatting to emphasize information and give more meaning to

text.

Table 1: Documentation Conventions

bold Introduces a new term or the first use of an

important term in a chapter. Sometimes used

to denote strong emphasis.

italic Denotes titles of other user’s guides or books

and generic representations of file name entries

in examples; for example, filename

monospace Denotes text that appears on the computer

screen such as examples, menu text, and

messages plus actual file names.

“ ” (quotes) Denotes titles of chapters and sections in this

user’s guide.

☞

Introduces tips that provide useful information

about a procedural step or system function.

Note

Introduces information of note about the

current subject.

x TextBridge Pro User’s Guide

RELATED DOCUMENTATION

TextBridge provides a comprehensive set of printed and digital

documentation designed to assist you in learning and operating

the product. The documentation provided with TextBridge covers

all aspects of installation and operation.

Note Information provided in these documents is not duplicated in

other documents except for basic information about TextBridge. If

you do not find the information you want in a particular

document, please check another.

Refer to the documentation in the following list for information:

◆ Online Release Notes. Before or after you install TextBridge,

read the Release Notes. These provide the most up-to-date

information about TextBridge. During installation you can access

the Release Notes from the installation menu. After installation

you can access the Release Notes from the TextBridge Program

menu in the Start menu.

◆ Help. The Help system provides you with detailed information

about using TextBridge. It includes instructions on how to get

started in TextBridge, step-by-step procedures for most

operations and user tips. Context-sensitive Help is always

available by pressing F1 from any menu command or dialog box.

◆ Online User’s Guide. An online version of the complete user’s

guide is provided in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf).

◆ Printed User’s Guide. A printed version of the user’s guide is

provided.

Note You may also need to refer to additional publications, such as the

manufacturer’s documentation for your scanner.

Preface xi

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

If you should experience problems with TextBridge that you

cannot resolve on your own using the documentation and

software, contact TextBridge Technical Support at the following

Web site:

www.scansoft.com.

The ScanSoft Web site provides a link to TextBridge pages,

including Technical Support with Frequently Asked Questions,

technical information bulletins, and a problem report form.

Additional information about contacting TextBridge Technical

Support is provided in the TextBridge Help menu.

The following information will assist Technical Support in solving

the problem:

◆ Your software version number

(This is on the back of the CD envelope and in the Help menu

under About TextBridge.)

◆ Your software serial number

(This is the serial number on the back of the TextBridge CD-ROM

envelope and in the Help menu under About TextBridge.)

◆ Your scanner make and model

◆ A description of the steps that led up to the problem

◆ If TextBridge generated an error message, a verbatim description

of the error message or its number and when it appeared.

TextBridge Pro User’s Guide 1–1

1

INTRODUCTION TO TEXTBRIDGE

Welcome to ScanSoft’s TextBridge

™

Pro 9.0, optical character

recognition (OCR) software for Microsoft Windows

™

95, 98, 2000

and Windows NT 4.0.

This chapter provides an introduction to TextBridge including:

◆ Basic OCR concepts

◆ Features and benefits

◆ Characteristics of documents TextBridge can recognize

◆ Input image file formats

◆ Output text file formats

◆ Output image file formats

BASIC OCR CONCEPTS

OCR technology enables you to convert paper documents into

fully editable text on your computer. Originally, OCR technology

performed simple character recognition of text characters,

numbers, and symbols. Today, TextBridge OCR includes full

document recognition including recognizing text plus

formatting such as headlines, multiple columns, tables, and

running headers and footers and capturing photographs and line

drawings. TextBridge even retains the layout of the original

document when possible.

1–2 TextBridge Pro User’s Guide

You can use TextBridge to scan and convert printed pages to

text documents for your word processor, spreadsheet program,

web browser, database program, or other text application. Pages

may be from most sources, including computer printers, fax

machines, photocopiers, magazines, and newspapers. Pages can

be black and white or color. TextBridge can also recognize

standard page image files from fax modems, image applications,

and other sources.

Using the latest document recognition technology from ScanSoft,

TextBridge OCR uses its recomposition capability to produce a

fully-editable electronic document with the original pictures and

document layout (Figure 1–1,).

Original document

Recomposed document

in word processor

Figure 1–1. TextBridge document recomposition

Introduction to TextBridge 1–3

In most cases, TextBridge understands your original document’s

format and maintains the layout, including columns, headers,

footers, pictures, and picture captions. Pictures can be black and

white, grayscale, or color.

Recomposition is possible only if your text program supports

pictures and layout. For example, recomposition is supported in

Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect but not in Notepad. Forms

and documents created in desktop publishing programs are

usually too complex for recomposition by TextBridge as well as

your word processor. As a result, the text and pictures are

retained but the full layout is not.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

TextBridge offers many features designed to increase your

productivity. Whether you need to capture a simple one-page

letter, a magazine article, a spreadsheet, or a long transcript,

TextBridge can save you valuable time and effort. In addition,

TextBridge provides all the capabilities that experienced OCR

users expect.

With TextBridge, you can import most paper documents or

document image files to your computer. TextBridge attains the

highest degree of OCR accuracy and provides the output in fully

editable form in your favorite text program.

1–4 TextBridge Pro User’s Guide

New Features

TextBridge offers these major new features to increase your

productivity:

◆ Improved OCR accuracy. Dramatically save time and

eliminate retyping.

◆ Color and grayscale pictures and text. Recognition and

output of color and grayscale pictures. Recognition of color text

and text on a color or shaded background and output of black on

white or white on black.

◆ Improved table recomposition. Advanced analytical capability

results in improved table reformatting. Ability to edit the entire

table as well as individual cells for improved recognition. Cell

table recomposition is supported even if you do not choose to

retain layout.

◆ Flexible multi-page document handling. Ability to view and

manipulate the pages of a document using the page thumbnails.

Zone multiple pages before recognition. Process the pages of a

document in any order. Delete, rearrange, and re-recognize

individual pages. You can also control the output.

◆ Additional language recognition. Ability to recognize many

Eastern, Central, and Western European languages.

◆ Multiple language recognition. Ability to recognize multiple

languages on the same page if all languages belong to the same

language group.

◆ Improved usability and user assistance. Enhanced ease of

use including a redesigned user interface and extensive user

assistance. User assistance includes a multimedia assistant,

information screens, context-sensitive tips, status area messages,

Help system, and printed and online documentation.

Introduction to TextBridge 1–5

◆ TextBridge Assistant. An easy-to-use assistant, guides you

through each step of the most common TextBridge activities, such

as how to scan a page and send it to Word, recognize an image

file, and recognize just part of a page.

◆ Improved batch processing. The ability to select multiple files

and process each file separately plus the ability to schedule

processing for a specific time in the future.

◆ Integration with e-mail programs. Input to popular programs

such as Lotus cc:Mail, Microsoft Outlook, and America Online

(AOL).

◆ Integration with the latest scanners. TextBridge works with

the most recent scanners. The ScanSoft Web site at

www.scansoft.com provides the latest information about

supported scanners and getting your scanner to work with

TextBridge.

◆ HTML 4.0 output and WYSIWYG capability. Output files in

the latest version of HTML and preserve the original look using

cascading style sheets.

◆ Dual page scanning. Scan both pages of an open book at the

same time but handle them as two separate pages.

◆ Easy database importing. Use of standard delimited text file

output that allows you to import data into many databases.

1–6 TextBridge Pro User’s Guide

Enhanced Features

In addition to the new features, TextBridge offers enhanced

features that were available in previous versions. These features

are described in the following list:

◆ Instant Access

™

. Start TextBridge within most Windows text

programs such as Word or Excel. After recognizing and

converting the page, TextBridge then automatically pastes

recognition data (text and pictures) directly into the program’s

open document.

◆ ToolTips. Instant context-sensitive information about

commands, dialog boxes, and buttons on the interface.

◆ Document recomposition. TextBridge offers true document

recomposition to retain your original page layout. It reproduces

multiple columns, tables, and pictures and keeps them in the

same location as they are in your original document.

For example, when you specify output to the Microsoft Word

™

or

Corel WordPerfect

®

format, TextBridge can retain the original

document layout in fully-editable form, even for pages containing

tables, line art, reverse video, drop caps, insets, and pictures.

When you edit the document, the original text flow is maintained.

When you specify output to the Microsoft Excel

™

or Lotus 1-2-3

format, spreadsheets and cell tables retain their original layout

as cell tables, not tabbed columns. When you edit the table

information, the lines move to fit.

TextBridge supports formats for the programs that retain page

layout in the following list:

Internet Explorer Word 6.0, 7.0, 97, and 2000

Netscape Word Perfect 6.0, 6.1, 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0

Any word processor that supports RTF

Introduction to TextBridge 1–7

Retaining pictures is independent of retaining layout. Some text

programs retain pictures even though they do not retain layout.

◆ Page Types. TextBridge provides many predesigned Page Types

to make processing more efficient. You do not have to go through

a complicated process of determining and specifying settings for

common types of pages. These Page Types automatically provide

appropriate settings for the type of page you want to process. For

example, there is a Letter page type and a Magazine page type

that automatically activate settings for improved results for

letters and pages from magazines.

◆ Automatic zoning. TextBridge automatically zones your page

into text, picture, and table zones.

◆ Zone editing. You can edit the automatically recognized zones to

further refine the zoning. Use zone editing to increase the

accuracy and efficiency of page processing by reshaping zones,

specifying the language, and renumbering them.

◆ Built-in Proofreader

™

. After document recognition, you can use

the built-in proofreader to view and accept or correct any words

that TextBridge suspects may not be recognized accurately. The

proofreader provides suggestions from which you may choose.

◆ Dynamic OCR training. You can train OCR to improve

recognition accuracy as the job progresses. Use dynamic training

with difficult documents, such as faxes or multi-generation

photocopies. TextBridge enables you to interact with the OCR

process by viewing then accepting or correcting its automatic

recognition decisions. The software actually learns special

symbols and words.

◆ Output files to the latest version of programs. These include

Microsoft Word 2000 and Excel 97, WordPerfect 9.0, and Adobe

FrameMaker 5.0.

1–8 TextBridge Pro User’s Guide

Other Features

In addition to the features listed in the previous sections

TextBridge provides these other features.

◆ Windows 98 and 2000 compatibility.

◆ Broad scanner support. TextBridge supports most popular

desktop scanners with TWAIN device interface standard.

◆ Image processing. TextBridge accepts a wide range of images

from a variety of sources for processing. Specifically, the program

imports and recognizes online document images in BMP, PCX,

DCX, TIFF, and XIF formats that originate from fax modems and

other sources. For more information, see the “Input Image File

Formats” section in this chapter.

◆ Deferred processing. TextBridge enables you to scan all the

pages of a document to a TIFF or XIF file, then later open the

image file for document recognition. You can also save all the

pages to a multi-page image file or save each page as a separate

file.

◆ Output text file formats including HTML. TextBridge

supports a number of output text file formats, including word

processor, desktop publishing, spreadsheet, HTML, and database

formats. Now you can process your text for publication on the

Web.

Introduction to TextBridge 1–9

◆ Preview of page images. TextBridge provides a set of tools for

previewing page images before processing them. You can

manually define areas of page images as zones to be processed

and capture only the text, tables, or pictures you want. You can

also edit the automatic zoning by adjusting the text, table, and

picture zones.

◆ Zone templates. After you create a set of zones, TextBridge lets

you save and reload zone templates for new jobs. In this way you

can consistently process or ignore specific areas on the same type

of pages and save time without rezoning each page.

◆ Re-usable training data. After you interactively train OCR, you

can save the training data in a file. You can reload this training

file for similar documents of the same page type. Using this

training file assures the highest recognition accuracy without

your having to repeat the training.

◆ Custom dictionaries. To improve recognition accuracy further,

you can create specialized word lists (scientific terminology,

proper names, acronyms, and so on) within TextBridge or in

ASCII text files and load them into TextBridge.

◆ Two-sided document processing. If your scanner has a sheet

feeder, you can scan the fronts (odd sides) of the pages first, then

flip the stack and scan the reverse (even) sides. When scanning

and recognition are complete, TextBridge automatically collates

the text and keeps it in the original order.

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Nuance TextBridge Pro 9.0 User manual

Nuance TextBridge Pro 9.0 User manual

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