Bitmap vs.Vector
Image Formats

TextBridge Classic OCR Tutorial for Macintosh

1. Place a clean copy of a black and white text document face down on the scanner flush with the upper right-hand corner of the glass and close the document cover.
2. Open the hard disk and locate the TextBridge Classic folder. Double-click the folder to open it.
3. Click on the TextBridge Classic icon, which looks like a bridge, to launch the program.
   
4. The TextBridge settings window will now appear. If Scanner is grayed out under the Input section, refer to Part 2.

The first set of options is Input. This is for choosing between scanning in a document, or opening a saved document TIF file. Since the scanner is being used, the radio button is clicked for scanner.

The next section is Output. The options here allow us to choose whether we want Text, a Page Image or Both. In most cases, only Text will be wanted, but if a scanned TIF image of the document is desired, click on Page Image or Both.

The next section is Tools. These are not chosen by default, but clicking the check box in front of them selects them. The Preview tool will show us our scanned version of the text so that we may choose the parts we want to be recognized. The Verifier tool allows TextBridge to double-check certain words to make sure they are correct.

5. With the desired options chosen, click the Go button.
6. The Save file screen will now appear. TextBridge will need to know where to save the finished document, what to call it and what kind of text format it should be in.
   
7. The top selection is the folder or disk the document will be saved to. TextBridge will use its own folder as the default. To choose a new folder or disk, select it from the pull down menu or create a new folder using the button to the right.
   
   Enter a name for the document in the Save Output As: line.
   
   Choose a text format on the Text: line. In order to edit the document, a format must be chosen that is compatible with a word processor being used on the system. TextBridge can use the following formats: XDOC, WYSIWYG Text, Ami Pro, Dbase, DisplayWrite & DCA-RFT, Microsoft Excel, Formatted ASCII, Frame Maker, ILF, Lotus 123, MacWrite 4.x-5.0, MacWrite II, Microsoft Word (RTF), MultiMate, PCL/PostScript, WordPerfect 1.0, WordPerfect 2.1, WordPerfect DOS 5.0-5.2 and WriteNow.
   
   When choosing a format, use the one that is most compatible with the preferred word processor. For instance, if Microsoft Word is commonly used, then choose the rich text format Microsoft Word (RTF). If there is no preferred word processor, or if unsure about compatibility between the different formats, choose Formatted ASCII. ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, and it is compatible with a wide range of word processors, including the Simple Text program that comes with the Macintosh OS.
8. Once the location, filename and format are chosen, click the Continue button.
9. The ISIS driver will now take over and the scanner will make a pass to scan the document. After it has finished scanning, the Preview window will appear.
   
10. The Preview window features an image of the scanned page and a set of tools across the top. Use the magnifying glass tool with the plus sign (+) to zoom in on the image of the document to check for clarity. If the text is crooked or upside down, or if it is hard to read, adjust the original document and then click the Rescan button. If the text is legible, click on the magnifying glass with the minus sign (-) to zoom out a few steps.
11. Use the T tool to create text zones. Zones are borders around the text that is intended for recognition. Items such as graphics or unwanted text will not require zones. To zone the text, click on the T and then move the cursor to the corner of the text to be zoned. Hold down the mouse button and drag the outline around the entire area of text and then release the mouse button. The area is now zoned with a number as shown here.
    
    The large dark area is a picture, which TextBridge would be unable to process, and is not zoned. Text can be zoned in any order, and that order will determine how it appears on the final copy.
12. Once all of the desired text is zoned, click on the Continue button. TextBridge will begin the recognition process and then the Verifier window will appear.

13. The Verifier allows us to double check words that TextBridge is unsure of, or that it wants verification of. The level of verification is set with the slide bar next to the word Words:. Moving the bar all the way to the darkest line means that TextBridge will verify every word. Moving it to the smallest line means TextBridge will only verify those words it doesn’t know at all, or that have missing characters (represented with a tilde ~).
14. The word to be verified appears in the top text window with the corresponding copy from the original text appearing in the lower window as a highlighted block. If TextBridge has not properly recognized the word, type the correction into the upper window and click Continue. If it has recognized the word correctly, make no changes and click Continue.
15. Once all of the questioned words have been verified, TextBridge will prompt for more pages. If there are multiple pages, click Continue and repeat steps 9-14 until each page is complete. If this is the final page, click the End button.
16. TextBridge will now convert the text to the selected format and save the file. The TextBridge settings screen will reappear. Click the File menu and select Quit to close the TextBridge program. Locate the document and double-click it, or open it in the appropriate word processing program to begin editing the document.