How to Use a Scanner to Capture Text

Series Summary

Computers are complex machines built upon very simple principles. They perform arithmetical operations millions of times over to transform digital information moving at lightning speed into usable human data. A personal computer's job is to help a user create, manipulate, deliver, receive or delete media content. These fundamental functions mimic human ability in some surprising ways. Therefore, the computer is increasingly becoming an engine of the imagination, a platform for the digital life. In this free video series on basic computer skills, an IT specialist with more than 10 years experience teaches general computing to newcomers or anyone who needs a quick refresher course. Setting up printers, e-mail accounts, online avatars, networks and computer passwords will be a snap after the basic computer information in these videos. Learn to switch information from one e-mail address to another, chat and connect with friends in online social media sites, and stay safe on the internet. Learn to fix printer jams, unblock a website on your browser, use HTML and more with simple instructions and complete demonstrations.

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Eric White and today we're going to talk about how to capture text with a scanner. Now, the first thing that you're going to need, well, second, after the scanner, is what they call Optical Character Recognition software. Now there's many different brands. Most scanners will come with some sort of OCR software. It's very simple. You open the scanner bed, place your paper down, and then use the Optical Character Recognition software to scan. It's very similar to scanning a photo. It works really well with printed text and not so well with hand written and cursive. If you just print hand written, it works okay, but it works best with printed type, like a newspaper or a book. So, you just insert the page into the scanner, text side down, just like you would with a picture, and then hit scan on your Optical Character Recognition software and you've just scanned in text with your scanner."