NUANCE OMNIPAGE DIRECT 2 FOR MACINTOSH User manual

OmniPage Direct
OmniPage Direct adds the power of OCR directly to any Macintosh word-
processing, spreadsheet, or communications program. Working within
your application, you simply choose OmniPage Direct in the Apple menu.
Scanned text then appears in your document just as if you had typed it
yourself. Direct is the world's easiest OCR. It is virtually automatic: just
point and click to recognize a single paragraph or multiple pages.
Chapter 1 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 1
After running the Installer program on Disk 1, Direct will appear in the
Macintosh Apple menu.
Chapter 2 How to Scan Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 7
Scanning text is as easy as pulling down the Apple menu and choosing
Direct. The Scan text dialog box lets you scan immediately or set options
for special features such as recognizing parts of a page or different
languages.
This tutorial guides you through the simplest scan and also explains how
to use the Partial Page features.
Chapter 3 Commands and Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 15
This chapter explains every command and setting within Direct. Topics
are listed alphabetically.
Chapter 4 How to Improve Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 25
This chapter tells you the tricks for speeding up Direct and for improving
text-recognition accuracy. It explains how to recognize text from poor-
quality documents such as multiple-generation copies and newspaper
pages. Adjusting the Brightness setting is the easiest way to improve text-
recognition accuracy.

0 OmniPage Direct
Chapter 5 Technical Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 31
This chapter includes a list of supported scanners, a list of error messages
and solutions and data about AppleEvents commands. A section of special
topics explains how Direct works and other technical aspects. Caere
Product Support information is also included.
Caere Corporation
100 Cooper Court
Los Gatos, California 95030
Caere GmbH
Ismaninger Strasse 17-19
81675 Munich, Germany
Fax: [phone]
OmniPage Direct 2.0 Macintosh Version
Copyright© 1992-1995 Caere Corporation. All rights reserved. CAERE®, OmniPage®, OmniPage Direct, and
Transitional Editor are trademarks of Caere Corporation. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and
sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Such designations appearing in this manual
have been printed in initial caps.
Printed in the USA

Installation 1
Chapter 1
Installation
This chapter describes how to install Direct. The chapter has five sections:
• System Requirements
• What’s in the Package
• Installing the Software
• Selecting Your Scanner
• Upgrading to OmniPage Professional

System Requirements
2 Installation
System Requirements
To run Direct, you’ll need the following system:
Computer
• Macintosh II (68020) or higher that reads 1.44MB floppies
• Hard disk with at least 4MB available space
• Total System memory of 8MB RAM
• System 7 or higher
Scanner
Direct supports most full-page scanners. For a complete list, see Chapter 5.
Be sure your scanner is installed according to the manufacturer’s
instructions and is working on your system. Use the scanning software
supplied by your scanner manufacturer to be sure the scanner is working
on your system before you install Direct.
What’s in the Package
Check the Direct package to be sure it contains the following items:
• Direct Release Notes
• Warranty Registration Card
• One or more 1.44MB 3.5” program disks
If any of the above items are missing, contact your dealer for replacement.
For convenience, jot down your warranty registration number (printed on
the diskette labels) on the first page of this manual.
Please fill out the warranty registration card and send it to Caere
Corporation. Once registered, you’ll have access to product support —
support is only available to registered users.

Installing the Software
Installation 3
Installing the Software
Direct is installed in your Apple Menu Items folder. Several Direct files are
also installed in the System Folder. Direct must be installed on the startup
disk and that startup disk must contain a valid System Folder. The
Installer program automatically selects the startup disk when you install
from the installation disks.
Installing Chooser Extension(s) for Your Scanner(s)
During installation, you must install the Chooser extension(s) for the
scanner(s) you plan to use with Direct. These Chooser extensions,
supplied by Caere, are drivers that allow supported scanners to work with
Direct. Easy Installation lets you install Chooser extensions to support one
type of scanner. For example, if you select Ricoh, Chooser extensions
required by supported Ricoh scanners will be installed. Custom
Installation lets you install Chooser extensions to support as many
scanners as you want.
Your scanner and the driver supplied by its manufacturer, if any, must be
installed on your system according to the manufacturer's instructions.
After installation, you must select the required extension for your scanner
in the Chooser.
Easy Installation
1 Disable any virus protection software.
This is often a Control Panel device; refer to your virus protection
software manual for more information.
2 Insert the OmniPage Direct disk #1 in the disk drive.
3 Double-click the Installer icon and click OK to continue.
The Easy Install dialog box appears and displays the name of the
disk where Direct will be installed.
4 Click Install to begin installation.

Installing the Software
4 Installation
An installation screen displays the progress and you may be
asked to insert other disks. A dialog box will ask you to select a
scanner.
5 Select the type of scanner you plan to use with Direct in the pop-
up menu.
Chooser extension(s) for the selected scanner type will be
installed.
6 Insert the other installation disks when you are requested to do
so.
Direct notifies you when installation is complete.
7 After installation, OmniPage Direct will appear in the Apple
menu.
Custom Installation
It is recommended that you install all files using the Easy Installation
method. However, if you are an advanced user, you can click the
Customize button in the Easy Install window and select which items to
install.
Use the Custom Installation method if you need to install Chooser
extensions for additional scanners.

Selecting Your Scanner
Installation 5
Selecting Your Scanner
Your scanner and the driver supplied by its manufacturer, if any, must be
installed on your system according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Before using your scanner with Direct, make sure it’s working on your
system by using the scanning software supplied by the manufacturer.
During installation, Chooser extension(s) must be installed for the
scanner(s) you plan to use with Direct. For information on Chooser
extension installation, see page 3.
Before using your scanner with Direct, you must select its required
extension in the Chooser. An error message appears if you try to scan a
page before selecting it in the Chooser.
To select a scanner for Direct:
1 Choose Chooser in the Apple menu.
The Chooser appears; icons for each installed scanner extension
are displayed.
2 Click the icon of the extension that your scanner requires.
Some extensions, such as Apple Scan, support multiple scanners;
select your scanner model in the list that appears. Depending on
the make of your scanner, you may have to select other scanner
driver parameters such as the SCSI ID number.
The More... button may appear for some scanners. Click More... to
display additional information and/or options for your scanner.
3 Close the Chooser.
You must close the Chooser in order to complete the scanner
selection.

6 Installation
Upgrading to OmniPage Professional
Chooser extensions for a few scanners supported by this version of Direct
are not yet included with OmniPage Professional. Your Chooser
Extension is already installed on your system. When you subsequently
install OmniPage Professional, a scanner installation dialog will appear: if
your scanner is not listed, select None and then click Install.

How to Scan Text 7
Chapter 2
How to Scan Text
This chapter guides you through the basic steps of using Direct to scan and
recognize text.
We assume you have installed Direct according to the instructions in
Chapter 1 and that you know how to work in the Macintosh environment.
Not all Direct features are described here; for a complete description of
any command or setting, see Chapter 3, Commands and Settings.
To use Direct, follow these steps:
1 Open your word-processing, spreadsheet, or other application.
2 Choose OmniPage Direct in the Apple menu.
3 Adjust settings and click Scan in the Scan Text dialog box.
4 Select parts of a page (optional).
5 Check the brightness setting.
After recognition, the scanned text appears in your application.
Unrecognized characters are represented in your text file with a tilde (~).

Step 1 Open Your Application and Prepare to Scan
8 How to Scan Text
Step 1 Open Your Application and Prepare to Scan
To start the scanning process, open your application and prepare to scan a
page.
1 Open your word-processing, spreadsheet, or other application.
2 Place a page in your scanner.
If you don’t know how to orient the page correctly, check your scanner’s
manual. Be sure your scanner is turned on.
Step 2 Choose OmniPage Direct in the Apple Menu
If Direct is properly installed, OmniPage Direct appears in your Macintosh
Apple menu.
1 Be sure you have selected your scanner in the Apple Chooser.
(See <$paratext> on page 1-4)
2 Choose OmniPage Direct. The Scan Text dialog box appears.

Step 3 Adjust Settings and Click Scan
How to Scan Text 9
Step 3 Adjust Settings and Click Scan
Direct is designed to automatically determine the best way to scan a page.
You can simply click Scan and the default settings will accommodate most
scanning situations.
Settings in this dialog box and in the Options dialog box let you customize
Direct for scanning your particular documents. This step explains how to
use the Partial Page feature, which lets you select parts of a page for
recognition. Other settings are described in Chapter 3.
1 Highlight the Partial Page icon.
2 If you wish to manually adjust the Brightness control, click
Options.... The Options dialog box will appear. If necessary, de-
select Auto Intensity to activate the brightness control.
Manually adjusting Brightness can improve recognition accuracy
and speed; see Chapter 4, Improving Performance.
• If a page has sharp, distinct characters printed on good-qual-
ity non-reflective paper, set the brightness slide to the middle,
normal setting.
• If a page has thin, broken characters, darken the Brightness
setting.
• If a page has thick, run-together characters, if it is printed on
porous paper such as newsprint, or if it is printed on glossy
paper, lighten the Brightness setting.
3 If desired, adjust other settings in the Options dialog box. If you
want to save the Options settings for your next scan, click Save.
4 Click Scan in the Scan Text dialog box.

Step 4 Select Parts of a Page
10 How to Scan Text
Step 4 Select Parts of a Page
If you highlighted Partial Page, an image of your page and a set of tools will
appear after the page is scanned. The tools let you draw zones around
parts of the page, order the zones for recognition, and zoom in or out.
1 Click on the Draw zones tool and then enclose each area you
want recognized with a selection box by holding the mouse but-
ton down and dragging the mouse.
Zones will be recognized in the order you select them unless you
use the Order zones tool (the # symbol). To adjust a zone, first
select it by clicking on the Draw zones tool and then clicking on
the zone. Then move the mouse pointer to a selection box han-
dle, hold the mouse button down, and move the mouse.
Draw zones
Order zones
Erase zones
Zoom in
Zoom out
Start recog-
nition, or
Adjust to
stop recog-
nition and
return to this
window.
Stop recogni-
tion and
return to the
Direct appli-
cation.
Open the
Options
dialog box.
Rotate image
90°, 180°, or
270°.

Step 4 Select Parts of a Page
How to Scan Text 11
The window will look like this:
A number appears in each zone indicating the order in which the
zone will be recognized. You may draw up to 99 separate zones.
2 Click on the Order zones tool (the # symbol) to change the order
in which the zones will be recognized. The numbers in the zones
will disappear.
To reorder the zones, click on the zone you want recognized first.
The number 1 will appear in the zone. Then click on the next zone
you want recognized; the number 2 will appear. Continue until
the zones are appropriately ordered.
3 Click on the Erase zones tool and then click on a zone selection
box. The contents of the zone will not be removed; only the selec-
tion box will go away.
4 Click Recognize to start recognition.
During recognition, text blocks are painted gray and then black on the
screen as Direct works.
If, during recognition, you want to change the way you drew or ordered
zones, click Adjust. The Partial Page window will reappear and you can
use the tools again. After recognition the text will appear in your
application just as if you had typed it yourself.

Step 5 Check Brightness
12 How to Scan Text
Step 5 Check Brightness
The Character Window appears while Direct performs recognition; it
displays small samples of the scanned image. If the Character Window
does not appear during recognition, maximize the size of your
application’s window and the Direct image window.
The Character Window helps you adjust the correct Brightness setting if
Auto Intensity is de-selected. It also shows you if you put the page in the
scanner skewed or upside-down.
If text characters appear thick and run-together, re-scan the page after
adjusting the Brightness control towards Lighten. If characters appear thin
and broken, adjust the control towards Darken.
If characters appear at an angle, rescan the document after straightening
the page in the scanner.
The Character Window

Step 5 Check Brightness
How to Scan Text 13
The following figure shows how well-formed characters appear in the
Character Window. No special brightness adjustment is needed.
The following figure shows how thin, broken characters appear in the
Character Window. Try adjusting the brightness toward Darken.
The following figure shows how thick, run-together characters appear in
the Character Window. Try adjusting the brightness toward Lighten.

14 How to Scan Text

Commands and Settings 15
Chapter 3
Commands and Settings
This chapter explains how to use Direct commands and settings. It is
organized alphabetically. Settings within a Direct selection box are
explained under the title of the selection box. For example, you can find
descriptions of Letter and Legal page-size settings under the Size heading.
Adjust
Clicking Adjust lets you change settings after a scan has started but before
recognition is complete.
For example, imagine you selected several parts of a page for recognition
and clicked Recognize. During recognition, you notice that you forgot to
select a particular part and that the Recognize button has turned into the
Adjust button. You click Adjust; recognition stops and you can select parts
correctly without having to re-scan the page.
Auto Intensity
Select this to let Direct automatically set an optimal brightness setting
using Caere AnyPage or HP AccuPage technology. This feature is
available with grayscale scanners.
This feature is especially useful when you scan text printed on a colored
background. It also works well when you scan “copies of copies” that have
large gray areas.
Recognition is faster with this option turned off. If you scan high-quality
documents with crisp, black letters printed on white paper, deselect Auto
Intensity and use the manual Brightness control.
The manual Brightness control is available only when Auto Intensity is
deselected.

16 Commands and Settings
Balloon Help
Balloon help is available by clicking Show Balloons in the Macintosh ?
menu. When you move the mouse pointer to a command or setting, a short
explanation of the command or setting appears. To turn off Balloon help,
click Hide Balloons in the Macintosh ? menu.
Brightness
Select different brightness settings to lighten or darken a scanned image.
This manual control is available in the Options dialog box if Auto Intensity
is deselected.
The Brightness setting is the most important means you have to affect the
accuracy of text recognition. It’s needed to account for variations in paper
quality, print quality, and scanner peculiarities. It acts like the brightness
setting on a copier.
Set brightness by moving the mouse arrow to the square in the slide,
holding the mouse button down, and moving the square toward the
desired setting. Or, click on the arrows to the left or right of the slide. Use
the numbers in the square as references for future documents.
If a page has sharp, distinct characters printed on good-quality non-
reflective paper, set the brightness slide to the middle, normal setting.
If a page has thin, broken characters, darken the brightness setting.

Commands and Settings 17
If a page has thick, run-together characters or if it is printed on porous
paper such as newsprint, or if it is printed on glossy paper, lighten the
brightness setting.
To evaluate brightness settings, watch the Character Window as Direct
performs text recognition. For a description of the Character Window, see
Chapter 4, How to Improve Performance.
<CR> at end of line
Select this if you want a hard carriage return inserted at the end of each
line of text.
Use this setting if you’re scanning lists, lines of code, or other text where
you want each line to be an individual paragraph when it appears in your
word processor.
When this is deselected, Direct will look for extra space between lines of
text on the scanned page and interpret space as a paragraph break. It will
insert a hard carriage return at the paragraph break. If text is continuous,
it will assume that the continuous text is one paragraph.
File Menu
The File menu contains the Quit command. Select Quit to exit the Direct
program and remove the program from memory.
Full Page
Click the Full Page icon to let Direct recognize all the text on a scanned
page. Direct will determine column structure according to the Page
Layout setting in the Options dialog box.
If you want Direct to only recognize parts of a page, click the Partial Page
icon. After the scan, you’ll be able to select specific parts you want
recognized. See Chapter 2, How to Scan Text.
Help
See the Balloon Help topic in this chapter.

18 Commands and Settings
Languages
Select this to choose one or more languages for text recognition.
Direct will recognize additional characters (such as circumflexes, umlauts,
etc.) unique to a particular language. You may select more than one
language by Shift-clicking on different selections; however, for faster
recognition, select only the minimum number of languages you need.
Multiple Pages
Select this icon if you want to scan more than one page.
After a flatbed scanner scans a page, a prompt will appear asking you if
you want to scan more pages. If you use an automatic document feeder
(ADF), the prompt will appear when the ADF is empty.
Options
Click this to display the Options dialog box. This dialog box lets you
indicate the size page you’re scanning, the column structure, the type of
characters printed on your page, and other options. Usually, you won’t
need to use these advanced features; Direct will automatically handle
most of your documents. However, manually adjusting these settings may
speed up recognition.
Look up any of the settings in the Options dialog box in this chapter. They
are arranged alphabetically.
Orientation
The Orientation selection box lets you select the orientation of the
document you are scanning.