Optical Character Recognition (OCR) applications convert scanned or photographed images of typewritten/printed text (pdfs, jpgs, etc.) into machine-encoded/computer-readable text. These tools work best if your original image is crisp and clear.
Option 1: Upload File into bDrive
Pros:
Private, convenient, and usually works on documents
longer than one page.
Cons:
Doesn't read fuzzy text as effectively and can take a really
long time to process.
- Change your bDrive upload settings: open bDrive, click the gear icon and select "Upload settings...Convert text from uploaded pdf and image files"
- Upload the file: click the white arrow in the red box at the top left of your window next to "Create" and select "files"
- Browse to your file and select it. There may be a delay between when it says it has been completed and when the document appears in your bDrive list.
- A part of the original image file may appear at the top of the document. Scroll down to see the text. Some sections may take a really long time to load on longer and/or fuzzier documents.
Turn off the OCR option you turned on in step 1 if you would like to upload image text files to bDrive without converting them in the future.
Option 2: Use an on Online OCR Converter
Pros:
Reads fuzzy text more effectively.
Cons:
Can't be used for private information and will
only work on one-page documents (it says max file size is 5 MB but it
would not convert more than one page of a 1.5 MB pdf).
- If your document is more than one page long, open it in Adobe Acrobat and break it into separate single page files.
- Open a browser window and go to http://www.onlineocr.net/
- Follow the instructions to upload the file. Once the file has been loaded you will need to type in the Catpcha code before you click the "Convert" button.
- The text will appear below. You will need to copy and paste it into your new document.