Working with an Image

• Despeckle image
• Change image resolution
• Straighten text lines
• Invert image
• Rotate or flip image
• Clear block
• Crop image
• Increase/Decrease image scale
• Get image information
• Print image
• Undo the last action

1. Despeckle image

   The recognized image may contain a large amount of "dust" (i.e. excess dots) if the original is medium–to–low print quality. Dust, when it resides close to character outlines, may adversely affect recognition quality. To decrease the number of dots:

   • Select Despeckle Image from the Image>Image Adjustment menu.

   To despeckle a particular block:

   • Select Despeckle Block from the Image>Image Adjustment menu.

   Note: Despeckling may decrease recognition quality if the original document is very faint or contains a light font. Very small characters, such as periods or commas, and parts of very thin characters may disappear.

2. Change image resolution

   Image resolution shows the fineness of detail that can be distinguished in an image and is measured in dots per inch (dpi). ABBYY FineReader shows best OCR performance when vertical and horizontal resolution is the same and is in the range from 50 to 3200 dpi. The recommended range is 200-600 dpi, and the recommended setting is 300 dpi.

   If image resolution is too small or too large, this may have an adverse effect on the quality of OCR.

   Some image formats, e.g. *.bmp files, have no resolution. Sometimes an image may have non-standard resolution, e.g. 204*96 dpi, which may also adversely affect the quality of OCR.

   ABBYY FineReader checks the resolution of each image and corrects if required, leaving the image dimensions unchanged. Images whose resolution has been corrected by the program are marked with in the Batch window. Place the mouse cursor over such an image to see a pop-up tip.

   If OCR quality for a particular image is poor, changing its resolution may help improve the quality. To change the resolution of an image marked with :

   1. In the Batch window, select the image  marked with whose resolution you wish to change. If the pop-up tip says that the image has invalid resolution, select the Correct Resolution command from the Image menu.
   2. In the dialog that opens, either select the type of the image (scanned image, faxed image, or screenshot) or select Other resolution and type in the exact resolution of the image.
   3. Select Selected images to change the resolution of the selected images. Select All images in batch to change the resolution of all the images in the batch. The latter option is recommended for images obtained from one and the same source.

3. Straighten text lines

When scanning very thick books, the text close to the binding may be distorted. Similarly, when photographing text with a digital camera, the text close to the margin may be distorted. To remedy such distortions:

• Click   or select Image>Image Adjustment>Straighten text lines.

Note: Straightening text lines may take some time.

4. Invert image

   Some scanners invert images (turning black into white and vice versa) during scanning.

   You may wish to apply the Invert Image option to create a uniform or standard appearance (e.g. a black font against a white background) among the documents. To do this:

   • Select Invert Image from the Image>Image Adjustment menu.

   Note: If you scan or open inverted images, select the Invert image item in the Scan/Open group in the Legacy Options dialog prior to adding these images to the batch. To open the Legacy Options dialog, click the Legacy Options... button on the General tab in the Options dialog.

5. Rotate or flip image

   Recognition quality relies on the image having a standard orientation (the text should be read from top to bottom and all lines should be horizontal). ABBYY FineReader automatically detects page orientation during the recognition stage. If the program detects page orientation incorrectly, clear Detect image orientation (during recognition) on the Scan/Open tab and rotate the image manually. To do this:

   • Click or select Rotate Clockwise from the Image>Rotate /Flip Image menu to rotate the image 90° clockwise. 

   • Click or select Rotate Counter-Clockwise from the Image>Rotate /Flip Image menu to rotate the image 90° counter-clockwise.
   • Select Rotate Upside Down from the Image>Rotate /Flip Image menu to rotate the image 180°.

   To flip the image:

   • horizontally (around the vertical axis)  -  select Flip Horizontal from the Image>Rotate /Flip Image menu,
   • vertically (around the horizontal axis) -  select Flip Vertical from the Image>Rotate /Flip Image menu.

6. Clear block

   You may choose to skip recognizing a particular image area or eradicate large areas of dust on the image by erasing them. To do this:

   • Select and then select the image area you want to erase by holding down the left mouse button. Release the button to erase the selected image area.

7. Crop image

   Sometimes a scanned image may have dark borders. You can crop the unwanted black areas before running OCR. You can also use the Crop Image tool to reduce the image to a standard paper size, such as A4 or A5.

   1. In the Image window, select the tool (or select the Crop Image command from the Image menu);
   2. The image will be displayed in a Crop Image window and its borders indicated by black lines.

   • In the drop down-list to the left, you can select the scale at which the image must be displayed in the window;

   • To crop the image, rest the mouse cursor on the color border and drag it to the desired location. Alternatively, you can rest the mouse cursor in one of the corners and drag it diagonally. The part of the image that will be removed will be displayed in gray. Click the Crop button;

   • To reduce the image to a standard paper size, select the desired paper size from the Crop to list to the right;

   • To skip cropping the current image and go to the next one, click the Skip button;

   • Clear the Move to next image box if you do not wish ABBYY FineReader to automatically move to the next image once you are finished working with the current image.

   Note:

   1. We recommend cropping an image before you have drawn blocks and recognized the image.
   2. You can change the color of the image borders used in the Crop window. In order to do this, go to the View tab of the Options dialog (menu Tools>Options). In the Appearance group, select the Crop Image Block from the list and click the Color field. In the Color dialog, choose the desired color.

8. Increase/Decrease image scale

   • Select / on the Image bar (from the Image window) and click on the image. The image scale will double/halve.
   • Right-click the image and select Scale. Choose the desired scale (by percentage) from the local menu.

9. Get image information 

   You can obtain a number of parameters about your image: image width and height in pixels; vertical and horizontal resolution per inch (dpi); and image type. To do this: 

   • Right-click on the image and select the Properties item from the local menu. In the dialog that opens, select the Image tab.
10. Print image
    You can print the image in the Image window, the pages selected in the Batch window, or all batch page images. To do this:
    • Select File>Print>Image. The Print dialog will open. Set the desired printing parameters (the printer to be used, number of pages to be printed, the number of copies etc.).
11. Undo the last action
    • Click the Undo button on the Standard bar .

    Tip: To reverse an Undo action, click the Redo button on the Standard bar .