Abbyy FineReader is a character recognition software that provides users with a simple way of translating text from printed format into the PC and their latest version Pro 5.0 has now been released.
It is aimed mainly for the home user, hence the simplicity of this application, but it still remains a very powerful product. It recognises the majority of standard image formats such as .bmp, .jpeg and .tif and you can also save in a range of other formats such as .doc, .rtf, .txt, and including .pdf and .html to keep up with today's requirements.
To read in documents, this is done directly through a twain compatible scanner, place the document onto the machine and simply click the scan and read button. The accuracy of the scanned document is very good and before the scanning takes place, you can even select parts of the document that you require rather than having to scan the whole lot.
If FineReader does have problems interpreting some of the data during scanning, it will highlight the areas once completed for easily finding the text that needs altering at a glance.
If you are scanning text that has a variety of symbols that it does not recognise straight away or fancy fonts, FindReader can be trained very quickly to be able to do so in future.
There are also many time-consuming tools, one for example being the batch conversion of images which carries on in the background, allowing the user to get on with more important activities.
The cost quoted for Abbyy FineReader Pro 5.0 is £69.99, however there is also an office version, currently available around £269.99, both including VAT.
