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ABBYY FINE READER 5.0 SCRIPTING EDITION

An Easy yet Powerful Tool for IT professionals, Developers and System Integrators
to Gear their Applications to the Power of FineReader 5.0

What is FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition?

FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition is a development tool allowing its users to communicate with a FineReader 5.0 application via the Automation API (Application Programming Interface). This interface allows the developers to use FineReader 5.0 Pro/Office as an Automation component, i.e. integrate FineReader 5.0 into their own Windows applications as Automation clients and control it. The Automation API provided by FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition fully complies with the COM standard and may be used in any COM-compatible development tools, like Visual Basic, C++, or scripting languages.

Where to use FineReader Scripting Edition?

If your aim is to develop a specialized document input system that uses the whole range of features offered by FineReader 5.0 û the leader among OCR systems û then you choose the Scripting Edition, a tool made especially for you. By using the tool and writing a couple of code lines you will be able to tap into all the rich functionality of FineReader 5.0 Pro/Office (from scanning to high-quality text recognition and export into a multitude of external formats) gently tied with your application, thus providing your customers with an integrated solution - and all that for only a little effort on your part.
If you are developing an information management system and want to enable it to input documents from scanner, FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition will let you integrate FineReader 5.0 Pro/Office and your own system seamlessly. For example, the user will only have to click a single button added by you to FineReader 5.0 in order to send the recognized data into your system.
Fax processing applications where OCR is used to convert the received fax messages into editable text. 

How does FineReader Scripting Edition work?

Installing FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition on a computer is, in fact, installing a full-functional copy of FineReader 5.0 with an open and activated Automation API. Actually, every copy of FineReader 5.0 for end-users* sold worldwide features this automation API, yet it only becomes active after you buy a FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition license.
The developer may use the FineReader Scripting API description supplied with FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition to create his own application with integrated functions of FineReader 5.0, and do this quickly and easily. This application, the so-called Automation client, launches a copy of FineReader 5.0 (Automation component) on a computer and controls its functionality by calling its objects and methods via the Automation API. The developer has a really flexible tool for controlling FineReader 5.0 from an application of his own, i.e. he may:

• control the FineReader windows and user interface, for example, he may automate the whole process by running FineReader 5.0 in background mode or by providing full or limited access to the user interface of FineReader 5.0
• control the application settings, the batch settings and export settings
• perform batch operations
• send/acquire data to/from FineReader 5.0 application during the document processing, as well as create his own event handling procedures.

* Build number of FineReader 5.0 Pro/Office must be no less than 5.0.0.382

Functionality

• launching and closing of FineReader 5.0

• controlling of various window parameters (for main FineReader 5.0 application window and for its child windows û image, zoom, and text): the position of windows, whether a window is enabled/disabled, whether the user may enter data in the window, etc.)

• controlling the settings of FineReader 5.0

• working with the batch: batch setup, adding images to batch, batch analysis, recognition, export into file, image operations, block template loading

• controlling the messages issued by the application

• running FineReader 5.0 menu commands

• getting information on events occurring in FineReader 5.0 and controlling the reaction on these events via callback interface

• creation of custom buttons on special user toolbar and specifying the reaction on clicks on these buttons.

And thatÆs by no means all! FineReader 5.0 Scripting API supports additional features that are not available to the end-user of FineReader 5.0 Pro/Office:

• control the access to elements of FineReader user interface

• implement custom export applications and procedures to export the results in these applications.
  

Specifications

System requirements:

• the same as those for FineReader 5.0 end-user package supplied with FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition distribution package;
• USB-port for electronic protection key.

Development tools:

• Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 or higher;
• Microsoft Visual C++ 4.x or higher;
• other development tools that support Automation objects correctly.
  

Documentation languages:

English, Russian.

Recognition languages, input file formats and recognition result saving formats:

The same as for FineReader 5.0 supplied with FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition distribution package.

Versions and Prices

1) Development Kits

(1) Standard delivery of FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition development kit is a copy of FineReader 5.0 supplied with developerÆs documentation and USB electronic protection keys according to the number of Development and       Distribution licenses specified in the given version.
(2) See section Licensing below.
(3) The price includes developer technical support for a period of one year since the date of purchase of FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition, but the support will be     provided for no more than a year since the date of launch of the next version of      Scripting Edition. The price does not include the shipment, yet includes VAT. The     price is subject to change at any time without notice.
(4) The version with a limited number of pages to be processed allows one to process (analyze and/or recognize) no more than 10 000 pages (of A4 or  smaller format) per calendar month per computer.

2) Distribution Kits

Distribution kits are supplied to developers for users of their applications using FineReader 5.0 Scripting API. 

(1) The Office Distribution Kits may only be acquired by the developers who own Office Development Kits.
(2) Distribution Licenses for Pro version are compatible with FineReader 5.0 Pro only. Distribution Licenses for Office version are compatible both with FineReader 5.0 Office and with FineReader 5.0 Pro.
(3) Upgrade Distribution Kits are sold to developers under condition the developers only sell these licenses to the users of their application that use FineReader 5.0 Scripting API which also have a licensed copy of the respective FineReader 5.0 version and are registered users of such a version.
(4) The price does not include the shipment, yet includes VAT. The price is subject to change at any time without notice.

Licensing

The conditions of use of FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition developer tools are governed by a Developer license agreement. The following two types of FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition licenses exist:

1) Development Licenses

Development License grants the developer the right to install the FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition development tools and develop and use the applications that use these tools. The developer has no right to transfer this license to third parties. A single Development License is intended to be installed on a single computer; it is protected by a USB protection key.

2) Distribution Licenses

Distribution License grants the developer the right to distribute the components of FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition together with developerÆs applications that uses these components accompanied by a USB electronic protection key that activates the FineReader 5.0 Scripting API. A single Distribution License is intended to be installed on a single computer.
A number of Distribution Licenses is supplied with FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition Development Kit. A developer who owns FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition Development Kit may also acquire additional Distribution Licenses supplied with a Distribution Kit at the prices listed in the table above.

Trial version

The trial version of FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition is a FineReader 5.0 Try&Buy application supplied with the FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition development documentation. Automation API of FineReader Try&Buy is available during the time the Try&Buy version works in full-functional mode. ABBYY FineReader 5.0 Try&Buy may be downloaded from ABBYY Web site. ABBYY provides the developer documentation for FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition in electronic form for the representatives of single entities who signed a Trial license agreement (downloadable here). In order to get the documentation, fill-in the agreement, sign it and fax it at +1 888 467-4151 or +49 89 921-85173, and then send a short request by e-mail at scripting@abbyy.com. You will be replied with the electronic version of FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition developer documentation for testing and trial purposes.

Technical support

ABBYY provides free technical support for developers for a period of up to one year since the date of purchase of the FineReader 5.0 Scripting Edition development license, but for no longer than a year since the launch of the next version of the product - FineReader 6.0 Scripting Edition. ABBYY does not provide any technical support for the users of programs developed with the use of FineReader 5.0 Scripting API and using its functions.

The address of the developer technical support is the following: scripting_support@abbyy.com.

How to buy?

ABBYY Software House (headquarters in Russia): sales@abbyy.com
ABBYY USA: sales@abbyyusa.com
ABBYY Europe: sales@abbyyeu.com
ABBYY Ukraine: sales@abbyy.com.ua