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Document Number 2202
CatchWord Pro For Windows
CatchWord Pro for Windows is a powerful Windows-based optical
character recognition (OCR) program which allows scanned text to be
recognized and used in almost all word processing, database,
spreadsheet and desktop publishing applications. It optimizes OCR
usage with hand-held scanners and works with flatbed scanners as well.
CatchWord Pro, with Omnifont capability, offers ease of use for the
beginner, as well as many powerful features designed to increase the
productivity of experienced OCR and Windows users. A recent article in
PC Magazine (July 1992) about hand-held scanners and OCR lists the
standards one should expect from an OCR package which works with a
hand-held scanner. These standards are: omnifont recognition,
horizontal and vertical scanning, and the ability to merge and
decompose text blocks. CatchWord Pro has ALL of these features and
more!
Currently, more than 90% of information generated resides on paper.
More than 150 billion pages of information are generated each year.
Research shows that over 55% of the time spent at a keyboard is
actually re-keying existing text. With all of this information being
reused, there is a large demand for an easy way to get information
from paper into the computer. CatchWord Pro is the solution!
Anyone who retypes text is a potential user for CatchWord Pro.
ScanMan and CatchWord Pro can turn your computer into a data entry
expert. And since CatchWord Pro is easy to use and powerful, both
beginning and advanced users will find CatchWord Pro the perfect OCR
product for them. CatchWord Pro offers the power of text capture,
recognition, storage and recall right at your fingertips.
Major Features and Benefits
Easy to learn and use, but powerful - CatchWord Pro includes a button
bar and tool palette for the most frequently used commands. A complete
on-line help system which utilizes the Windows 3.1 help engine is
available to assist first time users with any questions they may have.
A status bar at the bottom of the screen gives the user helpful
information. All of these tools make it easy to get CatchWord Pro up
and running quickly, and enjoy the increased productivity of OCR
software. As the user progresses with OCR, CatchWord Pro offers more
sophisticated features which are not found in any other OCR package.
Background recognition - Continue working in other applications while
CatchWord Pro completes the recognition process.
Designed with hand-held scanners in mind - Logitech kept in mind the
unique characteristics of hand-held scanning and OCR when designing
CatchWord Pro. Special features, such as the deskewing tool, the
multiple document interface, page merge, page composition, and the
special OCR text editing tools are all meant to make hand-held
scanners and OCR software productive and affordable tools for
everyone!
Other Features and Benefits
Omnifont Allows recognition of most printed fonts
from 6 to 36 points (including bold,
italic, ligatures, kerned characters,
underlined,mono and proportional type)
and eleven different languages. No
software "training" required.
Full and multi-page Works with both flatbed and hand-held
scanning scanners (TWAIN Compliant). Scan
horizontally or vertically with
hand-held scanners. The automatic
stitching feature combines up to four
scans from hand-held scanners into full
pages.
Clipboard Recognition Scan and recognize from within another
application using the clipboard and have
recognition functions in the system
menu.
MDI Multiple Document Interface (MDI) in
Windows lets users scan many different
text selections and recognize them all
at once. Original and recognized text
can be compared side-by-side.
Reads skewed text CatchWord Pro recognizes slightly skewed
text. It also offers a "deskew" feature
for extremely skewed text.
Auto-page segmentation CatchWord Pro automatically retains text
formatting while discarding graphics.
You can also use the zoning feature.
Export in 21 formats Text filters for exporting to all
popular word processing, desktop
publishing and spreadsheet applications
are provided.
Macros Macros for Ami Pro and Word for Windows
are provided. Scan directly into these
two word processors.
Scan in gray scale For hard to read documents, scan in gray
scale. CatchWord Pro converts the image
to black and white.
Special OCR text tools CatchWord Pro includes special OCR text
tools for cleaning up documents before
exporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I scan a full page with a hand-held scanner and CatchWord Pro?
Yes. CatchWord Pro has an automatic stitching feature that allows you
to merge up to four horizontal or vertical scans into a full page.
What kind of accuracy can I expect?
One can expect over 99% accuracy on typewritten, typeset, laser
printed and near-letter quality printed text. Because of omnifont
technology, CatchWord Pro automatically recognizes almost all type
faces and sizes in eleven languages. Also, remember the accuracy of
the OCR software is directly affected by the original document quality
and the quality of the scan.
First time users of OCR are often frustrated with the accuracy they
achieve because they do not understand how OCR works or how to achieve
the best results. The following is a list of "tips" that are included
with CatchWord Pro which will help you to get the best results from
your OCR package:
* One of the most important factors in OCR scanning is the contrast
setting. CatchWord Pro for Windows prefers a darker setting for most
originals. The general rule is to set the contrast at a darker
setting for light original text or broken scanned characters, and to
set the contrast at a lighter setting for dark original text or
scanned characters which touch, are blurred or filled in. Experiment.
Some OCR programs prefer a light setting while others work better when
the darker setting is used.
* Scan straight with a smooth motion at a speed of about 1/2 inch per
second. Despite the ongoing improvement in the hardware design of
hand-held scanners to facilitate straighter, more accurate scanning,
some people may still wish to use a book or other straightedge as a
scanning guide.
* For full-page scanning, scan the page in two strips with an overlap
of 1 inch. Scan both sides straight at the same speed. Be sure to
begin and end scanning as close to the same spot on the page as
possible.
* Depending on your scanner, set the mode switch to either "line art"
or "black and white".
* The smaller the text, the higher you should set the resolution. Scan
6- to 8-point type at 400 dpi, 9- to 15-point type at 300 dpi, and
type larger than 15 point at 200 dpi.
* Test before scanning a whole page. Scan a bit of text and adjust the
settings until you reach optimal recognition.
Three of the most common reasons that an OCR program may misread text:
* Unrecognizable fonts or characters. Omnifont technology recognizes
standard fonts by comparing text characters to features programmed
into the software. The software will not read characters that don't
match programmed features. It may also misread similar characters.
i.e., "l" (the number) and "l" (the letter).
* Original document quality directly affects accuracy. Letters that
are faint, touching, or otherwise illegible, may read inaccurately.
Newspapers, photocopies and faxes are often poor originals.
* Uneven scanning, fast scanning, or pausing in mid-scan may result in
skewed, stretched or compressed text. Follow the tips above to avoid
this cause of misrecognition.
Will CatchWord Pro work with other scanners besides Logitech's
ScanMan?
Yes. Not only can CatchWord Pro import TIFF, BMP or PCX files, but it
will also work with any TWAIN compliant hand-held OR flatbed scanner.
TWAIN is an application program interface (API) which allows the easy
integration of a wide range of input peripherals with any software
application needing the information captured by these devices. TWAIN
describes how to interconnect image capture devices, such as hand-held
scanner or flatbed scanners, with software applications able to handle
the image data format as hand-held scanner or flatbed scanners, with
software applications able to handle the image data format that these
sources produce, such as CatchWord Pro.
Do I have to "train" CatchWord Pro?
No. CatchWord Pro uses omnifont technology which allows it to
automatically recognize any character by comparing text features to
features programmed into the software. For example, a vertical line
with a circle attached on the lower right hand side of it is a "b". If
the circle is on the other side it is a "d". Trainable types of OCR
require the user to teach the software each font and character style
of text they want to scan and recognize. What users often find when
they begin to use a trainable system is that each individual font and
style requires a time-consuming training session. If most documents
you will be recognizing use standard fonts, omnifont is the best way
to go.
Will CatchWord Pro work with my word processor?
Yes. CatchWord Pro can export text in 21 different output formats
including ASCII and tab delimited (for use with spreadsheets).
CatchWord Pro also includes macros for Ami Pro 2.0/3.0 and Word for
Windows 2.0, so you can scan directly into these applications. Also,
if you use clipboard recognition, you can scan, recognize and paste
from the clipboard directly into your applications without even
leaving them!
How does CatchWord Pro compare against the competition?
CatchWord Pro offers not only omnifont technology, but many other
features designed especially for hand-held scanners that you will not
find in any other hand-held scanner OCR software. CatchWord Pro also
takes full advantage of the Windows environment by offering Multiple
Document Interface, background recognition, and an on-line help system
that uses the Windows 3.1 help engine, all of which make it a powerful
desktop tool. It also offers ease of use, special OCR text editing
tools, 21 export formats, and clipboard recognition, which make the
process of bringing in recognized text to your word processor,
spreadsheet or other application as easy as possible.