If I scan pages from a book, can I convert it into text?

[Sureshot324]

I need to translate a long section in a french book for my french class. I am using an online translator to help, but it takes forever to type everything in. Is there any way to scan in the pages from the book, and then have some software "read" the scanned images and convert them into text, which could by edited in say, Microsoft Word and copy/pasted into the online translator? What software would I need to do this?

 

[Winchester]

yeah, but you usually have to go in and fix typos so it takes almost as long.

Textbridge I think

 

[fs5]

google on the subject of OCR.

 

[mdcrab]

Find a friend with a scanner or pick up a cheap scanner. They usually come with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. It will automatically convert the scan into a text file which you can run thru your translater or post and let Google translate.

mdcrab

 

[Bootprint]

I wouldn't trust translation software for school work.

 

[slycat]

omnipage pro does a decent job.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Bootprint
I wouldn't trust translation software for school work.

This is very true.

 

[Sureshot324]

Will it read all the french accents like é, è, etc.?

 

[rh71]

Pay me - I can type 100wpm.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Originally posted by: rh71
Pay me - I can type 100wpm.

nah, pay me, I type for a job AND type faster than rh71.

joking aside, OCR is what you want

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy

Originally posted by: rh71
Pay me - I can type 100wpm.

nah, pay me, I type for a job AND type faster than rh71.

joking aside, OCR is what you want

B!tch get 'yer own prospects!

 

[GrouchyLadybug]

Originally posted by: Sureshot324
Will it read all the french accents like é, è, etc.?

i think it will. i had a crappy ocr program that i used at work, and it always used to stick those characters in where they didn't belong, so i bet it would read them if they were really there! good ocr programs cost money...any free downloads you find will probably not translate too well...you will be making so many corrections that it would have just been easier to type it yourself!