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ArabicHow to use dtSearch or dtSearch Web with OCRLast Reviewed: January 29,
2009 Applies to: dtSearch 6, 7 Scanned documents are usually stored as TIFF images, which are then converted using OCR (optical character recognition) into a text format such as HTML or Microsoft Word. Using dtSearch, dtSearch Desktop, or dtSearch Web, these text documents can then be indexed and made searchable. In many cases, it is necessary to provide access both to the searchable text and the original image file, so that users can see exactly what the original document looked like. Because web browsers cannot display TIFF images without an image-viewing plug-in, the image files must be converted into another format if web access is needed. Using PDF to combine images and text The PDF file format provides two ways to combine images and text in a single file. First, the "image with hidden text" format stores the complete original TIFF images, along with the text obtained through OCR. The text is "hidden" because, when a user opens the PDF, the user only sees the scanned image, not the text. Because the text is also in the file, dtSearch can index and search it. After a search, dtSearch, or dtSearch Web, can highlight hits directly on the scanned image. Another option for combining scanned images and text in a single PDF file uses small images for the parts of each scanned page that do not appear to be text. For example, a picture or a signature would be stored as a small image embedded in the page, while the rest of the page would be converted to text. This format produces much smaller files than the first alternative, because only a few small images are stored for each page, instead of a complete image of the whole page. Additionally, the text detected through OCR often becomes more readable, because it is stored as text with font information rather than as an image. The PDF format is ideal for use on the web because multiple pages of images and text can be combined into a single, compressed file; anyone with a web browser and the free Adobe Reader viewer can view the files; and the text can be searched using dtSearch Web. Some OCR products that can generate PDF files
from scanned images include:
Once you have created PDF files with one of the OCR products listed above, you can index and search them with dtSearch Web just like any other documents. After a search, dtSearch Web will display a list of retrieved documents. When a user clicks on one of the documents, dtSearch Web will display the PDF file, with hits highlighted. If the PDF file is in the "image with hidden text" format, dtSearch Web will highlight hits directly on the image. For a demo, see http://support.dtsearch.com/ocr/ |
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The dtSearch product
line can instantly search terabytes of
text across a desktop, network,
Internet or Intranet
site.
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dtSearch products
also serve as tools for publishing,
with instant text searching, large
document collections to Web sites or
CD/DVDs.
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over two dozen indexed, unindexed, fielded and full-text search options |
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highlights hits in HTML, XML and PDF, while displaying embedded links, formatting and images |
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converts other file types — word processor, database, spreadsheet, email and full-text of email attachments, ZIP, Unicode, etc. — to HTML for display with highlighted hits |
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built-in Spider adds a third-party or other Web site (public, secure content, password accessible, etc.) to your searchable database |
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Spider supports Web-based content (HTML, PDF, XML, etc.) as well as dynamically-generated content (ASP.NET, MS CMS, SharePoint, etc.) |
| General supported file types | |
| SQL and similar data sources | |