Version 4.01
Copyright © 2005-2006 Nuance Communications, Inc.
Last edited: February
10 September
27, 2006
The Independent JPEG Group's software,
copyright © 1991-1995,
Please read this document for late-breaking or detailed information about ScanSoft OmniPage SE that could not be included in its other documentation. This OmniPage SE is a special edition of the OmniPage® software. It has been developed for distribution by selected scanner manufacturers and contains a subset of the features of OmniPage 15 and OmniPage Professional 15.
These Release Notes and other documentation describe the baseline OmniPage SE 4.0 product. Different scanner manufacturers may require small changes to the supplied feature set.
These release notes discuss the following topics:
Sample Image Files, Shipped
with the Product
To install and run OmniPage SE, your Windows-compatible PC must be equipped with the following:
· An Intel© Pentium© III or higher processor or its equivalent
· Microsoft© Windows© 98 (from second edition), Windows Me, Windows 2000 (from Service Pack 4), Windows XP or Windows Server 2003
· Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
· 128 MB of memory (RAM), 256 MB recommended
o 150 MB of free hard disk space for the application files and sample images, plus 60-65 MB working space during installation.
· 5 MB for Microsoft Installer (MSI) if not present. (This is present as part of the operating system in Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.)
· An additional maximum of 5 MB may be required for various system updates
· 800x600 pixel color monitor with 16-bit color or greater video card
· CD-ROM drive for installation
· A Windows-compatible pointing device
· A compatible scanner with its own scanner driver software if you plan to scan documents. Please see the Scanner Guide at Nuance's web site http://www.nuance.com for a list of supported scanners.
· Web access needed for product registration and Scanner Wizard database updating.
Performance and speed will be
enhanced if the computer's processor, memory, and available disk space exceed
the minimum requirements.
The OmniPage SE User's Guide provides information about installing and setting up OmniPage. Please refer to it for complete installation instructions.
Install your scanner before you install OmniPage
Your scanner must be working independently of the program prior to connecting it to OmniPage. Scanners to be used by OmniPage should be installed according to the scanner manufacturer’s specifications. Please consult the documentation that came with your scanner for information. Please also refer to the additional information about scanners in these Release Notes.
Before you install or uninstall OmniPage, exit from any open applications so that only Windows is running. There should be no applications listed in the task bar other than Windows Explorer.
Install OmniPage SE
If the OmniPage Installer does not display the installation menu shortly after you insert the CD, use the following procedure to install this version:
1. From the Start menu, select Run.
2. Browse for your CD drive and launch Autorun.exe from its root folder.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions.
On Windows
2000, XP or Server 2003 systems, you should have administrator
privileges to install OmniPage. After installation, users with restricted
rights will be able to use OmniPage.
Installation folder
Do not install OmniPage to
the Windows installation directory or to a mapped drive.
OmniPageSE and other Nuance OCR products
If you have an earlier
OmniPage version on your system that you will no longer need, we recommend you
remove it before starting the installation of OmniPage SE.
In any case, the OmniPageSE
installer asks your consent to uninstall your earlier products.
Register OmniPage
At the end of installation, you will be asked to fill out an electronic form to register your copy of OmniPage. If you decide not to, you will be prompted again seven days later.
Uninstalling OmniPage
OmniPage SE can be uninstalled in the standard way using the Add or Remove Programs tool in the Control Panel. Should the uninstallation of OmniPage fail for any reason, you can clean up your system from all references to OmniPage by using our Remover.exe application. This application can be found on the OmniPage product CD in the OmniPage\Tools folder.
Launch OmniPage
You should launch OmniPage
at least once after installation, before attempting to use it through
integrated solutions, such as Direct OCR or ScanSoft PaperPort application.
This section discusses a number of points related to using features in OmniPage.
New features and changes in OmniPage
These are summarized in the
topic “New features” in online help, with links to other sections of the help
for each new feature. See also “Changes for upgrading users” and page 7 in the
User’s Guide.
The OmniPage SE User’s Guide is available in PDF format. You can read and search documents in PDF format in Adobe Acrobat® Reader or in Adobe® Reader®. You can download these as free software from http://www.adobe.com. Access the User’s Guide by inserting the OmniPage product CD and selecting the User’s Guide PDF file in the Guides folder.
Nuance is committed to provide high-quality, reliable software. We are constantly improving our products. Solutions may also have been developed for problems reported after product release. These updates can include new scanner support, software patches, and other updates. For easy access to information on program updates, OmniPage automatically searches the Nuance web site and informs you if an update for your product is available for download. You can also check this any time manually by selecting Get Latest Update in the Help menu of OmniPage.
Related Topics in Help
If your Internet Explorer does not display the Related Topics button in the online Help (e.g. in the "Training" or "About Workflows and jobs" topics), please run the appropriate patch program depending on your operating system:
Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Professional
Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP professional
Windows XP 64-Bit Edition
Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, Windows NT 4.0 Server, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
<http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/c/8/cc8a7962-f72f-4358-a13d-326be29d3623/HHUPD.EXE>
Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition
<http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/contents/WUCritical/q811630/default.asp>
Accented letter displays in Text Editor
The following characters are not found within standard Windows Code Pages and may display as @ in the Text Editor when OmniPage 15 runs on some operating systems. However, on export to Unicode-capable target applications, they should display correctly.
C and G dot
C, G, H, J, S, W and Y circumflex
H and T bar
I and U tilde
This involves the languages Esperanto, Inuit, Kikuyu, Maltese, Sami and Welsh
If you install OmniPage on a computer on which an Internet connection has not been established yet, when you try to register, the Internet Connection Wizard is started. OmniPage may generate a message saying that the registration is not successful. Dismiss this message and work through the Internet Connection Wizard; when completed, Nuance's registration page will be opened where you can fill out an electronic form to register your copy of OmniPage.
Save and Launch
If this option is specified but the target application is not launched or generates an error message, go to Tools/Export Converters, select the file type involved, click Options and then click the three dots (...) button to browse for the exe file of the desired application. Do this also if the currently displayed program name is inappropriate.
Using OmniPage SE from PaperPort
If a recognition process is started from another application, OmniPage is run automated in the background with its user interface not visible. If it takes a long time for OmniPage to process the pages before the calling application regains control, the “OLE server busy” message box may be displayed by the Windows system. Select “Retry” to let OmniPage continue processing the document and allow the client application to wait for the completion of the processing.
Message box displayed if using OmniPage with PaperPort
If you use OmniPage from PaperPort, the message “Please finish any open dialogs so that the link can complete” may appear while the OmniPage Options dialog is displayed or OmniPage is processing. You can continue working normally after you close the message box. The message box may appear behind the PaperPort or OmniPage window. You can switch to it by using the ALT+TAB key combination.
Application does not get registered for use with Direct OCR, even though it was added to the list of registered applications
If you try to register a
running application in OmniPage for Direct OCR using the Add button on the
Options/Direct OCR dialog and the application does not get registered (that is,
it does not appear on the Registered list after you re-open the dialog), use the
Browse button to locate the application in its installation directory and add
it again to the registered applications.
Direct OCR menu items in MS Office 97 applications
You may find that the Direct
OCR menu items in MS Office 97 application’s File menu remain after OmniPage is
uninstalled. In that case, please remove them manually by using Tools/Customize
menu item in your MS Office 97 application.
Using Direct OCR to insert text in applications that support multiple documents
Some applications that support multiple open documents may start with no open document. To make sure that the recognized text is inserted into your application, make sure you have an open document. Typically you do this by selecting “New” in the File menu.
Using Direct OCR for processing documents with graphics
Graphics in the original
document are usually identified by OmniPage and if the appropriate option is
enabled, will also be exported with the output document. This applies both to
normal exporting and using Direct OCR. However, some applications will not
accept graphics when used with Direct OCR. Microsoft Power Point and Excel are
identified as such applications.
Low memory problems when using Direct OCR or Clipboard transfer of documents containing graphics
OmniPage places the
recognized document onto the clipboard in several formats, including RTF. The
standard RTF format stores picture elements, such as photos in a rather
memory-consuming way, which may result in a low memory situation when using
Direct OCR or Clipboard transfer in OmniPage. Older operating systems may not
be able to cope with copying of large amounts of content (including big
pictures) to the Clipboard. Preferably use file export. This is also true for
Direct OCR operations, because they function via Clipboard. To add many pages
of material with pictures, we recommend performing recognition with OmniPage,
saving to file and then importing this file into the target document.
When working with OmniPageSE
4, a temporary copy of each loaded image is stored on the hard disk. Page
images are also stored in OmniPage Document files (OPD). The “Keep original
image resolution” switch is by default ON in the Process panel of the
Options dialog box, whereas it was OFF in OmniPage SE 3. This means your page
images are still available for high quality export, but your document sizes
will be larger. To reduce the amount of required disk space and also the amount
of memory used by OmniPage, turn off the “Keep original image resolution”
option if acceptable.
Opening OmniPage Documents (OPDs), created with earlier versions.
OmniPage SE provides full
support for OPD files created with OmniPage Pro 14 or Special Edition 3.0, but
does not support OPD files from earlier versions. Please export and re-import
the images from such OPD files before uninstalling your previous version of
OmniPage. When opening an OPD file created by OmniPage Pro 14 or Special
Edition 3.0, you will be prompted to convert the document to OmniPage SE 4
format. The converted file will be untitled and must be saved to a new name if
you want to save it for future use.
Slow processing with large files
Very large files may slow OmniPage down. If you
experience this, try splitting the input files into smaller batches.
See “Loading image files” in Online Help for image
limitations in the program.
Special,
automatically generated table zones may appear in the Image Panel
After recognizing a document, table zones may appear with red icons in their uper left corner (as opposed to automatically or user created table zones with a blue icon). These table zones cannot be manipulated by the table tools in the Image Panel’s toolbar (grids cannot be added, deleted, etc.). OmniPage creates these kind of zones when it finds that the precise layout of certain parts of a page can be better kept by placing them in table grids. If the result is not satisfactory, you can change the type of these zones to any other type and send the page to re-recognition.
Issues related to upgrading your Microsoft Windows 98
to Windows XP
After you upgrade your computer from Microsoft
Windows 98 to Windows XP, and then you log on to the computer for the first
time, Setup disables all of the program files (all .lnk and .exe files) by
removing them from the Startup folder and the Run key in the registry, except
for the "known good programs", which are not removed. As a result,
Direct OCR will not run even ifit was enabled before upgrading your Windows 98.
Use MSCONFIG.EXE system utility to enable the disabled programs again. For more
information on this issue please visit: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q300886.
OmniPage supports scanners that are controlled by TWAIN or WIA (Windows Image Acquisition) scanner drivers. OmniPage supports any fully TWAIN- or WIA-compliant scanner or other input device that can supply at least a binary (black and white) image in a supported resolution (200 to 600 dots per inch). Please note that the WIA standard is supported on Windows Me and Windows XP operating systems only.
TWAIN source drivers (.ds files) must be provided by the scanner manufacturer. When these are installed on your PC, they are located in the Windows folder in the TWAIN, TWAIN_32, or TWAIN32 folder. OmniPage provides a TWAIN interface that communicates with these TWAIN source drivers.
Common
scanners are tested and tuned for use with OmniPage. Tuning is done with
scanner hints that specify the best use and optimal settings. OmniPage includes
a Scanner Setup Wizard that will automatically test and optimize your scanner
for use with OmniPage. You can find its shortcut next to that of OmniPage in
the Windows Start menu. You can also launch it at any time by selecting Setup
in OmniPage’s Options dialog box (Tools/Options/Scanner). The Scanner Setup
Wizard is launched automatically after installation when you first attempt to
scan a document or first open the Tools/Options/Scanner dialog box. This
ensures that your scanner is optimized before you start scanning documents.
When
the Scanner Setup Wizard is started as a result of starting scanning in
OmniPage, scanning will not start when setting up your scanner is completed.
This can happen only once; if this is the case select the desired scanning mode
and start scanning again.
This section discusses a number of points on using scanners with OmniPage. Since scanners change frequently, please refer to http://support.nuance.com/compatibility for the most recent information about OmniPage and scanner compatibility. If you are having problems with your scanner, please contact the scanner manufacturer for assistance. Often, scanner manufacturers provide web sites that provide the latest scanner drivers, answers to frequently asked questions, and other information about their products. Again, your scanner must be working independently of OmniPage prior to connecting it to OmniPage.
Resolution used for scanning documents
For most OCR jobs, scanning should be done at 300 dpi resolution. You can set a different resolution both on the Options/Scanner dialog box of OmniPage or on the TWAIN driver user interface if it is enabled. You can enable the display of the TWAIN user interface in the Scanner Setup Wizard.
Black and White vs. Grayscale and Color scanning
Scanning in binary (black and white or line art) mode will provide you with the fastest processing. However, on most documents grayscale will provide more accurate results, especially on degraded or shaded background documents. Use color scanning only if you want to retain color information and/or color graphics in your document.
TWAIN drivers User Interface
Some TWAIN source drivers, when activated, may display their own user interface window behind the OmniPage main window. To access the TWAIN interface, press ALT+TAB and tab to the TWAIN screen.
Scanning legal size pages
Many flatbed scanners do not have a platen large enough for a legal page. These scanners will scan to their platen length if you select "Legal" page size. To scan legal size pages on scanners whose platens are smaller than legal page size, you must use an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder).
TWAIN drivers may allow you to select legal page size in the Page Type tab of the Settings dialog box even when this size is not available.
Be sure to properly setup you scanner to run with OmniPage
After you have installed OmniPage, it is necessary to run the Scanner Setup Wizard all the way through to Finish at least once before you can use your scanner properly with OmniPage. For some scanners, it will be necessary to run the complete diagnostic test of the Scanner Setup Wizard to properly optimize the scanner for use with OmniPage. Some scanners have been tested and optimized with OmniPage already. For these scanners, it is still necessary to run the Scanner Setup Wizard to Finish for the optimization to take effect. When you run OmniPage for the first time, it will automatically run the Scanner Setup Wizard when you select any scanning function. Your scanner may or may not already be optimized for OmniPage. The following paragraphs describe the first few steps in either case:
Installing Scanners on Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows 2000
Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows 2000 have built-in TWAIN drivers for a few scanners. You will get better results with OmniPage on these systems if you install the TWAIN software that came with the scanner. Before doing so, it is best to check the web site of the scanner manufacturer to see if an updated version of the TWAIN driver or a patch is available.
Installing Scanners on Windows Me and Windows XP
Windows Me and Windows XP
support the Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) method of connecting to scanners. A
scanner must have a WIA driver to use this method. Windows Me and Windows XP
ship with a number of WIA drivers for some scanners. A list of devices that
have built-in WIA drivers can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/archive/WIA/WinME_WIAdrv.mspx and http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/tech/WIA/XP_WIAdrvs.mspx
respectively.
If your scanner is supported by a WIA diver, you do not have to install a
software driver to connect to the scanner. Some WIA drivers however do not
support the full functionality of the scanner. Some known problems include ADF
handling, problems with certain page sizes and canceling a scan in progress. If
you are having such problems, visit the web site of the scanner manufacturer to
see if a TWAIN scanner driver is available for download there. The manufacturer
will specify if the driver is meant to be used in Windows XP or Windows Me.
Once you have downloaded and installed this driver you will have to use the
Scanner Setup Wizard in OmniPage to select this driver. You will have to select
“Select and test scanner or digital camera” on the second wizard page. On the
third page, select “Add scanner” and on the dialog that comes up check TWAIN.
Once you have a list of TWAIN drivers you must select your driver. Be careful
not to select the driver that begins in “(WIA-)”. If you have installed a TWAIN
driver from the manufacturer you should have a driver in the list that does not
begin with “(WIA-)”. If the Wizard recommends that you run the scanner tests on
this new driver, please do so. Be sure to complete all pages of the Wizard
until you reach a page with the “Finish” button. You must select this
button for the changes to take effect.
OmniPage is supplied with a small number of sample image files. These are copied to the folder My Documents/My Pictures when OmniPage is first launched. The files are in TIFF format. To see OmniPage's layout retention capabilities, you should display the results in True Page view.
One purpose of the sample
files is to give you a benchmark of the program's ability. You should achieve
similar results when reading your own image files or scanned pages of
comparable quality. If this is not happening, please consult the scanner and
general troubleshooting hints in the documentation or on the Nuance web site.
Sample file with tables:
The program is supplied with
sample files. One of these contains two
tables. This is designed to show how tables are handled when saving to
Microsoft Excel. Save the file with formatting level ‘Spreadsheet’ to have the
page placed in one worksheet. Save it with formatting level “Formatted text” to
have each table placed in a separate worksheet along with an index worksheet
containing the non-table elements with links to the detected tables.