Gone are the days when you had to type every single word manually to edit or convert image files to editable text. I really used to hate it when there were no software to extract text from images like from scanned images or diagrams. We had to write down the text manually. But technology has made our life more easier in many ways. As a result, today we have a huge list of OCR softwares which help us in converting image files to editable text files.
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OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, those software which have the ability to convert PNG, jpg, TIFF images or any other image file that contains text to editable text. OCR software are blessing for us. They really make our work quick and comfortable.
These software are powerful tools and are available for many devices. For Windows and Mac there are a number of OCR softwares available but it’s very important to know which is good one. To make your decision-making process a little easy, I’m gonna tell you about some great OCR softwares for Windows and Mac. These Top 7 free OCR software for Windows & Mac are some of the best OCR software and the best thing is that these applications are free to download.
So, let’s have a look at these softwares details and you can download your favorite one.
1. FreeOCR
FreeOCR is one of the best Optical Character recognition software. It is a great tool which lets you to convert any image file that contains text to editable text format in no time. The application includes Windows Tesseract therefore you need not to download any extra file.
FreeOCR supports many image formats like PNG, jpg, TIFF images etc. Its clean and easy to use interface gives to best experience to extract text rom image file. The extracting text process is really quick and you can get extracted text within few seconds.
To extract text rom image file just open the file and click OCR and you work will be done with these two clicks only. You can also select specific area if you want to extract text only from there. FreeOCR is free and you can download it rom here.
2. TopOCR
TopOCR is another great optical character recognition (OCR) software. You can covert jpg, tiff , gif, bmp etc. to text files using this software. It lets you change the image settings like brightness, contrast, color, sharpen etc. to enhance the readability of the image so that the output text files comes with high accuracy. You can also set camera filter. The converted files can be saved in many formats such as HTML, TXT, RTF and many more. TopOCR also supports 11 languages.
Converting image files is very easy process. You only need to open or scan the image. Next step is to click OCR tab present in the menu bar. The software contains two windows , one for image and the second one is for text.
3. OnlineOCR.net
OnlineOCR is a free internet service which enables you to convert image files containing text to text files. Benefit of this is you do not need to download and install any software to your system. You only need to browse OnlineOCR.net and work on it without spending money. It can convert camera captured images, scanned documents and so on.
To convert files you need to import files, select language and output format, at last click “convert” button. You can save the output in PDF, Excel, Text, Word and HTML format. One user can only convert 25 pages. You also need to sign up and login before performing any function.
4. SimpleOCR
SimpleOCR is a freeware which helps you convert image files to text files. You can scan the files you want to convert or you can open the specific image(GIF, TIFF, BMP and many more )to convert it to text files. There is also in-built spell-checker in the software. The software is available or free but if you want to work on hand-writing documents then trial version is only for 14 days, after the limited period of time you will need to purchase it.
Accuracy of SimpleOCR’s output is not that good. It also doesn’t support columns, table and image format.Negative point is that it doesn’t support PDF file format.
5. gImageReader
gImageReader is easy to use front end OCR software. Its interface is user-friendly and interactive. This tool can easily extract text from the images which contain some text in them. You can scan or directly open the desired file to convert it. Or you can simply take screenshot of the image. Conversion process is quite fast. The procedure to extract text is very simple.
First you need to open the file you want to extract text from. Next click “Autodetect layout” or you simply right-click on the image and select “Recognise to clipboard” and you text will be copied to the clipboard. You can also select a specific area by dragging mouse to extract text only from selected area. Overall gImageReader is a nice OCR tool which is available for free to download.
6. Microsoft OneNote
Microsot OneNote is a great note-making application. Not only note-making but it is also excellent in extracting text from images. Text extraction from images using this application is very simple and easy. Just insert the files using Insert option, once the file is opened right-click on the image and select Copy text from picture option, this is all you need to do and the text will be copied to the clipboard. However, it is not able to extract text from complicated images with tables and sections.
Microsoft OneNote is available for Windows 10, 8, 7 and vista, Mac.
7. Wondershare PDFelement
Wondershare PDFelement is all-in-one desktop software which helps you to convert PDF files to editable text. You can convert any PDF file to Microsoft word, Powerpoint, Excel format conveniently. The software contains in-built image enhancement tool which improves the image’s readability. It also lets you to add objects. image and comments. The software is also able to merge or split multiple PDF files.
You can also secure your files by setting password. You can set password to the specific file so that no one else can open your confidential files. The output quality generated by Wondershare PDFelement is average. It is all free to download.
So, these were some free OCR softwares. I hope the list of Top 7 free OCR software for Windows & Mac helped you in some ways. Comment below the OCR software you liked most. And if you know about other OCR application, please mention in the comment box.
Optical Character Recognition software or OCR programs are capable of converting images to a digital form, which can be edited easily without the need of retyping the text all over again. In other word, it’s like a picture to text converter. By utilizing OCR function, you can turn the text from an image to text format which you can modify anytime you prefer later on. However, not all PDF viewers have this kind of function, so we compiled this list to you, and named the top 5 programs that support OCR technology to create a post where you can always refer to.
| OCR Program Name | Platform Availability | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat Pro | Windows, Mac | $449 |
| OmniPage Standard | Windows | $149 |
| Abbyy Fine Reader | Windows, Mac | $196 |
| Online OCR | Windows, Mac | Free |
List of the 5 Best OCR Software to Use
Adobe Acrobat Pro
This program does not need any further introduction since it is one of the most commonly used programs related to PDF. Some users think about this app as a PDF viewer, while in fact it can also provide more functions like OCR function. With this app, users can turn any PDF or other graphic file to text, as well. In terms of output, it supports tables, columns, and graphics.
Moreover, this tool also provides editing functions like modifying text, inserting images, or functions to help you manage your PDF pages. Other features that it offers include managing watermarks and placing signature. It currently serves as an OCR software for Mac and Windows OS, as well.
Free Microsoft Ocr Software Download
OmniPage Standard
Another OCR software that you can utilize is OmniPage. This program supports every type of PDF documents as well as images taken from known iOS devices, like iPhone and iPad. It has an easy to use interface for navigating between your files. Plus, it is capable of properly converting tables, columns, bullets, and graphics into the desired output file.
Besides these, OmniPage also has image editing property that can help users to rotate, adjust the brightness, contrast, etc. It currently supports 120 languages and can handle multiple images.
Abbyy Fine Reader Standard
This program aims to accurately convert PDFs and other scanned files into formats that support text manipulation, such as Word, Excel, and so on. The conversion accuracy is good, plus it allows easier proofreading, and it has a fine reader that recognizes those texts that are in decorative fonts.
Editing text, fonts, and picture are also available in this app along with options to manage metadata, fill forms, do text and table extraction, etc.
Online OCR
The last on our list is a web-based free OCR converter, called Online OCR. This site gives you the ability to turn scanned PDF files, photographs, and even actual image shots from a digital camera into a modifiable digital version. With this program, you can select a file, choose a language that you prefer along with the desired text format, like Word and docx. After choosing your best option, you can simply click “Convert”.
There is a file size limit of 5MB for uploading and conversion, and users have to enter a captcha code before each conversion. Plus if you desire to convert large images and ZIP archives, as well as use other settings, you have to sign up and create an account to get access to these additional features.
Our Verdict & Recommendations
These are the paid and free OCR software that you can utilize anytime for the best results. As you can see, Online OCR becomes useful especially if you need to process a single file only. However, it has file size limitations and requires you to sign in to access additional functions.
In terms of paid softwares Adobe Acrobat Pro, OmniPage, and Abbyy Fine Reader Standard are those that you can rely on the most. These OCR software are capable of rendering the most decent file outputs out of a PDF or any other graphics file.
Best Ocr Software Free Mac Version
