Q. How can I OCR a PDF I have scanned?

The OCR software we recommend in the Scholars' Lab is called ABBYY FineReader. FineReader 12 Professional software supports recognition of 190 languages for OCR and PDF conversion in any language combination, including significantly improved OCR for Asian languages.

If you are scanning directly from a hard copy, open ABBYFineReader on any public desktop in the Scholars' Lab, and follow its prompts to create a searchable/editable scan that you can save in a file format of your choice.

There are licenses for ABBYY FineReader Professional 12 on all of the Scholars' Lab public machines, or you can purchase a copy for yourself at www.abbyy.com. If you'd like to try it out first, you can download a free trial or use the online version. PLEASE NOTE: the Lab has purchased educational licenses for ABBYY Fine Reader, so NetBadge AUTHENTICATION IS REQUIRED to access it.