Converting Hard Copy Docs to Multi/Hyper Media

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2 total messages Started by Paul Werner Tue, 22 Dec 1992 13:37

#283

Author: Paul Werner
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 13:37

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Let me give you the scenario first and then my questions.  (NOTE:
the platform is restricted to either a PC or IBM RS/6000.)

	I would like to scan a user manual for one of our company's
	products.  Then I would like to OCR it and put it in some 
	desktop publishing/word processor format (the manual contains
	text and graphics so desktop publishing may be best).  
	Moreover, once it is OCR'd, I'd like to turn it into a 
	multi/hyper media format so that users can get quick access to 
	the info they need.  I would really like to add audio/video
	sequences to make certain parts easier to understand.

Okay, now for my questions:

	1.  Can you recommend any good scanners and scanning programs.
	    NOTE:  I would also like to scan slides and transparencies
	    (I have seen a flatbed scanner with a special attachment
	    which allows scanning slides, but would like recommendations
	    anyway.)

	2.  Can you recommend any good OCR programs.  It should be able
	    to handle multiple fonts, multiple columns, segregrating
	    text from graphics, multiple word processing/desktop publ.
	    formats, etc.

	3.  Is there any way to take the document just created via 
	    OCR and automatically turn it into a multi/hyper media
	    application?  For instance, could an ASCII file be run 
	    through a program which will turn it into a Toolbook
	    application (or any other multi/hyper media format)?

I'd appreciate any comments to these or other issues relating to this 
sort of project which I haven't raised.

Thanks,

Paul
-- 
               /| - Paul Werner, werner@ncs.com
>=====TTT=====| | 
   (( |||  ))  \| - It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing...
     ======                   Duke Ellington

Re: Converting Hard Copy Docs to Multi/Hyper Media

#284

Author: Paul Hertz
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 15:11

51 lines
2820 bytes

In article <1992Dec22.133710.22267@ncs.com>, werner@ncs.com (Paul Werner)
wrote:
> 
> 
> Let me give you the scenario first and then my questions.  (NOTE:
> the platform is restricted to either a PC or IBM RS/6000.)

OK, the advice I'm about to give is for the Mac, but (one hopes) the
platforms are converging towards the Power PC technology, so maybe it isn't
tooo off the wall.

There are plenty of good OCR products, and no end of scanners out there.
The Nikon slide scanner (which we use here) is _excellent_. Microtech has a
far more inexpensive slide scanner, without the same high resolution, which
you may not need anyway. We occasionally use OmniPage, which is also quite
good, and I think there is a PC version, as well.

> 	3.  Is there any way to take the document just created via 
> 	    OCR and automatically turn it into a multi/hyper media
> 	    application?  For instance, could an ASCII file be run 
> 	    through a program which will turn it into a Toolbook
> 	    application (or any other multi/hyper media format)?

Voyager's Expanded Book Toolkit for the Mac/HyperCard converts text
documents into HyperCard format. My understanding (haven't seen it in
action yet) is that it converts paragraphs to individual cards, retains
formatting such as bold and italic, and provides a wealth of hooks for
hypertext scripts, etc. I believe it opens Microsoft Word files, so you
should be able to port files from the PC environment easily (if the
roundabout sketched here really is a solution). You can convert HyperCard
stacks to ToolBook format using a utility from Heizer Software Exchange
(P.O. Box 232019, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523, 1-800-888-7667). Reports are
that it works okay, but requires subsequent tweaking, especially of
graphics. 

There probably aren't any truly automatic solutions for converting a
document to hypertext--all of them require you to edit and use authoring
tools, and possibly even get into scripting.

  /\\ | Paul Hertz 
/ \\  | Advanced Technology Group, Northwestern University
/ \/ \| 627 Dartmouth Place
\ /\//| Evanston, IL 60208
  /   | 
 \\// | Internet: paulhz@casbah.acns.nwu.edu

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