Is Textbridge still available? Thread poster: Mary Lalevee
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Mary Lalevee 
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:09
French to English
Hallo there,
I have been using Textbridge to convert scanned pages into text I can edit for the past 9 years. I have had to upgrade my computer and now have Word 7. The CD Roms I have for Textbridge don't work with the new system. Scansoft, the company which sold this, doesn't seem to exist any more and Google searches take me to a company called Nuance here in the UK.
Does anyone know if Textbridge is still available or if it has been replaced by something?
... See more Hallo there,
I have been using Textbridge to convert scanned pages into text I can edit for the past 9 years. I have had to upgrade my computer and now have Word 7. The CD Roms I have for Textbridge don't work with the new system. Scansoft, the company which sold this, doesn't seem to exist any more and Google searches take me to a company called Nuance here in the UK.
Does anyone know if Textbridge is still available or if it has been replaced by something?
It is something I use at least once a week to convert text so it is pretty vital for me. The usual PDF converter files just seem to create images that you can't work in. With Textbridge, you scan the pages and the software converts them to a Word file you can work in.
Mary ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I don't know about Textbridge, but... | Nov 13, 2010 |
If you fail to get hold of Textbridge, there are other options. I can recommend ABBYY FineReader. I use this a lot and you can use it to scan PDFs but also scan using a scanner. Then you can save in Word, Excel or as a PDF. You can choose how much of the layout you want to keep, from exact copy to plain text. There are many settings and usefull features.
 Jørgen
| | | | Mary Lalevee
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:09
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for that suggestion Jorgen. I will look into it.
Mary
PS I have just been looking at this and it seems that the software that is the same as Textbridge is the ABBYY Scan to Office utility. In other words, you scan the doc and it creates a Word document. It is a lot cheaper than the ABBYY FineReader. Are there advantages in buying the FineReader software? (three times the price!!)
[Edited at 2010-11-13 20:22 GMT]
| | | | Russell Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:09
Italian to English
| Online options | Nov 13, 2010 |
Hi Mary
I faced a similar problem to you when I changed to Windows 7 on a new computer.
For the limited quantity of pdfs etc. I have to deal with, rather than paying for Abby Finereader, I have started using online OCR providers su... See more Hi Mary
I faced a similar problem to you when I changed to Windows 7 on a new computer.
For the limited quantity of pdfs etc. I have to deal with, rather than paying for Abby Finereader, I have started using online OCR providers such as:
http://www.free-ocr.com/ or
http://www.pdftoword.com/Default.aspx
A similar question in the Italian forum this week alerted me to another site that looks even more promising, because it retains the original formatting:
https://www.ocrterminal.com/dashboard/
I haven't tried using the result with a CAT tool yet but see no reason why it shouldn't work.
Good luck ▲ Collapse
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| ocr and pdf-to-word converters | Nov 13, 2010 |
Hi,
I do not manage pdf files so often, but, up to now, the solutions I took to cope up with the matter were as follows:
-free online ocr (mentioned by the previous poster). You can then work on the file, provided you are ready to make little adjustments (there may be some slight mistakes in the output text).
-pdf to word converters. It is a good solution: it gives you a word or .txt text you can work on. When you use it, just make sure the pdf source file is not... See more Hi,
I do not manage pdf files so often, but, up to now, the solutions I took to cope up with the matter were as follows:
-free online ocr (mentioned by the previous poster). You can then work on the file, provided you are ready to make little adjustments (there may be some slight mistakes in the output text).
-pdf to word converters. It is a good solution: it gives you a word or .txt text you can work on. When you use it, just make sure the pdf source file is not protected (i.e. the content is accessible)
-for small documents only, and when none of the above solution can be applied: simply acquire the text from the pdf (cut and paste), but be ready to a little "edit job" to have a word document equal to the source.
Kind Regards
Roberto ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mary Lalevee
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:09
French to English
TOPIC STARTER | Protected PDF files | Nov 14, 2010 |
Hi Russell and Roberto,
Thanks for your suggestions. The problem is, 99% of the PDF files I am sent ARE protected so the usual PDF converters simply don't work. All they do is give me an image of the file which I can't work in. Copying and pasting also doesn't work with these files.
So I need to be sure that a program will actually create a Word doc from a protected PDF file before I invest any money in it. I'm already broke after buying a new hard drive, paying someon... See more Hi Russell and Roberto,
Thanks for your suggestions. The problem is, 99% of the PDF files I am sent ARE protected so the usual PDF converters simply don't work. All they do is give me an image of the file which I can't work in. Copying and pasting also doesn't work with these files.
So I need to be sure that a program will actually create a Word doc from a protected PDF file before I invest any money in it. I'm already broke after buying a new hard drive, paying someone to do all the tricky bits, having to buy a new scanner because my existing one just won't work with Word 7. etc.
The annoying thing with Textbridge was having to print the doc out, then scan it, but it worked. I got a doc (without the formatting) but I could use it and avoid having to retype all those names and addressess.
I hadn't realised that hardware would not necessarily work with a nnew operating system, OK maybe I'm the last person in the world who didn't know this, but I'm upset!! My technical guy tried for two hours to get the scanner to work, trying all kinds of things, downloading software from the internet etc etc, but no joy. I only bought it last year.
I don't use CAT tools by the way Russell. I just haven't got the energy to struggle with new software on my own. I have seen the number of queries posted on Proz about Trados etc and I just KNOW I would be tearing my hair out within ten minutes if I tried one.
Best wishes from
Mary ▲ Collapse
| | | | | There is a ton of other options! | Nov 14, 2010 |
Mary Lalevee wrote:
I don't use CAT tools by the way Russell. I just haven't got the energy to struggle with new software on my own. I have seen the number of queries posted on Proz about Trados etc and I just KNOW I would be tearing my hair out within ten minutes if I tried one.
Maybe this feeling is something you'd like to examine in more depth. You probably mistake "CAT Tool" for "Trados", but there is a whole range of products out there, in most cases a lot simpler to use than Trados.
Seeing that buying a hard drive and paying a technician means a significant expense on your end, I cannot help to wonder whether your situation would be a lot different if you bought and learnt to use a CAT tool, since a vast majority of agencies and even some direct customers already expect their translators to be able to use some CAT tool. I am quite sure that using a CAT tool would direct a lot more interesting business your way.
| | | | NMR (X)
France
Local time: 20:09
French to Dutch
+ ...
| Maybe you are doing too much? | Nov 14, 2010 |
I agree with Tomas on the use of CAT tools. But in your situation, if you don't use CAT-tools, why do you insist on having a source file? Does your client ask you to deliver a source file?
If PDFs cannot be "broken down" into text files, I just split my screen and type the translation into a Word file. The legal translators I know work in the same way.
If there are lots of pages, I even don't print them out. Trying to scan them seems odd to me, and lots of work, even if my scanner/pr... See more I agree with Tomas on the use of CAT tools. But in your situation, if you don't use CAT-tools, why do you insist on having a source file? Does your client ask you to deliver a source file?
If PDFs cannot be "broken down" into text files, I just split my screen and type the translation into a Word file. The legal translators I know work in the same way.
If there are lots of pages, I even don't print them out. Trying to scan them seems odd to me, and lots of work, even if my scanner/printer came with OCR-software.
Good luck. ▲ Collapse
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| Advantages of FineReader | Nov 14, 2010 |
Mary Lalevee wrote:
Are there advantages in buying the FineReader software? (three times the price!!)
Without knowing what oither programs can do, I like FineReader because it lets you tweak the scanning; exclude certain parts of the text, change scan mode between text, picture and table (selecting the mode for each scan area of the document). It also includes choice of recognition language(s), spellchecking and error checking - the program marks the words it's not sure of and lets you choose the correct option by showing you what it thinks it says and how it looks in the original.
Abbyy also has a smaller and cheaper PDF convertion application, called PDF Transformer.
I am not familiar with ScanTo Office.
Jørgen
[Edited at 2010-11-14 10:49 GMT]
| | | | Mary Lalevee
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:09
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.
The reason I do this is because I type very slowly so it is easier for me to work in an existing file rather than create a new one.
When I mentioned Trados I meant all CAT tools. I'm sure they are very useful and would have no objection to using them if I had someone nearby to help me if I had problems. I don't have that. I also do not need to do it for the files I work on. I have no shortage of work.
I hope tha... See more Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.
The reason I do this is because I type very slowly so it is easier for me to work in an existing file rather than create a new one.
When I mentioned Trados I meant all CAT tools. I'm sure they are very useful and would have no objection to using them if I had someone nearby to help me if I had problems. I don't have that. I also do not need to do it for the files I work on. I have no shortage of work.
I hope that answers everything everyone said! Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
Mary ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mary Lalevee
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:09
French to English
TOPIC STARTER | ABBYY FineReader | Nov 15, 2010 |
Hallo again,
well I decdied to go for ABBYY FineReader and it is FANTASTIC. Thanks so much for the recommendation Jorgen.
Mary
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