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OCR PDFs Previously Processed by Third-Party Apps

Explains how to run the OCR feature in Foxit PDF Editor on a document that was already processed by third-party OCR software.

Answer

Background

When working with PDF documents that have been previously processed by third-party OCR software, such as ABBYY FineReader, you may encounter compatibility issues when using Foxit PDF Editor's OCR feature. This can result in duplicate text content and search results.

Issue Overview

Documents processed with third-party OCR applications may not be recognized by Foxit PDF Editor as already containing OCR-ed text. Attempting to apply OCR again can lead to duplicate text layers within the document.

Recommended Solutions

To ensure proper text recognition, follow the steps outlined below:

Solution 1: Use the Original Non-OCR-ed Document

If you have access to the original scanned document that has not been processed with OCR, follow these steps:

  1. Open the original scanned document in Foxit PDF Editor.
  2. Navigate to Convert > Recognize Text.
  3. Follow the prompts to apply OCR and recognize the text content.

Solution 2: Re-process the Existing OCR-ed Document

If the original non-OCR-ed document is unavailable, you can remove existing text objects and reapply OCR using the following method:

  1. Print the Document as an Image:
    • Open the OCR-processed PDF document in Foxit PDF Editor.
    • Go to File > Print (Or Click on Print icon in the top bar).
    • In the Print dialog, select "Foxit PDF Editor printer" as the printer.
    • Check the option "Print as image."
    • Set Print Handling to "Fit to printer margins."
    • In the "Page Settings" window, select "A4 or other size" as the page size and click "OK."
    • Click "OK" to save the document as a new PDF file.
  2. Apply OCR to the New Document:
    • Open the newly generated PDF document in Foxit PDF Editor.
    • Navigate to Convert > Recognize Text.
    • Follow the prompts to apply OCR and recognize the text content.

By following these steps, you can ensure that the text is properly recognized in Foxit PDF Editor, avoiding duplicate text layers and ensuring accurate search results.