ABBYY Says FineReader 7.0 OCR Boosts Accuracy 25 Percent Improved Layout Retention, Word 2003 Integration Eric Grevstad
Mon 9/8/03 -- Microsoft Word 2003 hasn't even shipped yet, but version 7.0 of ABBYY's FineReader optical character recognition software offers special Word 2003 support, letting users simultaneously view the original scanned image while editing an imported document or export a recognized document in Word 2003 XML format. The program can also recognize printed PowerPoint handouts and export them to PowerPoint 2003 or XP.
The main enhancement in FineReader 7.0, however, is an average 25-percent increase in recognition accuracy when scanning paper documents into PC files -- with an even more impressive 45-percent improvement, the company says, when converting Adobe Acrobat PDF files. The program provides improved layout retention, including tables without printed grid lines and lists with bullets and separators, and supports new Pentium 4 processors' Hyper-Threading Technology.
FineReader 7.0 Professional Edition is priced at $299 ($149 as an upgrade from any OCR program). The Corporate Edition, targeted to busy networked environments, is $499 ($399 upgrade).
