Online OCR is a free picture to text converter that enables you to easily extract text and characters from digital images and scanned PDF documents including multiple page documents. Online OCR is easy to use and works right on your browser. No software download is required and you can even use it without registration.
There are different ways to use Online OCR in education. For instance, in language learning students can use it to extract target text from images and translate it to one’s own language. Students can use it to learn new vocabulary items and practice language in real-life contexts. OCR Online is also ideal for students with special needs especially those who are blind or have low vision. Teachers can extract text from digital images and scanned PDFs and use text-to-speech tools to have it read out-loud for them.
Besides its educational use, Online OCR is helpful when travelling to places where you don’t speak the local language. You can simply use your phone to grab images of street signs, plates, and directions..etc, extract text using Online OCR and translate it to English.
Online OCR allows you to extract text from various image types including JPG, BMP, and PNG. You can also extract text from digital camera captured images. Online OCR is also a good tool for converting PDF to WORD, PDF to Excel, PDF to DOC, and PDF to Image. You can convert files from mobile devices (e.g., iPhone or Android) or PC (e.g., Windows/Linux/MacOS). OCR supports three output formats: Microsoft Word (docx), Excel (xlsx), and Text Plain (txt).
How does Online OCR work?
Online OCR works in three simple steps: first select a file to upload (maximum file size is 15 mb for free users, 200 mb for registered users), then select language and output format, and click on Convert. If you use Online OCR without registration, that is, under Guest account, all your uploaded documents will be deleted automatically after conversion. ‘After the text is successfully recognized, links to the newly created output files appear in the user’s documents. You can either open the file for viewing or download it to your PC.’
You can always use Online OCR without registration, however, registered users have access to extra features including the ability to upload large files (max 200 mb), upload more than one file at once using ZIP archive, and output files as well as source documents are saved for one month.
How much does Online OCR cost?
Online OCR offers both free and paid plans. Free plan is limited in feature and offers only 15 pages per hour. Paid plan offers two subscriptions: Prepaid subscription which costs $7.95 and a monthly subscription for $29.95 per month.
I learned about Online OCR from a tweet by Alex Brogan.
