Scanner and OCR

I have a list which I took photocopied from a catalogue - the list is in alphabetic order of song title .
The artist is also shown and I wish to create a second list in alphabetic order using the artist name as the main alphabetical source.
I understand that if I buy a scanner with OCR software installed I can create a file which I can convert to XL therefore creating my new alphabetical listing based on artist (as opposed to song title), I would appreciate any input which can both confirm this is possible and also tell me the steps to take.
My windows system is XP.

Edited by shirianuk, 17 May 2010 - 05:24 PM.

By XL, I guess that you mean that you want to create an Excel file (or some database file).

http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_scan_a_document_into_excel.html

I can't envision any way of doing what you want...without initially creating the database file from scratch. Either MS Access or MS Excel would then yield a manipulable database. The fact that you have a list...as opposed to actually have files reflecting the data classifications...is the limitation that I see.

A photocopy is just a picture...what's the file extension on this?

Louis

Thanks for replying,
I understand (and believe me- I am no expert), that with OCR software I can "Create word processing files from scanned documents with Optical Character Recognition software."
This quote is pulled directly from the HP Scanjet G3110 blurb.
I stated I wanted Excel files but all I need is a list that I can convert alphabetically from 'Song Title'(A to Z) to 'Artist '(A to Z).
e.g.

This is how my current list displays:

32154 A New Day Neil Diamond
32090 Best Times Abba

(in which the song title creates the listing order (alphabetically).

I want it to read by artist - therefore;

32090 Best Times Abba
32154 A New Day Neil Diamond.

This would enable people to look up the artist rather than the song title.

Sorry if this seems very basic but it is the easiest way to describe what I want. My thoughts are that if I can create a 'word' or 'excel' file by scanning my list then I can rearrange the list alphabetically by choosing a different column for me to sort.

A photocopy is just a picture...what's the file extension on this?

A text image scanned using an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) program can be converted into an editable text file.

shirianuk,
If your scanner doesn't come with it, here's a list of free OCR programs you can check out:
http://www.freeocr.net/

Thanks for that

You're welcome, shirianuk.
Hope you're able to accomplish what you want.

Thanks for the correction, TG1911 .

I haven't tried OCR apps in quite a few years and had totally written them off mentally (because I previously thought they were not worth the trouble it took to edit/correct the output). I suspect they are better than I remember them from my prior efforts.

I've done a bit of research on this now...and it appears that various OCR programs profess the capability to scan and produce Excel files.

The following may be of more useful information for what you want to accomplish: Scan To Excel Guide.

Happy hunting .

Louis

No problem, Louis.
That's what we're here for; to learn.

I hadn't even heard of ORC, until a couple of years ago.
Sounded interesting, researched it a little, even used it a couple of times.
It does have it's uses.

Thank you Hamluis and tq1911, for both your honesty and the fact that both of you now think I may have a solution. I appreciate the help from both of you. I guess this is what forums such as this are designed for.

Just an additional thought. How about trying to take a picture of that list with a digital camera and then try using one of these free software OCR programs before you go the scanning route? In fact, some of these are specifically designed to identify text embedded in images taken by digital cameras.: http://www.simpopdf.com/resource/top-5-free-ocr-software-tools-to-convert-images-to-text.html

 

This may be a longshot but it might work and save you some bucks too!

Edited by anyrepli, 07 May 2013 - 04:12 AM.

Update: If you can get a digital image of that information, I found a site that can extract the embedded text for you here: http://www.free-ocr.com/

I just tried it by creating a list of words (inside an image) and it was able to extract the text perfectly.

Edited by anyrepli, 07 May 2013 - 04:25 AM.