Defining an ICR/OCR Field and Grid

In this topic

• Change the comments field and grid defined in the previous topic to an ICR/OCR field and grid.

NOTE: The procedure in this topic requires a valid software license for the optional RealTime Character Recognition utilizing NestorReader module.

Terms (as they apply to ScanTools)

ICR: Intelligent Character Recognition reads hand print characters in a properly defined ScanTools graybox.

OCR: Optical Character Recognition reads machine print characters in a properly defined ScanTools graybox.

Concept

The RealTime Character Recognition utilizing NestorReader module reads machine and hand print and passes that data to ScanTools for data collection.

See the following Help topics for detailed information on RealTime Character Recognition utilizing NestorReader dialog boxs:

• View/Edit Selected ICR/OCR Graybox - Print Type
• Image Processing Parameters
• View/Edit Selected ICR/OCR Graybox - Content
• View/Edit Selected ICR/OCR Graybox - Output

CAUTION: If the first grid in the field is not a graybox, you cannot place a graybox edit on the field. Additionally, while you can append multiple grids to a single field, we do not support appending standard and ICR/OCR grayboxes to the same field, as the results are unpredictable.

Procedure

This topic continues the examples that we've been working in the other tutorial topics. To continue, you should have completed the previous topic and have the Form 223022 Practice application open.

1. Double-click the Comments grid to enable editing. The Comments grid becomes bright blue.
2. In the Graybox Tool Control Resolution group, change the setting from Standard Graybox to ICR/OCR Graybox.
3. Click ICR/OCR Parameters.
4. On this dialog box:
   1. In the Print Type drop-down box, select Hand Print. This will enable you to fill in some comments on your blank 223022 forms and scan them later.
   2. In the Geometry drop-down box, select Word.
   3. In the Characters Per Inch, leave the 0.000 entry. You should enter a figure only if you know the exact number of characters per inch.
5. Click Next.
6. On this dialog box:
   1. In the Country Language drop-down box, select the appropriate language.
   2. In the Character Type, you typically would want to select the character type with the fewest characters possible. Because we could encounter just about anything in our Comments graybox, select Numbers Symbols Alphabets (Upper and Lower). This selection reads just about anything, but it can slow things down. We deal with that in the next step.
   3. Check the Customize Type checkbox. The Characters text-box is enabled.
   4. In the Characters text-box, select only the symbols, then press the Delete key. This eliminates the symbols from character set and will speed up processing.
   5. Check the Punctuation Present checkbox. This indicates that the Comments field can contain commas or periods.
   6. Check the Context Checking checkbox. This helps the program distinguish between similar shapes.
7. Click Next to continue.
8. On this dialog box:
   1. In the Minimum Character Confidence box, enter 75. This indicates that we need to have only 75% confidence in the characters that Nestor reads. 75% is an acceptable confidence level for comments. However, if we were reading something more important, like the amount of a check, we would select 95% or higher.
   2. In the Format group, check Suppress Punctuation to eliminate punctuation from the data. Also select Left Justify and Space Fill. This will place the data all the way to the left in the field and will fill any space remaining with spaces.
9. Click Finish to complete ICR/OCR setup.
10. It's always a good idea to test your parameters while you are still designing the application. Fill in the Comment box on a blank 223022 Form with some comments. Place the form in your scanner, then click the Test Recognition button in the Graybox Tool Control. The form should scan.
11. Review the results and adjust your parameters as necessary.

Related topics in the ScanTools Plus Scanning Module Help system:

• Introduction to RealTime Character Recognition utilizing NestorReader
• Setting Up an Edit Profile for ICR/OCR Data
• Collecting and Editing ICR/OCR Data