[blindLaw] OCR Software

[Tai Tomasi]

Al,

Can read Iris process sub folders, or only files in the specified main folder?  I’m learning that most batch OCR appears to only work on files in a folder but not suvfolders. 

Tai Tomasi, J.D., M.P.A.
Email: tai.tomasi8 at gmail.com
Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse my brevity and any grammatical errors.

> On May 10, 2021, at 11:14 AM, ALBERT ELIA via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Syed – Congratulations on the firm gig.
> 
> With respect to OCR software, it is a matter of preference. I haven’t used Windows software in years, but in the past I liked using Kurzweil 1000 because it not only provided full accessibility of all features, but also offered a choice between two recognition engines (ScanSoft and ABBYY), since different engines have different costs and benefits with respect to time and accuracy. Kurzweil also offered better navigation and precise location information within an OCR’d document than other programs. Many folks don’t ask for K1000 because of the price tag, but one of the things I learned when I went to a firm is that any technology that makes you a more efficient biller is easily justifiable and cost effective after only a few weeks. After all, you are the most expensive resource there.
> 
> That said, while I know that OmniPage and ABBYY are frequently used by folks on this list, I personally prefer ReadIris. I am only familiar with the mac version, but there is also a Windows version, and it has some really nice features that recommend it: First, it is fast. Much faster, in my experience, than ABBYY, with similar accuracy. Second, if you purchase the corporate version, you can configure it to automatically watch a directory and batch-OCR every PDF that you drop into that folder automatically. That way if you get a bunch of PDFs you need to convert, you just drop them into that folder and do other work while ReadIris processes them in the background without you having to check every few minutes and start the next document. ReadIris also lets you specify whether you want to process an entire document or only a page range when you import a file. That can be important when you’re dealing with massive PDFs (we had a 3200 page PDF in a recent case), where trying to process the entire PDF at once may crash the OCR system and potentially fill up your hard drive with temporary files.
> 
> 
> Finally, I want to reiterate what others have said regarding befriending the legal assistants and paralegals, and asking for eyeball-assistance where needed. In most cases, we have each gotten to where we are by being self-reliant and not asking others to see things for us. Certainly that independence is important in any career, including law. However, sighted attorneys, including senior partners, rely on paraprofessionals to proofread their work and format it for the particular requirements of, say, this or that court’s margin/spacing/font rules. That is not to say you can just blithely ignore formatting, spelling, and the like: It simply means that requesting such  assistance is not likely to reflect poorly on your competence, and you may want to request it earlier in the process (before, say, sending it to a supervising attorney for review).
> 
> On a note unrelated to OCR, you may want to ask what systems the firm uses for case, file, and practice management: Most of those systems have access barriers. Others on this list may be able to provide tips from experience on using such systems.
> 
> I hope this is helpful to you and others. Congratulations again, and best of luck!
> 
> Yours,
> 
> /Æ
> 
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