TURNING A SCANNED DOCUMENT INTO A WORD DOCUMENT VERY EASILY

TURNING A SCANNED DOCUMENT INTO A WORD DOCUMENT is fairly easy,

and this process will show you how to turn a sca n into editable text. For the purposes of this step-by-step procedure, I used Microsoft Word 2003 running on Windows XP Professional SP2, a Lexmark scanner and Adobe Photoshop.

             However, any scanner or version of Word should be fine, and Paint can be substituted in lieu of a more professional photo or image editor. 

INSTRUCTIONS THINGS YOU’LL NEED

Scanner

Microsoft Word

MS Paint or any photo editor

Microsoft Office Installation

CD (if needed).

 1 Prepare your document to be scanned. If possible,select the option to scan a black and white document. It is not required, however this will allow for a more accurate read of the text later on. After this is complete, scan the document.

 2 Open the file you’ve scanned with any type of image editor that can save .TIFF files. Microsoft Paint and Photoshop can both do this. Adjust the picture so that it is upright, if necessary. Click on "File," then click on "Save As,"

name your file, and next to "Format", save the file as a ".TIFF."

 3Click on the"Start" button.Go to "Programs >Microsoft Office >Microsoft Office Tools" and select " Microsoft Office Document

Imaging."

 4Click "File," then"Open." Open the folder where you saved

your scanned image, click on the file, then click "Open."

5 Go to "Tools"then click on " Send text to Word." It will prompt a message asking where to save the file (click on "Browse" to

choose where you want it to go), then click "OK." At this point, it may prompt a warning that it will take a while to process. The overallprocess shouldn’t take more than a minute or two. Additionally, it may prompt to install the feature that allows the Word conversion to work. In this instance, you may need a copy of

your Microsoft OfficeInstallation CD, as it may prompt for it as well.

 6 Look for your file to open in Word automatically once the process is complete. If it does not, go to the folder where you saved it, and open the file from there. The

document will not be the exact format of the original document, but it will recognize all the words and lay them out for you automatically