Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)  SOLVED

Discussion for the End User use of OCR in PDF-XChange Editor and Viewer

Moderators: TrackerSupp-Daniel, Tracker Support, Paul - Tracker Supp, Vasyl-Tracker Dev Team, Chris - Tracker Supp, Sean - Tracker, Ivan - Tracker Software, Tracker Supp-Stefan

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DIV
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Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by DIV »

Hi, Tracker staff.

I'm confused about the status of the Enhanced OCR feature.
Some time ago I was also confused, and got some clarification per
viewtopic.php?f=63&t=33714&p=139592&hil ... ce#p139592
and
viewtopic.php?f=62&t=35631&p=148394&hil ... ce#p148394 ,
but I suspect that the current situation could be somehow different.

My vague recollection/impression/experience was along the following lines
  • originally the Enhanced OCR feature was an optional (paid) add-on, and was a separate download;
  • as kind of a marketing campaign, the Enhanced OCR feature was occasionally offered as a free bonus;
  • in 2020 I chose to pay a little more for the Enhanced OCR add-on, so I got a licence for "PDF-XChange Editor (OCR)";
  • later the enhanced OCR capabilities were bundled into Editor Plus, not requiring a separate download;
  • in 2022 I got a licence for "PDF-XChange Editor Plus", but am unable to find the enhanced OCR functionality.
The current help instructions for OCR online say that I should be able to select "Enhanced" under "Current OCR-Engine" in the preferences.
https://help.pdf-xchange.com/pdfxe ... es_ed.html
However I cannot make any selection: only "Default" is shown, greyed out.

Also, the OCR dialogue box characteristics match up to the default engine: under Output Options the Type is stuck on "Searchable Image", there is no option to "Draw lines for tables", and "Enhanced" is not shown in the title bar.

I have version 9.2, build 358.0, installed as a portable version on Windows 8.1. The licence is a new version-9 licence, generated in January 2022. I restarted the application after updating the licence.

What am I missing?

The Enhanced OCR feature is still described as a "Plugin" on the main website
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/product/ocr-plugin
making it sound like it would need to be separately downloaded (rather than bundled in Editor Plus). But I don't see anywhere to download it as a separate Plugin.

—DIV
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Paul - Tracker Supp
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Re: Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)  SOLVED

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

Hi Div,

the Enhanced OCR uses licensed libraries that need to ne paid for. This is why it only comes with the additional price tag, be that Plus or whatever. We need to report the usage and the portable cannot do so and as such does not enjoy having Enhanced OCR.

I am afraid that you are limited to installed instances for using EOCR.
Best regards

Paul O'Rorke
Tracker Support North America
http://www.tracker-software.com
DIV
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Re: Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by DIV »

Thanks for clarifying that, Paul.

In fact — after eliminating a few other explanations — I was wondering if that might be the case.

It may be documented somewhere, although I didn't notice it.

Can I make the following related suggestion?

Currently on the Downloads page
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/product/downloads/enduser/pdf-xchange-editor
for Editor Plus the available options in the drop-down box are

...
Editor Plus Portable Version | 88.2 MB
Editor Plus Portable Version (No OCR) | 51.1 MB
...

Perhaps this could be adjusted to something like

...
Editor Plus Portable Version (default OCR only) | 88.2 MB
Editor Plus Portable Version (no OCR) | 51.1 MB
...

—DIV
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Re: Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by Radi - Tracker Supp »

Hi DIV,

Thanks for your suggestion. I'll forward it to the appropriate team for consideration.

Regards,
Radi
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David.P
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Re: Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by David.P »

Hello all,
Paul - Tracker Supp wrote: Mon Mar 07, 2022 3:35 pm [...]
the Enhanced OCR uses licensed libraries that need to be paid for. This is why it only comes with the additional price tag, be that Plus or whatever. We need to report the usage and the portable cannot do so and as such does not enjoy having Enhanced OCR.

I am afraid that you are limited to installed instances for using EOCR.
Is the above still valid?

I would very much like to use Enhanced OCR also in the portable version.

To my knowledge, the licensing system of PDF-XChange Editor has been fully implemented also in the portable version in the meantime.

So a portable Enhanced OCR can now maybe be made available?

Best regards
David
David.P
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Re: Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

Hi David,

the issue is in the nature of a "portable app". We need to report the devices these libraries are installed on and cannot do that with a portable I am afraid.
Best regards

Paul O'Rorke
Tracker Support North America
http://www.tracker-software.com
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David.P
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Re: Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by David.P »

Hello Paul,

thanks for the information.

This is about a work computer on which I do not have administrator rights, and thus can not easily install updates for PDF-XChange Editor as soon as they become available.

I will then proceed to use the portable version (which I can keep up to date at all times), and have the IT department additionally install the installed version, including advanced OCR (and including PDF Tools), which I shall then use mainly for OCR tasks.

I would hope that this dual installation on the same machine does not require two separate licenses?

Best regards
David
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Re: Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello David.P,

If it is the same windows account for the installed version + the portable one you will be updating - it will indeed be counted only once.

Kind regards,
Stefan
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Re: Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by David.P »

That's awesome, thanks Stefan!
Best regards
David
:)
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Enhanced OCR & Editor / Editor Plus (portable)

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

:)
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