A software to convert handwriting to computerized/digital format

hi guys,

Is there any software which convert handwritting to digital/computerized or ms word format i mean when a doctor write some medicines to the patients that writing is very hard to understand, i just saw a movie i don't remember the name i think machine ghost or something like that, there a computer geek used that software to get phone dairy numbers....i hope u got what i wanna say....thx


Xarif

any font software can be used, really. write out all the chars, scan, trace to vector, export as ai and import as individual chars. Some Vector apps (Corel Draw, for one) will export in ttf.

there are a number of such dedicated apps. here is one for $9.

Hi Xarif,

It sounds like you want OCR software. Every scanner sold has OCR software included and they output to several file formats. Don't count on 100% recognition, but if you output to Word format and enable auto-correct in Word it can help.

BTW the letters OCR mean Optical Character Recognition.

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Originally Posted by Soquili

...Don't count on 100% recognition, ...

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...i mean when a doctor write some medicines to the patients that writing is very hard to understand...

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Don't even count on 5% recognition. :rolleyes:

Even the doctor that wrote the prescription cannot recogize what was written after a five minute lapse :D

I remember many years ago that I was going to make my fortune by creating a handwriting recognition program that I would call "write stuff". This was on a Tatung Einstien using CPM (?).

It never got past the planing stage mainly due to the fact that I couldn't afford a scanner way back then, but it was pretty fundamental to any OCR requirements.

So the whole thing never passed home base but I had great fun and a lot of deep thinking trying to develop my idea.

Whilst OCR programs generally work exceedingly well with scanned printed matter, they are rubbish at handwriting recognition. I'm not sure what works better ~ Voice or Handwriting recognition programs ~ I think the Voice recognition just tips the scales.

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Originally Posted by Egg Bramhill

I remember many years ago that I was going to make my fortune by creating a handwriting recognition program that I would call "write stuff". This was on a Tatung Einstien using CPM (?).

It never got past the planing stage mainly due to the fact that I couldn't afford a scanner way back then, but it was pretty fundamental to any OCR requirements.

So the whole thing never passed home base but I had great fun and a lot of deep thinking trying to develop my idea.

Whilst OCR programs generally work exceedingly well with scanned printed matter, they are rubbish at handwriting recognition. I'm not sure what works better ~ Voice or Handwriting recognition programs ~ I think the Voice recognition just tips the scales.

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CP/M? Z80? 1983? Ah yes I remember it well.....

If memory also serves didn't the RoyalMail trial a system to read handwritten postcodes - whatever happened to that?

Yep, you've got it Steve.

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If memory also serves didn't the RoyalMail trial a system to read handwritten postcodes - whatever happened to that?

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A bit like the Royal Mail .......... it didn't work!

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Originally Posted by Egg Bramhill

A bit like the Royal Mail .......... it didn't work!

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Well strike me - how can you say such a thing.....:D

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Originally Posted by Egg Bramhill

I remember many years ago that I was going to make my fortune by creating a handwriting recognition program that I would call "write stuff". This was on a Tatung Einstien using CPM (?).

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Hey Egg thanks for the trip down memory Lane :) I used to have the Tatung Einstien too - even had a massive 10 meg hard disk for it which connected via the Tatung pipe, happy days.

Doesn't Microsoft's operating systems for tablet pc's include a real-time system for converting hand printing to text? Seems to me you need only use a stylus on the tablet touch screen and the input gets converted with reasonable accuracy.

Even earlier Apple sold the handheld 'Newton' device that did it too. Given those technologies you'd think there must be some software out there that could do OCR on handwriting.

Regards, Ross

I'd bet there's some interesting stuff in these search results:
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&sa...ng+ocr&spell=1

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Originally Posted by Ross Macintosh

Doesn't Microsoft's operating systems for tablet pc's include a real-time system for converting hand printing to text? Seems to me you need only use a stylus on the tablet touch screen and the input gets converted with reasonable accuracy.

Even earlier Apple sold the handheld 'Newton' device that did it too. Given those technologies you'd think there must be some software out there that could do OCR on handwriting.

Regards, Ross

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In the early 1990s, handwriting recognition was the wave of the future, and attracted a lot of money. I still have the 1991 Momenta introduction press kit -- it was one of maybe a dozen competing tablet computers. The 386-based, $5k Momenta had exceedingly marginal recognition and the company winked out the next year. Several similar companies and similar pen computers came and went, feasting on venture capital.

Microsoft stayed with it, as it has done with speech recognition. The Microsoft-based code for the software with the Logitech io2 pen is surprisingly good, given my marginal handwriting. I don't know the status of the USPO recognition program... I think it's still going.

But for doctors and for scripts? I wish, I really wish. Soquili is right. There's a move to have docs use hand-helds and software with drop-down lists, but even that has its drawbacks, since so many medicines have similar names.

Here's that pen DGehman mentioned: Logitech io2
It looks cool...