Word

[Chris M]

I just scanned 18 pages to PDF, then converted to docx. The theory was to tidy up the pages and look like a superstar to a local history group.

I cranked up Word and loaded the first page. Have you ever started something, then instantly regretted it?

Manipulating multiple objects in a Flexible Block whilst holding a baby, four kittens and a bowl of soup would be a walk in the park compared to foolishly thinking the Tab key was my friend.

I shall never complain about any of Xara's foibles ever again.

[gwpriester]

What has always amazed me about Word in today's world is it is still trying to be all things to all people.

Microsoft of all companies should see the sales potential for breaking Word down into more specific use versions. Writers for example do not need 95% of the features. Those who want to self publish a book, need more simplified workflow. People doing research papers need a whole different way of working. As do people preparing scientific papers.

And yes, many is the time I have had to force myself not to just delete the product.

[handrawn]

+1 Gary

I have word set up one way, softmaker another, and libreoffice too

currently I have issues with outlook; pain

[Acorn]

Chris, my approach does require relatively good OCR production, luckily extremely good these days.

I simply Save As Plain text from the PDF(s) into my favourite text editor, Notepad++.
I then work up from the bottom and delete unwanted line breaks and add a space.
You can use Replace but I prefer a proper eyeball over the prose.

I then copy into Word or even an XDA and add back any Paragraph and Character styling.

That way you avoid spurious line spacing and haphazard fonts sprinkled all over.

Acorn

[gwpriester]

Acorn - I'm amazed at the OCR capabilities of my iPhone. Plus the ability to recognize different tracking numbers by company and offering to track the shipment.

[Chris M]

Here's the workflow I ended up using.


Text:
Scanned as PDF. If I couldn't copy the text directly, I loaded the page in WPS Office and used OCR.
Copied the text into ChatGPT with the prompt - correct grammar using UK thesaurus, single line spacing, 1.5 line spacing after paragraph.
Copied results into WPS, made the font Calibri 12 and exported as docx and PDF, both single page and merged.

Graphics:
The photos were poor, probably scans of scans of photos taken in 1943. I straightened and trimmed them in Xara, cleaned up the scratches, blemishes etc with Luminar Neo (I also used Photo Glory with success, but used LN more because of familiarity). I then up scaled and enhanced using Topaz PhotoAI, threw the results back into Xara to add captions and arrange the pages, then exported as docx and PDF.

I have yet to find anything better than Topaz PhotoAI, but always keen to try others if you have any suggestions.

Two before/after examples. I didn't spend a lot of time on these as the history group relies on self funding and donations. They were happy with the original photos, me doing minimal work was more to say 'look what I can do', just in case they knew other people who may require similar work doing.

[Jonopen]

Those photo before and after photo's are amazing.

Thankfully I've not had to mess about with Word or any other WP for years. The last big thing I wrote (a dissertation) was years ago when I used Scrivener.

[ernie-f]

Well done with the pictures, Chris. But why the hell are you using a WP?
Topaz Photo AI is my friend too. I do a lot of small renderings for an architectural magazine that I turn into printable images.
Scaling, cleaning and sharpening etc. If an image is messy because of a faulty sky or a missing part of the roof, I sometimes use AI to improve it.

I have yet to find anything better than Topaz Photo AI.

[Chris M]

@ Ernie - the group asked for docx so they can do their own editing/additions.

[ernie-f]

Ahh, ok, that's the reason!