Table of Contents Copyrights .....................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 Introducing the IRISPen........................................................................ 3 What is the IRISPen?............................................................................................. 3 How does it work? ................................................................................................. 6 The steps to follow.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Scan type .....................................................................................................................31 Language .....................................................................................................................32 Other............................................................................................................................34 Target.............................................................................
Copyrights Copyrights ©1993-2007 I.R.I.S. All Rights Reserved. The IRISPen Mini, the IRISPen Express, the IRISPen Executive, the IRISPen Translator software were designed and developed by I.R.I.S. OCR ("Optical Character Recognition") and Linguistic technology by I.R.I.S. I.R.I.S.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCING THE IRISPEN WHAT IS THE IRISPEN? The IRISPen is a hand-held pen scanner and software that allows you to scan data and instantly convert it into real editable text with the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology of I.R.I.S. The result is directly available in any Windows or Mac application. Major applications You will use the IRISPen to scan and enter into your active application any of the following: - notes and short entries like addresses, phone numbers, etc.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide barcodes, handprinting, dot matrix text, scan multiple lines at a time, or even read out or translate the scanned lines. The IRISPen series Here is the IRISPen series. Each version offers a different range of functionalities. - IRISPen Mini (+ Asian version) - IRISPen Express (+ Asian version)* - IRISPen Executive (+ Asian version)* - IRISPen Translator (*) Available for Windows and for Mac OS X.
CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCING THE IRISPEN Multiline scanning Multiline scanning Speech synthesis Speech synthesis Image adjustment Replace character string Customizable character subset Reading of handprinting Reading of dotmatrix Reading of barcodes Reading of CMC7 Translation of recognized data (*) The Asian version of the IRISPen allows you to recognize 4 additional languages: Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean. (**) No Asian version available.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide The IRISPen is a pen scanner that has the size and shape of a highlighter. It connects to your computer's USB port and does not require any external power supply. The IRISPen is equipped with a scanning head and a line guide, a roller, and two programmable buttons. The line guide is used to properly position the pen on the line to be captured. The roller enables to easily roll the pen onto the paper and acts as a start switch. The two pen buttons are programmable.
CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCING THE IRISPEN To scan the data with the IRISPen, you must simply slide the pen scanner over the line of text or area. Operate as follows: • Hold the IRISPen like a pencil and place it a few millimeters before the first characters or data to be recognized. The pen scanner must be positioned so that the text line to be read is right in the center of the scanning head, directly under the guide line. ! Yellow is the IRISPen's invisible color. It cannot be picked up by the scanner.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Warning: Make sure you hold the pen at the correct angle, otherwise the data may not be scanned properly. Correct position Incorrect positions • Once you have reached the end of the line, lift the IRISPen. Make sure you lift it after the last character of the line. ! Do not scan a line longer than 12" (30.5 cm). The scanning stops as soon as this line length is exceeded. • Operate exactly the same way for the next line. Also see: Learn how to... Scan multiple lines.
CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCING THE IRISPEN THE STEPS TO FOLLOW... Here are the main guidelines to follow for using your IRISPen. Detailed instructions are provided later in this manual . Use the Table of Contents and the Index at the end of the manual to find the needed information. 1. Define your settings in the IRISPen application Before you start using the IRISPen, you must tune the software. Depending on the type of data you intend to read - text, barcodes, dot matrix text, etc.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Important tip: Check the scanning quality Check the quality of your first scans before you actually start with definitive scanning. Use the Image Quality Check and the Scan Test windows (see: Starting up, User interface) to judge the image quality and the recognition results.
CHAPTER 2 INSTALLATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Here is the minimal system configuration required to use the IRISPen: • A Pentium-based Intel PC or compatible. A Pentium III-based PC is recommended. • 64 MB RAM. • 100 MB of free hard disk space, 150 MB for the IRISPen Translator software. • The Windows Vista, XP or 2000 operating system. • A free USB port to connect the IRISPen scanner.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide To install the software: • First start your computer and log onto Windows. Caution: You must log on as administrator or make sure you have the necessary administration rights to install the software. • Insert the CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive. Users of Windows Vista: Click on Run setup.exe to install the program, then follow the on-screen instructions. Users of Windows XP and Windows 2000: Simply wait for the installation program to start running.
CHAPTER 2 - INSTALLATION • Users of Windows Vista must confirm the installation of the device software by clicking on Install. • When the installation of the IRISPen is complete, click on Next to initiate the installation of the translation software package @promt Express 7 Giant. • Minimize or close the @promt Express 7 Readme file. • Accept the terms of the license agreement. • Follow the on-screen instructions: - Enter your user name and organization.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide • Click on Install to begin the installation. • When the installation of the translation software package is complete, click on Finish, then remove the CD-ROM from the CD-ROM drive. The submenu I.R.I.S. Applications - IRISPen under the Windows Programs menu is created automatically by the installation program. The installation program also creates a shortcut for the IRISPen application on the Windows desktop.
CHAPTER 2 - INSTALLATION Caution: Users of Windows XP, Service Pack 2: the wizard offers to search for more recent drivers on the Internet. Select "No, not this time". • Simply follow the on-screen instructions to install the IRISPen driver. Click on Next each time you are ready to get to the next screen. • Select Install the software automatically (recommended).
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Tip: Once the pen scanner has been installed (see above), it can be disconnected then reconnected without having to reconfigure or reboot the PC. Users of Windows XP should always reconnect the IRISPen on the same USB port, otherwise the device driver must be reinstalled. UNINSTALLING THE IRISPEN SOFTWARE There is only one correct way of uninstalling the IRISPen: by using the Windows (un)install wizard.
CHAPTER 2 - INSTALLATION HOW TO GET PRODUCT SUPPORT? If you have registered your product, you are entitled to free product support. Contact I.R.I.S.: Europe - Hotline: 32-10-45 13 64 (working hours) - Fax: 32-10-45 34 43 - support@irislink.com USA - Hotline 1-561-921-0847 / 800-447-4744 (working hours) - Fax: 1-561-921-0854 - support@irisusa.com HOW TO REGISTER? Don't forget to register your IRISPen! By doing so, you will: - be kept informed of future product developments and related I.R.I.S.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Registration form You may also directly access the registration form on the I.R.I.S. Web site: http://www.irislink.com/register.
CHAPTER 3 STARTING UP RUNNING THE IRISPEN To start the IRISPen: • From the Windows Start menu, select All Programs, I.R.I.S. Applications, then IRISPen, or click the application shortcut on your desktop. The IRISPen startup screen appears for a few seconds. It displays the version and copyrights of the IRISPen software. Next, the IRISPen Application window and two additional windows are displayed: the Image Quality Check window and the Status window.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide automatically appears on top of the others, prompting the user to calibrate the pen scanner. • If you are running the software for the first time, calibrate the pen scanner. See: Starting up, Calibrating the pen scanner.
CHAPTER 3 - STARTING UP USER INTERFACE The user interface is composed of 3 windows: the Application window, the Image Quality Check window, and the Status window. The IRISPen icon appears in the Windows task bar and confirms that the application is running. The Application window The Application window is the IRISPen's main window. It contains a menu bar that gives access to all software commands, a toolbar for quick access to all frequent commands, and the a window pane containing the basic settings.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide The Image Quality Check window The Image Quality Check window appears by default as a semitransparent window, below the Application window. When scanning, it displays the "raw" grayscale image of the scanned area. Its purpose is to enable the user to view and check the quality of his scans. You can easily drag the window to another position on your screen. The chosen position will be maintained if you save your settings.
CHAPTER 3 - STARTING UP The IRISPen icon The IRISPen icon appears by default in the notification area of the Windows task bar. It confirms that the application is running and that the pen scanner is connected. If the pen is detached from the USB port, the notification area will indicate it. You can restore the application with a simple click on the icon. A right-click on the icon also allows you to enable the Image Quality Check window, the Status window, and the Scan Test window.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Caution: If the ambient light changes - imagine you get from natural to artificial lighting or conversely, imagine you move to a much lighter or darker place, or even move to a completely different environment, etc., you may need to re-execute the calibration of your pen scanner. Tip: Check the scanning quality You can always check the scanning quality in the Image Quality Check and the Scan Test windows (see: Starting up, User interface).
CHAPTER 3 - STARTING UP CHANGING THE USER INTERFACE LANGUAGE The user interface of the IRISPen is available in a wide range of languages. The language can be easily changed according to your needs. To change the user interface language: • Select User Interface Language from the Settings menu in the Application window. • Select the needed language from the drop-down list, then click OK to confirm. The user interface automatically appears in the newly chosen language.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide save your images, load and recognize previously scanned images, access the calibration dialog box, etc. Bad quality images As you will notice, the IRISPen is able to recognize data on bad quality images, e.g. on low-contrast documents where the background nearly has the same color as the text, on highly distorted images with wavy, skewed or even contracted lines (see above figure).
CHAPTER 3 - STARTING UP Save image: this option allows you to save the images you generate; the available file formats are: black-and-white and grayscale Windows bitmaps (*.bmp). Calibrate: allows the user to re-execute the pen's calibration. Fit to window The option Fit to Window ensures that the entire image is displayed in the window, whatever the length of the scanned line may be. It is activated by default. When a long line of text is being scanned, you can deactivate the option.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide The Recognize option is not useful when scanning graphics. If you have selected Grayscale image to clipboard or Black&White image to clipboard in the Application window, the Recognize option will be replaced by Image to clipboard. THE IRISPEN WIZARD The IRISPen Wizard offers the quickest and easiest way of defining your settings.
CHAPTER 3 - STARTING UP You can save as many sets of settings as you wish. With the Save Settings and Open Settings options from the File menu, you will be able to save and reopen your custom presets and current settings. See: Learn how to... Customize/save/reopen settings. How to define presets with the Wizard? • Click the Wizard button on the toolbar. The Wizard workflow is divided up into different steps. You will get from one step to the other by simply clicking on Next.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide • Step 3 If needed, change any of the settings related to the recognition process in the various tabs proposed. Click Next to get to the next step. • Step 4 Assign your settings to a preset button and give it a name, and/or apply your settings as current settings.
CHAPTER 3 BASIC SETTINGS READING OPTIONS Scan type The Scan type determines the nature of the data to be scanned and read with your pen. Select the appropriate Scan type in the dropdown list. Text (default value): To read machine-printed text in a certain language. This includes alphanumeric characters, punctuation marks, numeric data, etc. The set of characters used by the software to read such data directly depends on the language chosen for the reading.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Also refer to: Learn how to... Read numeric data. Black-and-white image to clipboard: To scan small black-and-white graphics such as signatures, mathematical formulae, etc. The image will be sent to the clipboard before it can be pasted into the active application. Grayscale image to clipboard: To scan grayscale or color graphics and send them to your clipboard before they can be pasted in a chosen application.
CHAPTER 3 - BASIC SETTINGS Asian languages (optional) When choosing an Asian language, also indicate the text flow which is vertical rather than horizontal. See: Learn how to... Scan vertical text. ! Warning: If you use the XP operating system, check that the appropriate Regional and Language Options have been set to read Asian languages. From the Windows Start menu, select Control Panel, then Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options, then Regional and Language Options, Languages tab).
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Other Small print The option Small print is used to get optimized results when reading small printed text. Select this option if you want to read text with a font size smaller than 10 points. Also refer to: Learn how to... Read small print. TARGET You may choose the way the read data is being inserted in the target application: either via the clipboard, or directly in the application, without having to operate manually (see below).
CHAPTER 3 - BASIC SETTINGS actually paste the data. Select this option if you want to manually paste the read data into your target application. ! Remember that the clipboard can only contain the data of the last scan. Active application This option is selected by default. The recognized data will be directly inserted at the cursor position in the target application.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide SCANNING MODE Single line The option Single line is selected by default. It is used to indicate that a single line is being read per scan. Multiple lines The option Multiple lines is used to scan multiple lines at a time. It is particularly useful to scan full excerpts from books, magazines, etc. The various lines of text are first kept in the IRISPen, then released with the click on a pen button.
CHAPTER 4 FREQUENT COMMANDS PEN BUTTONS Your pen scanner is equipped with two buttons. The simple and double click of each pen button can be programmed so as to execute an operation in the target application. By simply pressing the pen buttons, you will thus be able to execute keyboard commands, add characters, switch from a scan type to another, etc. without having to touch your keyboard.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide • Modify the default programming by selecting the required radio buttons on the left- and on the right-hand side. The left radio buttons refer to the left button, the right radio buttons refer to the right button. Possible operations Null: This corresponds to a "null" operation. In other words, a single click will not trigger off any action. This option is usually used to deactivate a programmed operation. Custom...
CHAPTER 4 - FREQUENT COMMANDS then enter your keyboard commands or characters in the proposed field and click OK to confirm. Switch scan type: This allows you to program the switch to the next scan type in the list of scan types available (see: Basic settings, Reading options, Scan type). If the current scan type is Text, this will make you switch to Numeric. If the current scan type is Numeric, this will make you switch to the Black-and-White image.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide To set the reading delimiters: • In the Application window, click Delimiters on the toolbar or select Delimiters from the Settings menu. The window opens with an Input and an Output tab. • In the Input tab, indicate how the scanned area must be isolated and what the recognized text (output) should be. Delimit the text line according to the given example: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog".
CHAPTER 4 - FREQUENT COMMANDS software and represented by the "~" symbol in the Scan Test window. The best to do if you encounter such a situation is to make the software ignore the first and last position characters for the output, otherwise you will have to delete them manually once inserted in the active application. • In the Output tab, select the options according to your needs: Restore paragraph: You must indicate how to interpret hyphens occurring at the end of a line.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide The default starting code is: . Add ending code: You can have the IRISPen execute operations automatically in the target application after the output result is being inserted. If you insert data into a database, you can for example define a tabulation as ending code to automatically position your cursor in the next field. A series of possible codes are proposed by default, but you can also introduce your own ending code.
CHAPTER 4 - FREQUENT COMMANDS on the toolbar, or select Speech, then • Press the Speak button Speak from the Tools menu, or press F5. The data is directly spoken out by your computer. BEEP SOUND The Sound option enables to activate a beep sound during the scanning: if you activate the beep, you will hear a beep sound when the pen scanner stops scanning and when the recognized data is being sent to the target application or clipboard.
CHAPTER 5 LEARN HOW TO... CUSTOMIZE/SAVE/REOPEN SETTINGS Customize the default settings When you launch the IRISPen, options are selected by default. Some default presets are also available from the IRISPen Wizard (see: Starting up, The IRISPen Wizard). These selected options form the "default settings", also referred to as the "factory settings". You will of course change these default settings to make the IRISPen perfectly fit your particular needs. The changed settings become your own settings.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide Save Settings You can save your settings in a file with the Save Settings option from the File menu. You will be able to reopen those settings whenever needed. With the Save Settings option, you can save as many sets of settings as you wish. All you need to do is give them a name and save them with the *.IPC extension. Open Settings At any moment in time, you can reopen any saved settings.
CHAPTER 5 - LEARN HOW TO... READ NUMERIC DATA The IRISPen is able to read all machine-printed figures. The recognition includes special characters, mathematical symbols, punctuation marks, currencies, etc. You can thus read all types of data such as: digits, codes, amounts, dates, account numbers, numeric tables, etc. The set of characters used by the software to read such data is the same for all languages.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide routines that allow it to read out numbers, telephone numbers, dates, etc. Also see: Frequent commands, Speech Synthesis. READ SMALL PRINT The IRISPen scanning band is 0.41" (10.5mm.) high. It can thus read characters having point sizes of 8 to 20. If you have to read data printed in a font size smaller than 10 point, you must activate the Small print option. This will help you get optimized results with the IRISPen.
CHAPTER 5 - LEARN HOW TO... SCAN MULTIPLE LINES You can scan multiple lines at the same time, i.e. within the same scan. This is particularly useful if you want to capture whole excerpts of text from books, magazines, etc. The various lines of text will be buffered, then released with the click on a pen button. To read multiple lines: • In the Application window, select the option Multilines. See: Basic settings, Scanning mode. • Scan the various lines one by one.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide • At the end of your scan, click any pen button to insert the data into the active application. SCAN FROM RIGHT TO LEFT By default, the pen scanner is set to operate from left to right, but you can adapt the scanning direction and scan from right to left. You will follow this scanning direction if you are left-handed. You will also operate this way if you intend to read right-to-left text like e.g. in Hebrew.
CHAPTER 5 - LEARN HOW TO... To scan right-to-left text if you are left-handed: • Operate exactly the same way as if you were right-handed (see above). Note: If you select Hebrew as recognition language in the Application window, the option Left-handed Scanning will be grayed out as right- and left-handed users operate the same way. DEFINE THE SYMBOL FOR UNKNOWN CHARACTERS If characters are not properly recognized by the IRISPen, they are by default represented by a tilde, i.e.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide REPLACE VERTICAL LINES The IRISPen is able to detect and replace vertical lines separating data as e.g. table columns. By default, the software replaces vertical lines by the command. This means that each time it encounters a vertical line during scanning, it executes a tabulation in your target application. If your target application is a spreadsheet, the moves your cursor to the next cell and the various bits of data are inserted in separate cells.
CHAPTER 5 - LEARN HOW TO... To replace vertical lines in the target application: • In the Application window, select Replace Vertical Lines from the Settings menu, then select one of the proposed keyboard commands (by default, the command is selected). Select Custom to introduce your own set of conversion, then click OK to confirm. You can execute any keyboard command, add characters, or execute any combination of all.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide PROGRAM HOTKEYS The IRISPen allows you to program hotkeys for the execution of the following commands: - Restore the application (reopen the Application window) - Switch scan type (switch from one scan type to the next one - see: Basic settings, Reading options, Scan type) This will make your work quicker and easier. To program hotkeys for the proposed commands: • In the Application window, select Hotkeys from the Settings menu on the toolbar.
CHAPTER 5 - LEARN HOW TO... TRANSLATE TEXT Thanks to the PromtX translation software integrated in the IRISPen Translator, you can translate your scanned text lines into any of the languages supported* by the application. You scan the text and the translation directly pops up in a separate translation window. (*) The list of supported languages directly depends on the language chosen for the installation of the IRISPen Translator.
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide To translate text: • In the Language field of the Application window, select the source language for the translation, i.e. the language of the text to be scanned and translated. The languages available for translation are marked with an asterisk (a "*" symbol). • Select Translator PromtX in the Target section. See: Basic settings, Target. The translation window pops up on your screen.
CHAPTER 5 - LEARN HOW TO... To select another language pair: - Position your cursor in the translation window (PromtX). - From the Translation drop-down menu, select Change Direction of Translation and Topic Template, or press from the toolbar, or press F10. - Select the required translation pair and direction from the list of supported language pairs. • Scan the text to be translated. The translation directly appears in the translation window.
INDEX A active application ........................35 application window.....................21 B beep sound ..................................43 black-and-white image................25 C calibration ...................................23 F factory settings ........................... 45 G grayscale image .......................... 22 H holding the pen ............................. 8 hotkeys ....................................... 54 I check the scanning........................8 image ....................
IRISPen Translator 6 - User's guide M multiline................................36, 49 N numeric .................................31, 47 P right-to-left text .......................... 50 S save settings................................ 45 scan............................................... 6 scan from right to left ................. 50 pen buttons..................................37 Scan Test window ...................... 25 pen scanner ...................................3 scan type....................
Index target...........................................34 use the IRISPen ........................ 6, 9 target application ..........................9 user interface .............................. 21 technical support.........................17 user interface language ............... 25 templates.....................................28 text ..............................................31 train to scan...................................6 U unknown characters ....................51 unknown symbol......
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