Copyright: Copyright© 1999 Symantec Corporation.  All rights reserved.
Citation: Copyright© 1999 Symantec Corporation.  All rights reserved.


Annotating Faxes

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The Procomm Plus Fax Viewer makes it easy for you to add annotation to your faxes. You can use text and a variety of graphical elements to enhance or draw attention to your documents. You have control over every aspect of the annotation objects you create, including line width, line color, fill color and font properties.

After you’ve placed the objects you want, you can merge your changes into the fax and save it as a fax, a Windows .bmp file or a .pcx image file.

Although you can use a variety of colors when creating text and graphical objects, and even import multicolored bitmaps to annotate your faxes, keep in mind that all of the annotation objects will be converted to monochrome when you merge them with the original image!

Before you can annotate a fax, you’ll need to put the viewer into annotation mode. Select the Annotation | Show Annotation menu item, or click on the Show/Hide Annotation button on the viewer Action Bar. The viewer enables the corresponding menu items and displays the Annotation Toolbar, which is discussed in The Annotation Toolbar.

For more information about the annotation, see the following topics:

The Annotation Toolbar

Step-by-Step: Drawing a Line

The Freehand Line

Step-by-Step: Drawing a Shape

Step-by-Step: Placing Text

Step-by-Step: Drawing a Polygon

Step-by-Step: Placing an Annotation Bitmap

Modifying an Annotation Object


Annotation and the Windows Clipboard

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The Fax Viewer allows you to take full advantage of the Windows Clipboard. You can:

Paste a bitmap from the clipboard

To paste a bitmap from the clipboard into the annotation layer, press <Ctrl><V> or select the Edit | Paste menu item. The Paste command is also available from the right mouse pop-up; just right click on annotation layer to access the menu.

The viewer places the pasted bitmap in the upper left corner of the current page. You can modify its location and settings.

Cut or copy objects to the clipboard

To copy a selected object to the clipboard, press <Ctrl><C> or select the Edit | Copy menu item. To copy an object to the clipboard and delete it from the annotation layer, press <Ctrl><X> or select the Edit | Cut menu item.

The Cut and Copy commands are also available from the right mouse pop-up; just right click on the object to access the menu.

Paste objects from the clipboard

To paste an object from the clipboard into the annotation layer, press <Ctrl><V> or select the Edit | Paste menu item. The Paste command is also available from the right mouse pop-up; just right click on the annotation layer to access the menu.

The viewer places the pasted object in the upper left corner of the current page. You can then modify its location and settings.

Cut or copy text to the clipboard

To copy text you've highlighted in a text object to the clipboard, press <Ctrl.<C> or choose the Edit | Copy menu item. To copy selected text to the clipboard and delete it from the text object, press <Ctrl.<X> or select the Edit | Cut menu item.

The Cut and Copy commands are also available from the right mouse pop-up; just right click on the text box to access the menu.

Paste text from the clipboard into a text object

To paste text from the clipboard into a text object that you’re editing, press <Ctrl><V> or select the Edit | Paste menu item. The Paste command is also available from the right mouse pop-up; just right click on the text object to access the menu. The text is copied into the object at the current cursor location in the text box.


Arranging Annotation Objects

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By default, the Fax Viewer "layers" the objects you place in the same order you placed them. Usually, this isn’t a concern. However, if you want to place one object in front of another, the first object you placed will be drawn behind the second one.

The viewer provides two commands that allow you to arrange objects in the order you want: Move to Front and Move to Back.

First, use the Select Object tool to select the object you want to reorder. To pull the object in front of any other object(s), click on the Move to Front button or select the Annotation | Move to Front menu item. To push the object behind any other object(s), click on the Move to Back button or select the Annotation | Move to Back menu item.


Changing the Fill Color

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If you want to use one of the standard Fill Color settings, you’ll probably find that it’s faster to use the viewer’s Quick Select Line. Click on the Fill Color field, then click on the color you want. Your selection is applied immediately.

If you want to specify a custom color, you’ll need to open the Fill Color dialog. You can do so in one of three ways:

•	Right click on the Quick Select Line’s Fill Color field. This is equivalent to clicking on the Fill Color field and selecting the
-Custom- item from the pop-up list.

•	Right click on the object you want to modify, then select Fill Color... from the pop-up menu.

•	Select the Annotation | Fill Color... menu item.

The viewer opens the Fill Color dialog. You can select a standard fill color by clicking on the Standard Colors list box, then clicking on the value you want. If you want to specify a custom color, you can either enter its Red, Green and Blue values in the appropriate edit fields, or click on Custom... edit field to choose it from a color selection dialog.

To close the Fill Color dialog and apply the changes you’ve made, click on OK. To close the dialog without saving or applying any changes you’ve made, click on Cancel.


Changing the Line Color

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If you want to use one of the standard Line Color settings, you’ll probably find it easiest to use the viewer’s Quick Select Line. Click on the Line Color field, then click on the color you want. Your selection is applied immediately to all selected objects.

If you want to specify a custom color, you’ll need to open the Line Color dialog. You can do so in one of three ways:

•	Right click on the Quick Select Line’s Line Color field. This is equivalent to clicking on the Line Color field and selecting the -Custom- item from the pop-up list.

•	Right click on the object you want to modify, then select Line Color... from the pop-up.

•	Select the Annotation | Line Color... menu item.

The viewer opens the Line Color dialog.  You can select a standard line color by clicking on the Standard Colors list box, then clicking on the value you want. If you want to specify a custom color, you can either enter its Red, Green and Blue values in the appropriate edit fields, or click on Custom... edit field to choose it from a color selection dialog.

To close the Line Color dialog and apply the changes you’ve made, click on OK. To close the dialog without saving or applying any changes you’ve made, click on Cancel.


Changing the Line Width

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If you want to use one of the standard Line Width settings, you’ll probably find the viewer’s Quick Select Line most convenient. Click on the Line Width field, then click on the width you want. Your selection is applied immediately.

If you want to specify a custom width, you’ll need to open the Line Width dialog. You can do so in one of three ways:

•	Right click on the Quick Select Line’s Line Width field. This is equivalent to clicking on the Line Width field and selecting the -Custom- item from the pop-up list.

•	Right click on the object you want to modify, then select Line Width... from the pop-up menu.

•	Select the Annotation | Line Width... menu item.

The viewer opens the Line Width dialog.  To select a standard line width, you can either click on the Standard Widths list box and then click on the width you want, or you can use the cursor keys to change the width without clicking at all.

If you want to specify a custom value, click in the Custom Width edit field and enter a numeric value from 1 to 99. To close the dialog and apply the changes you’ve made, click on OK. To close the dialog without saving or applying any changes you’ve made, click on Cancel.


Changing the Text Attributes

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The viewer allows you to specify a variety of settings for text objects, including the font, the font size. You can also specify the text color and other attributes.

If you only want to change the color used to display the text to another standard color, you’ll probably find the viewer’s Quick Select Line most convenient. Click on the Text Color field, then click on the color you want. Your selection is applied immediately.

If you want to specify a custom color, you’ll need to open the Text Color dialog. You can do so in one of two ways:

•	Right click on the Quick Select Line’s Text Color field. This is equivalent to clicking on the Text Color field and selecting the
-Custom- item from the pop-up list.

•	Right click on the text object and select the Text Color... menu item from the pop-up menu.

•	Select the Annotation | Text Properties | Text Color... menu item.

The viewer opens the Text Color dialog.  You can select a standard text color by clicking on the Standard Colors list box, then clicking on the value you want. If you want to specify a custom color, you can either enter its Red, Green and Blue values in the appropriate edit fields, or click on the Custom... edit field to choose it from a color selection dialog.

To close the Text Color dialog and apply the changes you’ve made, click on OK. To close the dialog without saving or applying any changes you’ve made, click on Cancel.

If you want to change the font, character size and attribute used to display a text object, you’ll need to open the Font dialog. To do so, click on the right-most segment of the Quick Select Line, or select the Annotation | Text Attributes | Font menu item:

Font

The available vector fonts reported by Windows appear in the Font list box. You can select and preview other fonts by scrolling through the list and highlighting them.

Font Style

Some fonts contain more than one style. These will be displayed in the Font Style list box. You can select or preview a font style by highlighting in the list.

Size

To change the size of the displayed text, select the value from the Size list by highlighting it.

Strikeout

Enable the Strikeout check box to make the text appear to be "crossed out." For example, "Strikeout."

Underline

Enable the Underline check box to underscore the text. For example, "Underline."

Color

To change the color of the displayed text, click on the Color list box’s down arrow, and select the new color by clicking on it.

Sample

The Sample window displays an example of the currently selected font, including any styles, sizes, effects or colors you’ve chosen.

Click on the OK button to close the Font dialog and accept the current settings, including any changes you’ve made. If you don’t want to keep the changes you’ve made, you can click on Cancel to close the dialog.


Deleting Annotation Objects

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If you want to remove an annotation object you’ve placed, select it with the Select Object tool. You can then delete it by pressing the <Delete> key. You can also delete an object by right clicking on it, then selecting Delete from the right mouse pop-up. The viewer does not prompt to confirm your request before deleting the object.


Deskewing a Fax

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If your fax seems "crooked" or slanted on the page, it was probably badly scanned by the transmitting fax machine. To help you correct the problem, the Fax Viewer provides a built-in deskewing engine.

To enhance data retention, Procomm Plus's deskewing engine automatically converts standard resolution images to fine resolution if they are modified by the deskewing process. If one or more pages of a multi-page fax are converted to fine resolution, the entire fax will also be converted when you save it.

To deskew your fax, select the Tools | Deskew Fax... menu item. If you're viewing a single page fax, deskewing is performed immediately. If you're viewing a multi-page fax, the Fax Viewer displays the Fax Deskew dialog, where you can specify the page(s) you want to deskew:

Range

By default, the Fax Viewer preselects the All option button, meaning that it will attempt to deskew the entire fax. However, if you selected specific pages in the fax the viewer will enable the Selected Page(s) option button; click on it if you only want to deskew the selected pages. You can also specify a range of consecutive pages by clicking on Pages and entering the appropriate values in the From and To fields.

To accept the page Range setting and begin deskewing, click on OK. To close the dialog without deskewing, click on Cancel.


Fax Cleaning

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The Fax Viewer’s built-in fax cleaning technology can help you improve the image quality of faxes you’ve received. To clean a fax, select the Tools | Cleanup Fax... menu item or click on the Cleanup Fax button to open the Fax Cleanup dialog.

Range

By default, the Fax Viewer preselects the All option, meaning that the cleaning engine will attempt to clean the entire fax. However, if you selected specific pages in the fax you can click on the Selected Page(s) option button to apply the cleaning process only to those pages. You can also specify a range of consecutive pages by clicking on Pages and entering the appropriate values in the From and To fields.

Fax Cleaning Options

Erase extraneous fax columns

If this option is enabled, the cleaning engine will attempt to detect and remove "fax columns," which are vertical streaks caused by scanning problems in the transmitting fax machine. The option is enabled by default.

Fax cleanup

If this option is enabled, the cleaning engine will attempt to detect and remove graphical "litter" in the fax. You can select a cleaning factor of Light, Medium or Heavy.

If you select the Light factor, the cleaning engine will affect mainly small, isolated spots in the image. With the Medium factor, the engine will process isolated spots as well as short, thin lines and small blotches. The Heavy factor provides the most cleaning, but can damage delicate features of the image.

Fax cleanup is enabled by default, with a factor of Medium.

Clean carefully around text

If this option is enabled, the cleaning engine will locate areas in the image that contain text and graphics. In these areas, the engine will use a lower cleaning factor than the one you selected for the image as a whole. For example, if you've selected the Heavy factor but enabled Clean carefully around text, the engine will clean text areas with a Medium factor.

Careful cleaning is enabled by default; it's highly recommended for "dirty" faxes that contain small fonts or delicate graphics.

When you’re satisfied with the Range and other settings you’ve selected, click on OK to begin cleaning your fax. To close the dialog without cleaning the fax, click on Cancel.

Like other image-enhancement techniques, fax cleaning is not an exact science. You’ll need to experiment with the Fax Cleaning Options until you find the setting that works best for you. The cleaning engine does not process the first 30 scan lines of the image, in order to protect the fax headers which are typically printed in very small fonts.


Modifying an Annotation Object

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Once you’ve placed an annotation object on your fax, you can quickly change its attributes to suit your needs. Depending on the type of object you’ve placed and selected, you can change its line width, line color, fill color and font settings. To make the task even easier, the viewer gives you several different ways to access these settings: from the Quick Select Line, from the Annotation menu, and from the right mouse button pop-up menu.

Changes you make in the Line Width, Line Color, Fill Color, Text Color and Font settings are applied to the object(s) you’ve selected in the annotation layer. If you haven’t selected any objects, your new settings will be used for objects you subsequently place in the annotation layer.

Changing the Line Width

Changing the Line Color

Changing the Fill Color

Changing the Text Attributes

Selecting Multiple Annotation Objects

Arranging Annotation Objects

Deleting Annotation Objects

Annotation and the Windows Clipboard


OCR Options

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The viewer’s OCR Options allow you to specify how your fax documents will be handled by the Fax Viewer‘s OCR engine.

Within the Fax Viewer, select the Options | OCR Options... menu item to display the settings dialog:

Save processed document as

This setting determines the format of the document created by the OCR engine. In addition to many popular Windows application file types, the following output formats are available:

ASCII standard

In this format, characters are written to an ASCII text file, with new line characters inserted at the end of each line of text as it appeared in the original image.

ASCII smart

In this format, characters are written to an ASCII text file. However, new line characters and spaces are inserted in the text to format the text file much like it was formatted in the original image.

ASCII stripped

In this format, characters are written to an ASCII text file, with new line characters inserted at the end of each paragraph of text as it appeared in the original image. A paragraph in the image is determined by a blank line.

Click on the drop down list box to select a value from the list. The default output format is ASCII standard.

OCR language recognition

This setting determines the language the OCR engine will assume when processing a document. Click on the list box to select the language you want.

Use OCR Editor

If this setting is enabled, the viewer’s OCR Editor will open and display the text produced when you process one or more fax pages with the OCR engine. It is enabled by default.

For help in using the editor, see The OCR Editor.

Use automatic deskewing

If this setting is enabled the OCR engine will automatically process the image to correct graphical problems caused by poorly-scanned fax documents or other factors. The setting is disabled by default.

The Fax Viewer will not deskew a fax unless it is skewed by more than 5%, since deskewing sometimes creates graphical blemishes in the fax image.

Allow automatic image flipping

If this setting is enabled the OCR engine will automatically flip the fax image as needed to best interpret the text the image contains. This can be very useful if you received the fax upside down! The setting is disabled by default.

Retain original text attributes

If this setting is enabled, the OCR engine will automatically attempt to duplicate the formatting attributes that appeared in the original image within the created output file. The setting is enabled by default, but it is not available if you’re saving the OCR output as ASCII text.

Column Handling Options

This setting allows you to specify how the OCR engine should interpret the image’s text. It has no effect on the overall accuracy of the character recognition, but it can have a dramatic affect on the formatted output:

Attempt to automatically determine columns

By default, the OCR engine will automatically try to sense when text should be handled as multiple "snaking" columns.

Treat page as multiple columns

Select this button to force the OCR engine to interpret the image as a multiple-column document, such as a spreadsheet.

Treat page as a single column

Select this button to force the OCR engine to treat the image as a single-column document.


OCR Select Pages

This dialog allows you to select a range of pages from a multipage fax for OCR processing.

Choose All to process the entire fax.

Choose Current Page to process the page you're viewing now.

Choose Selected Page(s) to process one or more pages you've selected on the previous screen.

Choose Pages to enter a starting and ending page number for processing.


Running the Fax Viewer

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You can launch the Fax Viewer from a variety of locations:

•	By selecting the Tools | Fax Tools | Fax Viewer menu item in a Procomm Plus window.

•	By selecting Tools | Fax Viewer or clicking on the Fax Viewer button in the Fax Status window.

•	By selecting a fax and then selecting the Fax | View Fax... menu item in Fax Manager. You can also launch the Fax Viewer with a fax already selected for viewing by double-clicking on it in the Fax Manager.

•	By clicking the Fax Viewer icon in the Procomm Plus group on the Start menu.

If you didn’t launch the Fax Viewer with a fax selected from Fax Manager, it opens with an empty window. You can click on its Open Action Bar button, or select its File | Open... menu item to select a file in a standard dialog.

The Fax Viewer uses the path specified in the Inbox directory setting in the Fax, Fax Paths panel in Setup as its default directory when opening files. You may need to change directories to find .fax files to view. Simply select a .FAX file to view, then click OK. The Fax Viewer loads and displays the .fax document you selected. See The Fax Viewer Window for more information.


Selecting Multiple Annotation Objects

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You can select single objects by clicking on them. You can also select multiple objects using the Select Object tool, either by holding the <Ctrl> key down as you click on the object(s) or by "drawing" a rectangle around the object(s).

To use this method, choose the Select Object tool, either by clicking on the Select Object button, or by choosing the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Select Object menu item. The mouse cursor reverts to a standard pointer.

Use the Select Object tool just like you would if you were drawing a rectangle around the object(s) you want. Place the cursor at a point above and to the left of the object(s), then click and drag to a point below and to the right of the object.

As you’re dragging the cursor, the viewer displays a light dashed line to show you the area you’re selecting. When you release the button, the viewer selects all of the objects located within your imaginary rectangle.  Once you’ve selected the object(s) you want, you can use the viewer’s annotation controls to change their settings, arrange them or even delete them, just as though you’d only selected a single object.


Step-by-Step: Drawing a Line

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You can draw two kinds of regular annotation lines: straight lines and straight arrows.

A third kind, the freehand line, is discussed briefly in The Freehand Line.

To draw a line, follow these steps:

1.	Select the line tool you want to use.

For our example, we’ll use the viewer’s Arrow tool. Click on the Arrow toolbar button, or select the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Arrow menu item. The mouse cursor changes to a small cross-hair to show that you’re drawing an object.

2.	Draw the line.

Move the mouse cursor to the starting point for the arrow. Click and drag the cursor to the line’s ending point, then release the mouse button.

The viewer draws your line using the current Line Width and Line Color shown on its Quick Select Line.

Don’t worry if you don’t end the line exactly where you wanted it; we’ll show you how to adjust it later.

Your new line remains selected until you place another object or click on the annotation layer. This makes it easy to "fine tune" new objects as you place them.

3.	Adjust the line’s length and position if necessary.

If you didn’t get the line exactly where you wanted it, you can easily change its position. Click on the Select Object button, or select the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Select Object menu item. The mouse cursor reverts to a standard pointer.

Unless you’ve drawn another object, your line will still be selected after you click on Select Object. If it’s not selected, click on it once to select it.

Position the mouse cursor over one of the drag handles; the mouse cursor changes into a cross-hair with arrows indicating the directions you can drag the handle. In the figure shown above, we’ve placed the cursor over the arrow’s starting point. The cursor indicates that we can drag the handle up, down, left or right to shift the starting point.

If you want to move the entire arrow, click and drag on it at any point between the drag handles.

4.	Adjust the line’s width and color, if desired.

The viewer creates your new lines using the current Line Width and Line Color shown on the Quick Select Line. However, you can easily change either of these attributes. If the line you want to modify isn’t selected, select it just as we explained in Step 3, above.

To change the line’s color, click on the Quick Select Line’s Line Color field, then click on the color you want. The color you choose is applied to the selected line immediately. To change the line’s width, click on the Quick Select Line’s Line Width field, then click on the setting you want. The width you choose is applied to the selected line immediately.

The viewer provides standard colors and line widths that you can use to draw or color objects. You can also choose custom colors and line widths. For more information, see Modifying an Object.


Step-by-Step: Drawing a Polygon

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In addition to "fixed" annotation shapes like circles and rectangles, the viewer also supports a third kind of shape, the polygon. A polygon combines features of freehand and straight lines, allowing you to create interesting and dramatic annotation objects.

To draw a polygon, follow these steps:

1.	Select the Polygon tool.

Click on the Polygon toolbar button, or select the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Polygon menu item. The mouse cursor changes to a small cross-hair to show that you’re drawing an object.

2.	Draw the polygon.

You can draw a polygon by dragging a freehand line, or by clicking at different points to place straight lines. You can also combine the two methods in the same polygon.

As you’re creating the polygon, the viewer draws a straight connecting line between the starting point of the polygon and the current position of the mouse cursor.

Whether you create your polygon by dragging freehand lines or by clicking straight lines, the viewer will remain in polygon-drawing mode until you double click.

Your polygon is drawn with the current Line Width, Line Color and Fill Color shown on the Quick Select Line. You can easily change these settings, as we’ll see in Step 4.

3.	Adjust the polygon’s size and position if necessary.

If you didn’t get the polygon right where you wanted it or if it’s not the right size, you can easily change it. Click on the Select Object button, or select the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Select Object menu item. The mouse cursor reverts to a standard pointer.

Unless you’ve drawn another object, your new polygon will still be selected after you click on Select Object. If it’s not selected, click on it once to select it.

To resize the polygon, position the mouse cursor over one of the drag handles; the mouse cursor changes into a cross-hair with arrows indicating the directions you can drag the handle. Click and drag a handle to alter the polygon’s appearance.

If you want to move the entire polygon, click and drag on it at any point within its drag handles. Again, the mouse cursor changes to indicate the directions in which you can move it. As you’re moving a polygon, the viewer displays an outline indicating the polygon’s new position. It also displays the polygon in its current position.

4.	Adjust the polygon’s line width and colors, if desired.

To change the color used for the polygon’s boundary line, click on the Quick Select Line’s Line Color field, then click on the color you want. If you want the line to be transparent, select -None- from the Line Color list. The setting you choose is applied immediately.

Similarly, you can change the color used to fill the polygon by clicking on the Quick Select Line’s Fill Color field. You can then click on the color you want. If you want the polygon to be transparent, select -None- from the Fill Color list. The setting you choose is applied immediately.

To change the width of the polygon’s boundary line(s), click on the Quick Select Line’s Line Width field, then click on the setting you want. The width you choose is also applied immediately.

The viewer provides standard colors and line widths that you can use to draw or color polygons. You can also choose custom colors and line widths. For more information, see Modifying an Object.


Step-by-Step: Drawing a Shape

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You can draw three kinds of regular annotation shapes: rectangles, rounded rectangles and circles.

A fourth shape, the polygon is discussed in Drawing a Polygon.

To draw a shape, follow these steps:

1.	Select the shape tool you want to use.

Click on the Circle, Rounded Rectangle or Rectangle toolbar button, or select the appropriate Annotation | Drawing Tools menu item. The mouse cursor changes to a small cross-hair to show that you’re drawing an object.

2.	Draw the shape.

Drawing a shape is as easy as drawing a line; you just click and drag! If you’re drawing a rectangle, the viewer uses the first and last dragging points as diagonal corners for the new shape. The new rectangle’s boundaries are aligned with the drag points.

If you’re drawing a circle or rounded rectangle, the viewer also uses the first and last dragging points. However, for these shapes, the dragging points are used as diagonal corners for an imaginary rectangle. The new circle or rounded rectangle is drawn to fit snugly into the imaginary rectangle.

To draw your shape, move the mouse cursor to the point in the fax where you want one of the corners of the shape to be placed. Click and drag the cursor to the diagonally opposite corner, then release the mouse button. The viewer draws the new shape using the current Line Width and Line Color shown on its Quick Select Line. The new shape is filled with the current Fill Color.

Remember, if you’re drawing a circle or rounded rectangle, the shape will drawn within an imaginary rectangle. Don’t worry if you don’t place the shape exactly as you wanted it; we’ll show you how to adjust it later.

The new shape remains selected until you place another object or click on the annotation layer.

3.	Adjust the shape’s size and position if necessary.

If you didn’t get the shape where you wanted it or if it’s not in the right proportions, you can easily change it. Click on the Select Object button, or select the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Select Object menu item. The mouse cursor reverts to a standard pointer.

Unless you’ve drawn another object, your new shape will still be selected after you click on Select Object. If it’s not selected, click on it once to select it.

Position the mouse cursor over one of the drag handles; the mouse cursor changes into a cross-hair with arrows indicating the directions you can drag the handle. Click and drag a handle to alter the shape’s size.

If you want to move the entire shape, click and drag on it at any point within its drag handles. Again, the mouse cursor changes to indicate the directions in which you can move it. As you’re moving an object, the viewer displays an outline indicating the object’s new position. It also displays the object in its current position.

4.	Adjust the shape’s line width and colors, if desired.

The viewer creates your new shape using the current Line Width, Line Color and Fill Color shown on the Quick Select Line. You can change these attributes easily. If the shape you want to modify isn’t selected, select it just as we explained in Step 3, above.

To change the color used for the shape’s boundary line, click on the Quick Select Line’s Line Color field, then click on the color you want. If you don’t want a line around the object, select
-None- from the Line Color list. The your choice is applied to the selected object immediately.

Similarly, you can change the color used to fill the shape by clicking on the Quick Select Line’s Fill Color field. You can then click on the color you want. If you want the shape to be transparent, select -None- from the Fill Color list. The setting you choose is applied to the selected object immediately.

To change the boundary line’s width, click on the Quick Select Line’s Line Width field, then click on the setting you want. The width you choose is also applied immediately.

The viewer provides standard colors and line widths that you can use to draw or color objects. You can also choose custom colors and line widths. For more information, see Modifying an Object.


Step-by-Step: Editing OCR Output Data

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Using the OCR Editor, you can review and modify OCR engine output text as easily as you would spell-check and verify a document in a standard Windows word processor.

This Step-by-step assumes that you’ve already processed your fax or image with the OCR engine. If you need help in doing so, see Step-by-Step: Using OCR to Process an Image.

To review and edit the OCR output from an image loaded in the Fax Viewer, follow these steps:

1.	Locate the first questionable word in the output file.

By default, the editor highlights words it considers misspelled or misinterpreted to help you locate them.

If you don’t see any highlighted text, the feature may have been toggled off. Make sure that the Speller | Mark Suspect Words menu item is checked.

Although the editor’s design helps you to easily locate problem words manually, we recommend using one of the Find options from the editor’s Speller menu:

Speller | Find Next

Use this command to find the next word that appears to be misspelled, beginning at the current cursor location.

The editor locates and highlights the word, and uses the Pop-Up Verifier to display the region of the original fax or image from which the OCR engine read the suspect word.

Speller | Find Special Marker

Use this command to find the next character that the OCR engine marked as unreadable, using a tilde ‘~’ character.

The editor locates and highlights the marker, and uses the Pop-Up Verifier to display the region of the original fax or image that the OCR engine could not interpret.

2.	Correct or verify the word.

To correct a misspelled word, just select the problem text and type in the correction.

If the OCR engine correctly interpreted a word from the image, but the OCR Editor marks it as a misspelling, you can mark the word as correct by selecting the Speller | Mark Word as Correct or by pressing <F10>.

3.	Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until you’re satisfied with the document.

After you’re satisfied with the changes you’ve made in the OCR output file, save your changes by selecting the File | Save menu item, or by clicking on the Save file Action Bar button.

Keep in mind that if you close the OCR Editor without saving the output data file, the Fax Viewer will assume that you intend to cancel the entire OCR process!

To close the editor and return to the Fax Viewer, select File | Exit.


Step-by-Step: Placing Text

  Related Topics

To place annotation text, follow these steps:

1.	Select the Text tool.

Click on the Annotation Toolbar’s Text button, or select the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Text menu item. The mouse cursor changes to a small cross-hair to indicate that you’re drawing an object.

2.	Draw the text box.

If you want a default-sized text box, just move your mouse cursor to the point in the fax where the box’s left top corner should be placed. Click once with the left mouse button.

Otherwise, you can draw a custom-sized text box as easily as you draw a rectangle. The viewer uses the first and last dragging points as the text box’s diagonal corners.

To draw your text box, move the mouse cursor to the point in the fax where you want one of its corners to be placed. Click and drag the cursor to the diagonally opposite corner, then release the mouse button.

Don’t worry if you didn’t draw the text box just as you wanted it; we’ll show you how to adjust it later.

The viewer creates the new text box using the current Line Width and Line Color, and fills it with the current Fill Color shown on its Quick Select Line. The new text box remains selected until you place another object or click on the annotation layer.

3.	Enter your text.

The viewer displays an editing cursor in the new text box, allowing you to enter your text. You can use the standard Windows editing keys to modify your text.

4.	Adjust the text’s attributes if desired.

The viewer draws your text in the current text color, font and size shown on the Quick Select Line. To modify the text’s attributes, click on the font segment of the Quick Select Line or select the Attribute | Text Properties | Font... menu item to open the Font dialog.

You can change the selected font and its style, size and color using the controls in the Font dialog. You can also apply Strikeout and Underline effects by enabling the appropriate check boxes. To accept the settings and return to the viewer’s main window, click on OK. To close the dialog without changing the font settings, click on Cancel.

5.	Adjust the box’s size, position and colors if necessary.

You can easily move or resize the text box, or change the colors used to draw it. Click on the Select Object button, or select the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Select Object menu item. The mouse cursor reverts to a standard pointer.

Unless you’ve drawn another object, your new shape will still be selected after you click on Select Object. If it’s not selected, click on it once to select it.

Position the mouse cursor over one of the drag handles; the mouse cursor changes into a cross-hair with arrows indicating the directions you can drag the handle. Click and drag a handle to alter the box’s size. When you resize a text box, the text it contains is reformatted automatically.

If you want to move the entire box, click and drag on it at any point within its drag handles. Again, the mouse cursor changes to indicate the directions in which you can move it. As you’re moving the box, the viewer displays an outline indicating the box’s new position. It also displays the box in its current position.

You can change a text box’s colors and line width in the same way you change the settings for other objects. You can even remove the box’s framing rectangle by setting its Line Color and Fill Color to -None-! For an explanation, see Step 4 of Drawing a Shape.


Step-by-Step: Placing an Annotation Bitmap

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The Fax Viewer allows you to import Windows bitmaps or .bmp files for use as annotation objects. However, when you’re selecting or creating bitmaps to use as annotations, remember that all of your annotation objects will be converted to black and white when they are merged into the fax. For best results, use simple, low color bitmaps for annotations.

To place a bitmap on your fax, follow these steps:

1.	Select the bitmap file.

Select the Annotation | Import Bitmap... menu item. This opens a standard file selection dialog, where you can browse for and select the bitmap you want to use. When you choose a bitmap and click on OK, the dialog closes. The bitmap you selected is placed in the upper left corner of the fax image.

By default, annotation bitmaps are placed in their normal size, scaled to the size of the fax page. For example, if the viewer’s scale factor is set to 50%, the bitmap will be displayed at half size.

2.	Place the bitmap where you want it.

To move the bitmap, click on the Select Object button, or select the Annotation | Drawing Tools | Select Object menu item. The mouse cursor reverts to a standard pointer.

Unless you’ve drawn another object or clicked somewhere else, the bitmap will still be selected after you click on Select Object. If it’s not selected, click on it once to select it.

To move the entire bitmap, click and drag on it at any point within its drag handles; the mouse cursor changes to indicate the directions in which you can move it. As you’re moving the bitmap, the viewer displays an outline indicating the bitmap’s new position. It also displays the bitmap in its original location until you release the mouse button.

3.	Change the bitmap’s size and settings to suit your tastes.

To resize the bitmap, place the mouse cursor over one of the drag handles. The cursor changes into a cross-hair with arrows indicating the directions you can drag the handle. Click and drag the handle to resize the bitmap.

The viewer displays a bitmap using its true size and proportions. This means that, by default, the bitmap’s image will not be resized when you change the size of its frame, which may result in the image being "clipped off."

If you want the bitmap image to resize when you change the size of the frame, you’ll need to modify its settings. Right click on the bitmap to display the pop-up menu, or select the Annotation | Bitmap Properties menu item. You can choose one of three settings for a bitmap:

Default Size

This is the viewer’s default setting for a bitmap. The bitmap is adjusted to the scaling of the fax page, and displayed in its true size regardless of the size of its rectangle.

Proportional Size

If you want the bitmap image to maintain its proportions regardless of how you resize its frame, select Proportional Size. This setting is ideal if your bitmap contains text or other features that you don’t want distorted.

Size to Fit

If you want the bitmap’s image to be resized as needed to fill its entire frame select Size to Fit. Note that this setting may cause the image to be distorted or compressed.

Transparent
You can choose whether to display the bitmap as a transparency by toggling the Transparent menu item.  To choose the color you want handled as "transparent", select the Transparent Color menu item and select it from the color dialog.

The bitmap’s current settings will be shown with checkmarks on the menu.


Step-by-Step: Using OCR to Process an Image

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To scan for text within an image you’ve loaded into the Fax Viewer, follow these steps:

1.	Select an OCR command.

If you only want to process the current page of the image, select the Tools | OCR Current Page... menu item or click on the Action Bar’s OCR Current Page button. The viewer immediately displays the dialog described in Step 2.

If you want to process multiple pages, select the Tools | OCR Select Pages... menu item.

By default, the viewer preselects the All option button, meaning that all of the pages in the fax image will be processed. However, if you selected specific pages in the fax the viewer will automatically select the Selected Page(s) option button for you. You can also specify a range of consecutive pages by clicking on Pages and entering the appropriate values in the From and To fields.

To accept the page setting and proceed to the next step, click on OK. To close the dialog without processing the image, click on Cancel.

2.	Specify a name for the output data file.

Before the OCR engine can process the page(s) you’ve specified, it needs a name for the output file. The viewer displays the Save As dialog.

Click in the File Name field and enter the name you want to use. Click on OK to accept the name and begin processing. The OCR engine reports its progress with a simple dialog.

3.	Review the output file for corrections or modifications.

By default, the OCR engine automatically opens the OCR Editor, where you can easily review and modify the output file before it’s saved. If you‘re not using the OCR Editor, the output file is created and saved immediately.

For more information about the OCR Editor, see The OCR Editor.


The Annotation Toolbar

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 Using the Annotation Toolbar

Annotation Toolbar Button	Menu | Item	Description
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Select Object	Click on this button or menu item when you want to modify or select objects you’ve placed in the annotation layer. For more information, see Modifying an Object.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Text	Select this to place a text box. Once you’ve placed the box, you can enter the text to appear within it and modify its appearance. For more information, see Placing Text.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Line	Select this to draw a plain straight line using the current Line Width and Line Color settings. For more information, see Drawing a Line.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Arrow	Select this to draw a straight line tipped by an arrowhead, using the current Line Width and Line Color settings.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Freehand Line	Select this to draw a freehand line using the current Line Width and Line Color settings.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Rectangle	Select this to draw a rectangle, using the current Line Width and Line Color settings for its border and the current Fill Color for its interior. For more information, see Drawing a Shape.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Rounded Rectangle	Select this to draw a rectangle with rounded corners. The current Line Width and Line Color settings will be used for its border and the current Fill Color will be used for its interior.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Circle	Select this to draw a circle, using the current Line Width and Line Color settings for its border and the current Fill Color for its interior.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Polygon	Select this to draw a polygon using the current Line Width and Line Color settings for its border and the current Fill Color for its interior. For more information, see Drawing a Polygon.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Move to Front	Moves the currently selected object(s) in front of any other annotation objects. This command is also available from the pop-up menu that’s displayed when you right click on an annotation object.
	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Move to Back	Moves the currently selected object(s) behind any other annotation objects. This command is also available from the pop-up menu that’s displayed when you right click on an annotation object.


The Fax Viewer

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Using the Procomm Plus Fax Viewer, you can view and print faxes you’ve scheduled or received. Its powerful features include:

•	Full-featured annotation capabilities.

•	Built-in Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

•	Built-in fax cleaning and deskewing technology.

•	Built-in anti-aliasing to make your faxes easier to read.

•	Support for TWAIN-compliant scanners.

For more detailed information, see the following topics:

Running the Fax Viewer

The Fax Viewer Window

Using the Fax Viewer

Using the Quick Select Line

Using the Thumbnail View

Fax Cleaning

Deskewing a Fax

Annotating Faxes

What is OCR?

The Fax Viewer's Menus and Action Bar


The Fax Viewer Window

  Related Topics

The Fax Viewer default view is portrait orientation, with your document’s full page width fit to the viewer’s window.  If you can’t see the full page of your document, you can view the remainder of the page by moving the scroll bar down. You can also change the way the fax image is displayed by selecting options from the Fax Viewer’s Action Bar, View menu or Quick Select Line. For information about using the Fax Viewer, see Using the Fax Viewer.


The Fax Viewer’s Menus and Action Bar

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Action Bar Button	Menu | Item	Description
	File | Open...	Displays a standard file open dialog, allowing you to select a .fax, .pcx or .bmp file for viewing. <Ctrl><O> is the keyboard shortcut.
	File | Close...	Closes the currently loaded image file. If you’ve made changes in the image but haven’t saved them, the viewer prompts before closing the file.
	File | Save	Writes any changes you’ve made in the current .fax file to disk. If you’re editing an untitled document, the viewer will prompt you for a filename. <Ctrl><S> is the keyboard shortcut.
	File | Save As...	Displays a standard file save as dialog, allowing you to save the current .fax document under a new filename. If you’re viewing a single-page fax or image you can also save the new file as a .bmp or .pcx file.
	File |  Revert to Saved	Discards any changes you may have made in the current image and reloads the image as it was last saved to disk.
	File | Scan New Image...	Accesses your scanner software to load an image into the viewer. You must have a TWAIN-compliant scanner available to take advantage of this feature. Once you’ve scanned an image into the viewer, you can save it as a monochrome .bmp or .pcx, or as a fax like any other loaded image.
	File | Import...	Allows you to select a monochrome .bmp or .pcx file, or a .fax file to be loaded into the viewer.
	File | Export...	Saves the currently loaded fax into a .fax, .bmp or .pcx file using a filename you specify. You can only export to .bmp or .pcx format if you’re viewing a single-page fax or if you’ve selected a single page from a multi-page fax.
	File | Print...	Prints the current .fax file. <Ctrl><P> is the keyboard shortcut.
	File |  1, 2, 3 or 4	The viewer remembers the filenames of the last four files you’ve opened. To reload one of them, simply select it from the File menu.
	File | Exit	Closes the Fax Viewer.
	Edit | Cut	Copies a selected annotation object to the Windows clipboard and deletes it from the annotation layer. If you’re editing the contents of a text box, this command copies selected text to the Windows clipboard and deletes it from the text box. <Ctrl><X> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Copy	Copies a selected annotation object to the Windows clipboard. If you’re editing the contents of a text box, this command copies selected text to the Windows clipboard. <Ctrl><C> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Paste	Pastes an annotation object from the Windows clipboard into the annotation layer. If you’re editing the contents of a text box, this command pastes text from the Windows clipboard into the text box. <Ctrl><V> is the keyboard shortcut.
	View | Zoom...	Opens a dialog where you can specify a scale factor value from 1 to 200%. The fax’s displayed image is resized in the Fax Viewer window, but the aspect ratio of the actual file is unaffected by this command.  This command is also available as -Custom- in the Quick Select Line’s View segment.
	View |  Zoom In	Magnifies the displayed fax image by a scale factor. This command is disabled if the current scale factor is the maximum value of 200% of the image size.  This command is also available as Zoom in from the Quick Select Line’s View segment.
	View |  Zoom Out	Reduces the displayed fax image by a scale factor. This command is disabled if the current scale factor is the maximum reduction of 1% of the image size.  This command is also available as Zoom out from the Quick Select Line’s View segment.
	View |  Fit Window | Width	Displays the fax image with its full page width fit to the width of the Fax Viewer window.  This command is also available as Fit to Width in the Quick Select Line’s View segment.
	View |  Fit Window | Height	Displays the fax image with its full page height fit to the height of the Fax Viewer window.  This command is also available as Fit to Height in the Quick Select Line’s View segment.
	View | View as Thumbnails	Displays the currently loaded fax page(s) as reduced images. This is a convenient mode for selecting multiple fax pages for a variety of purposes, as described in Using the Thumbnail View.
	View |  Go to Page...	Allows you to jump immediately to another page in the fax document. You can also quickly access a specific page using the Page segment of the viewer’s Quick Select Line, as explained in Using the Quick Select Line.
	View | Next Page	Displays the next page of the fax. This command is disabled if you are viewing the last page of a document, or if the document has only a single page. <Ctrl><Page Down> is the keyboard shortcut.
	View | Previous Page	Displays the previous page of the fax. This command is disabled if you are viewing the first page of a document, or if the document has only a single page. <Ctrl><Page Up> is the keyboard shortcut.
	View | Rotate Left	Rotates the displayed image to the left by 90 degrees.
	View |  Rotate Right	Rotates the displayed image to the right by 90 degrees.
	View |  Rotate 180	Rotates the displayed image by 180 degrees.
	View | Reverse	Displays the fax image with its colors reversed; light colors will be dark and dark colors will be light.  The Reverse command also affects printed output. It is useful if the fax is hard to read because it contains light characters on a dark background.
	View |  Anti-aliasing	Toggles the use of the viewer’s anti-aliasing technology. Anti-aliasing can help make a fax clearer and more readable when you’re viewing images in a reduced scale. Anti-aliasing does not affect the image file, only how that image is displayed by the viewer.
	View |  Action Bar	Toggles the display of the viewer’s Action Bar.
	View |  Status Line	Toggles the display of the viewer’s Status Line.
	View | Quick Select Line	Toggles the display of the viewer’s Quick Select Line.
	View |  ToolTips	Toggles the display of the ToolTips for both the Action Bar and the Annotation Toolbar.
	View |  Large Action Bars	Toggles between large or small buttons on the viewer’s Action Bar and Annotation Toolbar.
	Options |  OCR Options...	Opens the OCR Options dialog, where you can configure how the OCR engine will process your faxes. For more information, see OCR Options.
	Options |  Select Scanner...	Opens the Select Source dialog, which lists any TWAIN-compliant scanner drivers available on your system. Select the scanner you want to use with the viewer and click on OK to accept it and return to the viewer. To close the dialog without selecting a scanner, click on Cancel.
	Options | Fast Screen Update	Toggles the use of the viewer’s most efficient painting routines, which may cause problems on older S3 video cards. If your video display degrades when you rotate images to the left or right by 90 degrees, uncheck this item. It is checked by default.
	Annotation | Show  Annotation	Toggles the viewer’s annotation mode, which allows you to place text, bitmap and graphical objects on your fax. When the annotation mode is displayed, this menu item changes to Hide Annotation. <Ctrl><A> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Annotation |  Merge  Annotation	Combines the text, bitmap and graphical objects you’ve created in the viewer’s annotation mode with the fax you’re viewing.  If you merge the annotation layer with a standard fax, it;s automatically converted to fine resolution when you save it in order to provide the best possible image. Any annotation objects will be converted to monochrome when you merge them with the original image!
	Annotation |  Annotation Toolbar	Controls the display of the viewer’s Annotation Toolbar, which is discussed in The Annotation Toolbar.  The toolbar is only available when you’ve enabled the viewer’s annotation mode.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Select Object button.	Annotation |  Drawing Tools |  Select Object	Activates the Select Object tool, which you can use to select objects you’ve drawn or placed.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Highlight button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools |  Highlighter	Activates the Highlighter tool, which you can use to highlight areas of the fax.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Text button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Text	Selects the Text tool, which allows you to draw rectangles that contain text. For more information, see Placing Text.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Line button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Line	Selects the Line tool for drawing straight lines. For more information, see Drawing a Line.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Arrow button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Arrow	Selects the Arrow tool for drawing straight lines tipped with an arrowhead. For more information, see Drawing a Line.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Freehand button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Freehand Line	Selects the Freehand Line tool for drawing free-form lines. For more information, see The Freehand Line.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Rectangle button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Rectangle	Selects the Rectangle tool for drawing rectangles. For more information, see Drawing a Shape.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Rounded Rectangle button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Rounded Rectangle	Selects the Rounded Rectangle tool for drawing rectangles with rounded corners. For more information, see Drawing a Shape.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Circle button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Circle	Selects the Circle tool for drawing circles and ellipses. For more information, see Drawing a Shape.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Polygon button.	Annotation | Drawing Tools | Polygon	Selects the Polygon tool for drawing a closed shape using a freehand line. For more information, see Drawing a Polygon.
	Annotation | Import Bitmap...	Opens a file selection dialog, where you can select a Windows bitmap or .bmp file to import into the annotation layer. For more information, see Placing an Annotation Bitmap.
The Annotation Toolbar’s Move to Front button.	Annotation | Move to Front	Moves the currently selected object(s) in front of any other object(s).
The Annotation Toolbar’s Move to Back button.	Annotation | Move to Back	Moves the currently selected object(s) behind any other object(s).
	Annotation | Text Properties	Opens a secondary menu where you can specify how annotation text objects will be handled.
	Annotation | Bitmap  Properties	Allows you to specify how the currently selected bitmap will be handled by the viewer. For more information about these properties, please see Step-by-Step: Placing an Annotation Bitmap.
	Annotation | Highlight Properties	Allows you to specify how the currently selected highlight will be handled by the viewer. Select Color... to specify the color for the currently selected highlight. Select Reverse to make the black objects behind the currently selected highlight appear in the highlight color, and remove the rectangular highlight.
	Annotation | Line Width...	Opens the Line Width dialog, where you can specify the line width to be applied to the currently selected line and any lines you place in the future.  You can also select a line width from the Line Width segment of the viewer’s Quick Select Line. This menu item is only available when you’re using the viewer’s annotation mode. See Changing the Line Width.
	Annotation | Line Color...	Opens the Line Color dialog, where you can specify the line color to be applied to the currently selected line and any lines you place in the future.  You can also select a line color from the Line Color segment of the viewer’s Quick Select Line. This menu item is only available when you’re using the viewer’s annotation mode. See Changing the Line Color.
	Annotation | Fill Color...	Opens the Fill Color dialog, where you can specify the fill color to be applied to the currently selected object and any objects you place in the future.  You can also select a fill color from the Fill Color segment of the viewer’s Quick Select Line. This menu item is only available when you’re using the viewer’s annotation mode. See Changing the Fill Color.
	Tools  OCR Current Page	Opens a Save As dialog, where you can specify a filename for the text read from the current page of your fax.
	Tools |  OCR Select Pages...	Opens the viewer’s Fax Optical Character Recognition dialog, where you can specify the fax pages which will be scanned for text.
	Tools  Deskew Fax...	Opens the viewer’s Fax Deskew dialog, where you can specify the fax pages to which Procomm Plus’s deskewing technology will be applied.
	Tools | Cleanup Fax...	Opens the viewer’s Fax Cleanup dialog, where you can specify the fax cleaning settings to be used on your fax.
	Tools | Fax Cover  Sheet Editor	Opens the Cover Sheet Editor, which is discussed The Cover Sheet Editor.
	Help | Contents	Opens the Help Topics dialog for the Fax Viewer.
	Help | About Fax Viewer...	Opens a dialog that includes important information about Fax Viewer.


The Freehand Line

  Related Topics

In addition to "fixed" lines and arrows, the viewer supports freehand lines. Drawing a freehand line is just like drawing other lines, except that the new line is drawn directly on the mouse cursor’s drag path.

Once you’ve placed a freehand line, you can change its size, colors and line width using the same methods discussed for arrows and straight lines. See Step-by-Step: Drawing a Line for help.


The OCR Editor

  Related Topics

Procomm Plus’s OCR Editor allows you to review and edit the text interpreted from images you’ve processed with the OCR engine. The OCR Editor works much like a standard Windows text editor. For example, you can select, cut, copy and delete text using the standard editing keys. However, the OCR Editor also includes a variety of powerful features for its special purpose:

•	A Pop-Up Verifier, which displays the area of the image associated with the word or text you click on in the editor.

•	A spell-checker, which includes support for personalized dictionary files.

•	Support for bold, italic and underline character attributes.

•	Full search-and-replace capabilities.

For more information, see the following topics:

Using the OCR Editor

The OCR Editor Basics

Step-by-Step: Editing OCR Output Data

The OCR Editor’s Menus and Action Bar


The OCR Editor Basics

  Related Topics

To Do This...     Do This....

Move left or right by a single character.	Press the left or right cursor keys, respectively.
Move left or right by a single word.	Press the left or right cursor keys while holding down the <Ctrl> key.
Move up or down a line.	Press the up or down cursor keys, respectively.
Move to the end of the line.	Press the <End> key.
Move to the beginning of the line.	Press the <Home> key.
Move down a page.	Press the <Page Down> key, or click beneath the scroll thumb on the scrollbar.
Move up a page.	Press the <Page Up> key, or click above the scroll thumb on the scrollbar.
Move to the end of the file.	Press the <End> key while holding down the <Ctrl> key.
Move to the beginning of the file.	Press the <Home> key while holding down the <Ctrl> key.
Select a character.	Drag over it with the mouse cursor, or hold the <Shift> key down as you move over the character with the left or right cursor keys.
Select a word.	Hold the <Shift> and <Ctrl> keys down as you move over the word with the left or right cursor keys.
Select a line.	Drag over it with the mouse, or hold the <Shift> key down as you move over the line with the up or down cursor keys.
Select all text to the end of a line.	Drag over it with the mouse, or hold the <Shift> key down and press <End>.
Select all text to the beginning of a line.	Drag over it with the mouse, or hold the <Shift> key down and press <Home>.
Select all text to the end of the file.	Hold the <Shift> and <Ctrl> keys down, and press <End>.
Select all text to the beginning of the file.	Hold the <Shift> and <Ctrl> keys down, and press <Home>.
Select the entire contents of the file.	Press <Ctrl><Home>, then <Shift><Ctrl><End>.
Copy selected text to the Windows Clipboard, and delete it from the file.	Press <Ctrl><X> or click on the Cut Action Bar button:
Copy selected text to the Windows Clipboard.	Press <Ctrl><C> or click on the Copy Action Bar button:
Copy text from the Windows Clipboard to the current cursor location in the file.	Press <Ctrl><V> or click on the Paste Action Bar button:


The OCR Editor’s Menus and Action Bar

  Related Topics

   Action Bar      Menu | Item      Description
      Button

	File | Save	Writes any changes you’ve made in the current OCR output file to disk. <Ctrl><S> is the keyboard shortcut.
	File | Save As...	Displays a standard file save as dialog, allowing you to save the current document under a new filename.
	File | Print...	Prints the current document. <Ctrl><P> is the keyboard shortcut.
	File | Exit	Closes the OCR Editor.  If you close the OCR Editor without saving the output data file, the Fax Viewer will assume that you intend to cancel the entire OCR process!
	Edit | Cut	Copies selected text to the Windows clipboard and deletes it from the document. <Ctrl><X> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Copy	Copies selected text to the Windows clipboard. <Ctrl><C> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Paste	Copies text from the Windows clipboard into the document at the current cursor location. <Ctrl><V> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Delete	Deletes selected text from the document. <Delete> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Edit | Select All	Selects the entire contents of the document. <Ctrl><A> is the keyboard shortcut.
	View |  Action Bar	Toggles the display of the Action Bar.
	View | Status Line	Toggles the display of the OCR Editor Status Line.
	View | ToolTips	Toggles the display of the Action Bar "bubble help" labels.
	View |  Large Action Bar	Toggles the display of large or small Action Bar icon buttons.
	View | Display Full Path	Toggles the display of the full path name in the titlebar of the OCR Editor.
	Find |  Find...	Opens a dialog where you can specify a search string. The search begins at the current cursor position. You can force a case-sensitive search, or change the direction of the search by selecting options in the Find dialog. <Ctrl><F> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Find | Repeat Last Find	Repeats the previous Find action. <Ctrl><L> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Find |  Replace...	Opens the Replace dialog where you can specify a string to be searched for and replaced with another string you specify. The search begins at the current cursor position and proceeds downward through the document. You can force a case-sensitive search by enabling the Match Case check box. If your search string is found, you can choose to Repeat Last Find, Replace or Replace All by clicking the appropriate buttons. <Ctrl><R> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Find |  Find Special Marker	Locates the next occurrence of the editor’s placeholder marker, which is used to replace characters the OCR engine couldn’t recognize in the original image. <F5> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Find | Pop-Up Verifier	Displays the Pop-Up Verifier with the region of the fax or image associated with the word or text nearest the OCR Editor’s cursor. <F7> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Find | Auto Pop-Up	A toggle setting that determines whether the editor’s Pop-Up Verifier is automatically displayed when you click on a suspect word or use the Find or Replace functions. It is enabled by default.
	Character | Regular	Removes all attributes from the currently selected text.
	Character | Bold	Applies the bold attribute to the currently selected text. <Ctrl><B> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Character | Italic	Applies the italic attribute to the currently selected text. <Ctrl><I> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Character | Underline	Applies the underline attribute to the currently selected text. <Ctrl><U> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Speller | Mark Suspect Words	By default, the OCR Editor automatically highlights misspelled words. You can toggle this feature on and off by selecting this menu item.
	Speller | Find Next	Locates the next word in the document that appears to be misspelled. <F4> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Speller | Add Word	Adds the selected word to the open dictionary file. <F9> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Speller | Mark Word as Correct	Marks the selected word as correct. <F10> is the keyboard shortcut.
	Speller | Select User  Dictionary	Opens a file selection dialog where you can select the dictionary file you want to use.
	Speller | Refresh	Updates the displayed text and reruns the spell checker, marking words the editor cannot verify and unmarking words that appear to be correct.  If you’ve marked a word as correct, the Refresh function will search for other instances of the same word and mark them correct as well.
	Help | Contents	Displays the on-line Help for the OCR Editor.
	Help | Search for Help on...	Displays the on-line Help topic search dialog.
	Help | About...	Displays important infomation on this version of the OCR Editor.


Transparent Bitmap Colors

This dialog allows you to select the color you'd like to assign as transparent within the bitmap.  There are three methods of selecting the color:

Standard

Standard Windows colors are available from the drop-down list box.

RGB Values

Custom colors can be created by supplying the RGB red, green and blue values for the desired color.

Custom Color Dialog

Finally, you can select or define a color from the standard Windows custom color control.  Click on Custom... to display the dialog.


Using the Annotation Toolbar

The Annotation Toolbar gives you convenient access to most of the viewer’s annotation menu items. By default, the toolbar is displayed as a "floating" button pad. However, you can display it as a second row of buttons beneath the viewer’s Action Bar by selecting dragging the toolbar onto the Action Bar. To display the toolbar as a "floating" button pad again, click on the border of the toolbar and drag it outside of the Action Bar. The floating Annotation Toolbar's appearance can be configured too. Simply drag the edges of the toolbar like you would resize a window.


Using the Fax Viewer

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Action Bar Button	To Do This	Do This
	Restore the fax to its saved image, abandoning any unsaved changes.	Select the File | Revert to Saved menu item.
	Magnify the fax images.	Click on the Action Bar’s Zoom In button, or select the View | Zoom In menu item. You can also select a new view factor from the Quick Select Line, as explained in Using the Quick Select Line.
	Reduce the fax images.	Click on the Action Bar’s Zoom Out button, or select the View | Zoom Out menu item. You can also select a new view factor from the Quick Select Line, as explained in Using the Quick Select Line..
	Specify a custom view factor.	Select the View | Zoom... menu item, or select Zoom... from the Quick Select Line’s View segment, then enter a value from 1 to 200 percent in the Zoom dialog. Click on OK to accept the value you specify.
	View the full page width of the fax images.	Click on the Action Bar’s Fit to Width button, or select the View | Fit Window | Width menu item. You can also select Fit to Width from the Quick Select Line’s View segment.
	View the full page height of the fax images.	Click on the Action Bar’s Fit to Height button, or select the View | Fit Window | Height menu item. You can also select Fit to Height from the Quick Select Line’s View segment.
	Rotate the fax images 90 degrees to the left.	Click on the Action Bar’s Rotate Left button, or select the View | Rotate Left menu item.
	Rotate the fax images 90 degrees to the right.	Click on the Action Bar’s Rotate Right button, or select the View | Rotate Right menu item.
	Rotate the fax images 180 degrees.	Click on the Action Bar’s Rotate 180 button, or select the View | Rotate 180 menu item.
	View thumbnail fax images.	Select the View | View as Thumbnails menu item. The thumbnail mode is convenient for selecting fax pages for a variety of uses. See Using the Thumbnail View for more information.
	Reverse the displayed fax images.	Select the View | Reverse menu item.
	Toggle the use of the viewer’s anti-aliasing technology.	Click on the Action Bar’s Anti-alias button, or select the  View | Anti-aliasing menu item. Anti-aliasing is only effective when you're viewing a fax at a scale of less than 100%
	Move to the next page.	Select the View | Next Page menu item, or press <Ctrl><Page Down>. You can also click below the scrolling button on the scrollbar.
	Move to the previous page.	Select the View | Previous Page menu item, or press <Ctrl><Page Up>. You can also click above the scrolling button on the scrollbar.
	Move to a specific page.	Select the View | Goto Page... menu item, enter the page number you want and click OK. You can also select a specific page number by clicking on the Quick Select Line’s Page segment, as explained in the next section.
	Select multiple pages.	Select the View | View as Thumbnails menu item, then hold the <Ctrl> button down as you click on the page(s) you want to select. See Using the Thumbnail View for more information.
	Apply the viewer’s deskewing technology.	Select the Tools | Deskew Fax... menu item. For more information, see Deskewing a Fax.
	Apply the viewer’s fax cleaning technology.	Select the Tools | Cleanup Fax... menu item, or click on the Action Bar’s Clean Fax button. For more information, see Fax Cleaning.
	Use OCR to process text on the current page.	Select the Tools | OCR Current Page... menu item, or click on the Action Bar’s OCR Current Page button. For more information, see The OCR Editor.
	Use OCR to process text on one or more fax pages.	Select the Tools | OCR Select Pages... menu item. For more information, see The OCR Editor.
	Access your scanner to import an image.	Select the File | Scan New Image... menu item to load your scanner’s software. You must have a TWAIN-compliant scanner available to take advantage of this feature.


Using the OCR Editor

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The OCR Editor is only available from within the Procomm Plus Fax Viewer. For help in running the viewer, see The Fax Viewer.

After the Fax Viewer’s OCR engine has finished processing your image, the resulting document or text file is loaded and displayed in the OCR Editor window.

The OCR Editor’s Action Bar allows you to select its most-frequently used menu commands with a click of the mouse. The Action Bar and the menus are discussed in The OCR Editor's Menus and Action Bar. For the basics of using the editor and an example of using the editor to correct a processed document, see The OCR Editor Basics and Step-by-Step: Editing OCR Output Data.


Using the Quick Select Line

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The Quick Select Line, located at the bottom of the Fax Viewer window, places many of the viewer’s commands within one or two mouse clicks.

As you’re using the Fax Viewer’s powerful features, keep in mind that the viewer allows you to restore your current fax or image to its last saved version at any time. If you make a mistake, or simply change your mind about an annotation or any cleaning or deskewing you’ve applied, you can abandon those changes and start over by selecting the File | Revert to Saved menu item. The viewer will prompt before reloading the file.

The Quick Select Line is divided into seven fields. To access a field, move the mouse pointer over it; you’ll see the mouse cursor change to indicate that the field is clickable.

If you don’t see the Quick Select Line at the bottom of the Fax Viewer window, it’s been disabled. You can enable it by selecting the View | Quick Select Line menu item.

The Quick Select Line’s fields include:

Page

This field displays the number of the page you’re currently viewing, as well as the total page count of the fax. You can click on the field to display a pop-up menu where you can select a page to view.

This field is blank and disabled if you haven’t loaded a fax.

View

This field displays the current scale value of the displayed image. You can click on the field to display a pop-up menu where you can select a preset scale value.

This field is blank and disabled if you haven’t loaded a fax.

The field’s pop-up also contains options corresponding to commands available on the viewer’s View menu:

Fit to width

Scales the fax image so that its full page width fills the Fax Viewer window. This pop-up selection corresponds to the View | Fit Window | Width menu item.

Fit to height

Scales the fax image so that its full page height fills the Fax Viewer window. This pop-up selection corresponds to the View | Fit Window | Height menu item.

Zoom In

Magnifies the displayed fax image by a scale factor. This pop-up selection corresponds to the View | Zoom in menu item. It will have no effect if the current scale factor is the maximum value of 200% of the image size.

Zoom out

Reduces the displayed fax image by a scale factor. This pop-up selection corresponds to the View | Zoom out menu item. It will have no effect if the current scale factor is the minimum value of 1% of the image size.

Thumbnails

Displays the fax images as thumbnails, which allows you to view multiple pages of the fax at the same time. This pop-up selection corresponds to the View | View as Thumbnails menu item.

Custom

Opens a dialog where you can specify a scale factor value from 1 to 200%. The fax’s displayed image is resized in the Fax Viewer window, but the aspect ratio of the actual file is unaffected. This pop-up selection corresponds to the View | Zoom... menu item.

Line Width

This field displays the line width setting that will be used for lines and objects drawn in the viewer’s annotation mode, or the line width used for the currently selected object. You can click on the field to select a preset line width, or select the -Custom- pop-up menu item to specify a line width value. For more information, see Changing the Line Width.

Line Color

This field displays the line color that will be used for lines and objects drawn in the viewer’s annotation mode, or the line color used for the currently selected object. You can click on the field to select a preset line color, or select the -Custom- pop-up menu item to specify a color. For more details, see Changing the Line Color.

Fill Color

This field displays the color that will be used to fill objects drawn in the viewer’s annotation mode, or the color used to fill the currently selected object. You can click on the field to select a preset color, or select the -Custom- pop-up menu item to specify a color. For more detail, see Changing the Fill Color.

Text Color

This field displays the color that will be used for text placed in the viewer’s annotation mode, or the color used for the currently selected text object. You can click on the field to select a preset color, or select the -Custom- pop-up menu item to specify a color. For more information, see Changing the Text Attributes.

Font

This field displays the current font that will be used for text objects placed in the viewer’s annotation mode, or the font used by the currently selected text object.

Clicking on this field is equivalent to selecting the Annotation | Text Properties | Font... menu item. It opens the Font dialog, where you can specify a variety of options for your text. If you’ve placed or selected a text annotation object, changes you make with the Font dialog will be applied to it. For more information, see Changing the Text Attributes.


Using the Thumbnail View

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If you’re working with a multi-page fax, you’ll probably find the Fax Viewer’s View as Thumbnails function to be quite useful. Thumbnail mode displays your fax pages as miniature images, which lets you see and select multiple pages.

You can place the viewer in thumbnail mode in several different ways:

•	By selecting the View | View as Thumbnails menu item.

•	By selecting View as Thumbnails from the Quick Select Line’s View field.

•	By right clicking on your fax and selecting View as Thumbnails from the right mouse pop-up menu.

Regardless of how you select the View as Thumbnails command, the viewer scales your pages to thumbnail size and fills the viewer window.  Thumbnail mode makes several tasks much easier:

Selecting Fax Pages

Just click on a page to select it; the viewer draws a dashed line around the page to indicate that it’s selected. To select more than one page, hold down the <Ctrl> key as you click on the ones you want.

Moving a Fax Page

If you want to move a fax page, click on it and drag it where you want it. As you’re dragging the page, the viewer draws an outline of the page to indicate its new position. It also displays the page in its original position for reference.

Deleting Fax Pages

If you want to delete one or more pages from your fax, just select the one(s) you want. Press <Delete>, or right click in the viewer window and select Delete from the pop-up menu. The viewer prompts to confirm your request before deleting your selection(s).

Viewing a Specific Page

As we mentioned earlier, you can easily go to a specific page in your fax by clicking on the Quick Select Line’s Page field, then clicking on the page number you want. However, the thumbnail mode allows you to select the page visually. Just select the page you want, then change the View factor to the setting you prefer. Your selected page becomes the current page in the viewer window.


What Is OCR?

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Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a process through which text contained in an image file is read and stored in a text or document file. Using the Fax Viewer’s built-in OCR engine, you can gather information from several kinds of images:

•	From faxes you’ve sent or received.

•	From monochrome .bmp or .pcx images.

If you’ve created monochrome Windows bitmap or .bmp files in another application, you can load them into the viewer by selecting the File | Import... menu item.

•	From scanned documents.

If you have a TWAIN-compliant scanner installed on your system, you can load an image into the Fax Viewer by selecting the File | Scan New Image... menu item.

For a step-by-step example, see Step-by-Step: Using OCR to Process an Image. See OCR Options for a detailed account of available OCR options. Once you have used the OCR engine to interpret text from images, you can use the OCR Editor to review and edit the interpreted text. See The OCR Editor for more information.

Once the OCR engine has retrieved text from the image, you can save it in a variety of popular file formats, including Microsoft Word for Windows™ and Microsoft Excel™. You can even take advantage of Procomm Plus’s built-in OCR Editor, which includes a spell-checker to help you quickly verify and correct the converted data before you save it to disk!

Optical Character Recognition is not an exact science. Rather, it is a technology that relies upon complex mathematical algorithms to analyze and interpret text displayed in an image file. We have designed Procomm Plus’s OCR engine to be as "smart" as possible. It can even "flip" a fax image automatically when processing, just in case it was transmitted upside down!

The results you get when processing images will depend on the fonts and character styles that appear in the image, as well as the source and quality of the image. The Fax Viewer also includes fax cleaning and deskewing technology that can help you obtain the best possible image for OCR processing.