In this article, we'll talk about programs for transcribing scanned documents. We'll place primary emphasis on tools for transcribing scanned documents, but we'll also mention audio transcription programs. This way you'll have your documents in digital text, saving a great number of hours typing files.
And it is that many times we have documents so old that they cannot be read by OCR tools and it is here where the platforms we will mention below come into play. They will digitize all the physical documents in poor condition and save you a lot of time in front of the computer.
Transcript
We'll start with Transcript, a platform for transcribing scanned documents. The platform detects paper on the connected scanner or a TWAIN device. It also accepts local document import. At the top you'll find the scanned file and at the bottom a text editor, so you can type text as you see it in the image. But the nice thing is that as you advance in the text, the scanned document also advances. Transcript is a free program, but only for personal use, and is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
GenScriber
GenScriber is a program for transcribing scanned documents that, unlike Transcript, only accepts documents stored on your computer. The utility has all the necessary tools to make text transcription easy. The most notable feature is the option to enter tabular data into a spreadsheet. Once you finish transcribing, you can export the document to CSV, TXT, PDF, HTML, and RTF formats. GenScriber is a free program and is available for Windows.
Free OCR
Free OCR is an OCR program for transcribing scanned documents. Although its main design is not for document transcription, you can use it for this purpose. The interface has a text editor alongside the scanned image. You can incorporate documents from your computer or a connected device. The advantage is the ability to use the OCR option and then the parts that were not digitized perfectly. Through the text editor you can correct, delete, or add them. Once you finish transcription, you can export it in HTML, TXT, and RTF formats. Free OCR is a free program available for Windows.
Easytranscript
We continue with Easytranscript, without a doubt one of the best programs for transcribing audio files. Its main feature is not only transcribing audio files (mp3, wav, wma, ogg, m4a, etc.), but also video files such as 3gp, avi, mkv, and mp4. You'll also find abbreviation options to autocomplete each word, which, if used well, can save you a lot of time. Easytranscript is a free program available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux (requires JRE 7 or JRE 8).
TranscriberAG
We'll finish with TranscriberAG, an audio transcription program that allows us to transcribe both audio and video (mp3, sph, wav, au, aiff, avi, and mp4). The advantage of the tool is the option to transcribe audio in several languages. Both the text editor and the audio editor have several functions that will make transcription easier. TranscriberAG is a free program available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
We hope that with these programs for transcribing text, you'll save several hours of typing in front of the computer and you can use them, of course, to read other notes on Neoteo. Regards and happy transcribing!
