Turn a scanned document into editable text

Secretary · Time: 10 min · Documents

Tools that fit this task

• Gemini $14/mo
• ABBYY FineReader PDF $99/yr
• Adobe Acrobat AI Assistant $4.99/mo
• Nanonets Free

Prompt

Role: you are a proofreader checking text after OCR.
Context: below is text recognized from a scan of a {{document type}}. Language: {{language}}.
Task: find places that look like recognition errors: letters from another alphabet inside words, digits in place of letters, split words, odd dates and amounts. Correct nothing yourself.
Format: a table "fragment, what looks suspicious, what it probably should be". No long dashes.
Text:
{{text}}

Steps

1. Scan the document at 300 dpi in grayscale
2. Recognize documents with personal data locally in FineReader; general documents can go to Gemini or Acrobat
3. Set the recognition languages to match the document
4. Save the result to Word with formatting preserved
5. Check the highlighted doubtful characters, especially in numbers, dates and surnames
6. Compare amounts and dates in the final text with the original

How to check the result

The text is editable in Word, tables stay tables, and all numbers and dates match the original

Pitfalls

• Letters from different alphabets get mixed up when the recognition language is not set, and search in the document then misses words
• Keep scans of HR documents with passport data out of public chats

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Executive letters on personal and HR matters: into a public service only as anonymized text
• Passport data, phones and addresses of travel and meeting participants: replace them with [Participant 1]
• Letters from government bodies and courts with case numbers and details: add the details locally

• Turn a scan into editable Word text with ABBYY FineReader

Other tasks for secretaries

• Clear your morning inbox in half an hour
• Log incoming correspondence with a short summary
• Prepare a cover letter for a document pack
• Find a meeting time with several participants
• Write meeting minutes from an audio recording
• Send action items to participants after a meeting
• Write a business letter
• Write an email to a foreign partner in their language
• Plan your week in the calendar with focus blocks
• Turn a finished document into a presentation
• Find a document in your drive by its content

AI tools for secretaries · Prompt: Turn a scanned document into editable text