Raising the bar for document conversion

ABBYY has launched a new release of its server-based software for automated, unattended document conversion, ABBYY Recognition Server. The mid- to high-volume document processing software is designed to enable organizations and scanning service providers to establish cost-efficient processes for converting paper and image documents into electronic files suitable for search and archiving.

Recognition Server automatically obtains images of documents from scanners, file servers, fax and e-mail servers and Microsoft SharePoint libraries. Further, says ABBYY, it can recognize content in more than 190 languages and allows for metadata to be added to simplify search.

ABBYY emphasizes the following new features:

Processing documents from archives and SharePoint. Recognition Server can now traverse a tree of nested folders or a document library in Microsoft SharePoint, convert discovered image files into searchable formats and reproduce the entire library in a searchable form. Newly added files that appear in the library can be processed automatically.

Enhanced robustness and fault tolerance. With the addition of a SQLite database and enhanced fault tolerance mechanisms, Recognition Server can handle high workloads or serve multiple clients within one installation, enabling it to support extensive and enterprisewide document conversion projects.

Smarter PDF conversion. The software detects PDF files that require OCR processing while leaving PDFs that already have a text layer untouched. When converting PDF files into archiving formats such as searchable PDF or PDF/A, Recognition Server will inject a text layer into them while keeping the image quality, metadata, bookmarks, annotations, attachments and other features of the original document intact.

Faster Arabic OCR. Along with a general improvement of OCR accuracy and speed, Recognition Server is said to deliver up to 20 percent faster processing of Arabic texts and up to 10 percent more accurate results on office documents and books in Arabic.

Easier user management. To further reduce administration efforts, permissions for different tasks such as administration, verification and indexing can now be assigned via Active Directory user groups.