Cicero- OCR

Easy to use

Users can scan and read document with a single keypress. Automatic orientation detection, image thresholding, de-skew, and de-columnization mean that the recognition of faint text, text in columns, or slanted text can be achieved with no user intervention. Users can start or stop the speech with a single keypress, move forwards and backwards through the scanned text, and even spell out words individually.

Designed specifically for the operating system

Cicero is a 32-bit program specifically designed for the Windows 95/98 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 operating systems. It has none of the speed and stability problems associated with using Windows 3.1 optical character recognition programs under Windows NT Workstation 4.0 or Windows 95/98.

Seamless integration with other speech applications

Cicero uses Dolphin's SAM (Synthesizer Access Manager) module to enable the sharing of your speech synthesizer with other SAM-compatible access products, such as Hal, Supernova and LunarPlus.

SAM has been developed because with the increasing number of "talking" access products on the market, users can now encounter problems when they want to use their screen reader in conjunction with other talking products. SAM resolves these problems by automatically and intelligently deciding which access product has the right to pass information to the speech synthesizer. This allows users to run all their SAM-compatible speech applications seamlessly. This means that you can switch back and forth between Cicero and, for instance, Hal with Internet Explorer, without having to un-load and re-load your screen reader. Another advantage of this is that you can edit your scanned text directly in your favorite word processor using only three keypresses (including ENTER). Brailling your scanned text using a Braille translation system such as Cipher is similarly painless, because you can start them directly from Cicero.

Feature List

• Designed specifically for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0.
• Easy to use via a simple Control Panel.
• Uses version 3 of RECOGNITA's 32-bit OCR engine.
• Automatic orientation detection for misplaced sheets.
• Automatic de-skewing of slanted text for italics.
• Automatic image contrast thresholding for feint text.
• Automatic de-columnization and columnization via a hot key.
• Export your scanned text directly into your favorite word processor or Braille translation software using only three keypresses.
• User definable hot keys.
• Includes the Orpheus software speech synthesizer for fast, responsive speech output right from your soundcard.

Scanner compatibility