Layout Analysis for Scanned PDF and Transformation to the Structured PDF Suitable for Vocalization and Navigation
Information can include text, pictures and signatures that can be scanned into a document format, such as the Portable Document Format (PDF), and easily emailed to recipients around the world. Upon the document’s arrival, the receiver can open and view it using a vast array of different PDF viewing...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Canadian Center of Science and Education
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8128 |
| _version_ | 1848745565550018560 |
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| author | Nazemi, Azadeh Murray, Iain McMeekin, David |
| author_facet | Nazemi, Azadeh Murray, Iain McMeekin, David |
| author_sort | Nazemi, Azadeh |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Information can include text, pictures and signatures that can be scanned into a document format, such as the Portable Document Format (PDF), and easily emailed to recipients around the world. Upon the document’s arrival, the receiver can open and view it using a vast array of different PDF viewing applications such as Adobe Reader and Apple Preview. Hence, today the use of the PDF has become pervasive. Since the scanned PDF is an image format, it is inaccessible to assistive technologies such as a screen reader. Therefore, the retrieval of the information needs Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The OCR software scans the scanned PDF file and through text extraction generates an editable text formatted document. This text document can then be edited, formatted, searched and indexed as well as translated or converted to speech. A problem that the OCR software does not solve is the accurate regeneration of the full text layout. This paper presents a technology that addresses this issue by closely preserving the original textual layout of the scanned PDF using the open source document analysis and OCR system (OCRopus) based on geometric layout and positioning information. The main issues considered in this research are the preservation of the correct reading order, and the representation of common logical structured elements such as section headings, line breaks, paragraphs, captions, and sidebars, foot-bars, running headers, embedded images, graphics, tables and mathematical expressions. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:19:23Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-8128 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:19:23Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Canadian Center of Science and Education |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-81282017-09-13T14:36:23Z Layout Analysis for Scanned PDF and Transformation to the Structured PDF Suitable for Vocalization and Navigation Nazemi, Azadeh Murray, Iain McMeekin, David document layout analysis assistive technology optical character recognition Information can include text, pictures and signatures that can be scanned into a document format, such as the Portable Document Format (PDF), and easily emailed to recipients around the world. Upon the document’s arrival, the receiver can open and view it using a vast array of different PDF viewing applications such as Adobe Reader and Apple Preview. Hence, today the use of the PDF has become pervasive. Since the scanned PDF is an image format, it is inaccessible to assistive technologies such as a screen reader. Therefore, the retrieval of the information needs Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The OCR software scans the scanned PDF file and through text extraction generates an editable text formatted document. This text document can then be edited, formatted, searched and indexed as well as translated or converted to speech. A problem that the OCR software does not solve is the accurate regeneration of the full text layout. This paper presents a technology that addresses this issue by closely preserving the original textual layout of the scanned PDF using the open source document analysis and OCR system (OCRopus) based on geometric layout and positioning information. The main issues considered in this research are the preservation of the correct reading order, and the representation of common logical structured elements such as section headings, line breaks, paragraphs, captions, and sidebars, foot-bars, running headers, embedded images, graphics, tables and mathematical expressions. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8128 10.5539/cis.v7n1p162 Canadian Center of Science and Education fulltext |
| spellingShingle | document layout analysis assistive technology optical character recognition Nazemi, Azadeh Murray, Iain McMeekin, David Layout Analysis for Scanned PDF and Transformation to the Structured PDF Suitable for Vocalization and Navigation |
| title | Layout Analysis for Scanned PDF and Transformation to the Structured PDF Suitable for Vocalization and Navigation |
| title_full | Layout Analysis for Scanned PDF and Transformation to the Structured PDF Suitable for Vocalization and Navigation |
| title_fullStr | Layout Analysis for Scanned PDF and Transformation to the Structured PDF Suitable for Vocalization and Navigation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Layout Analysis for Scanned PDF and Transformation to the Structured PDF Suitable for Vocalization and Navigation |
| title_short | Layout Analysis for Scanned PDF and Transformation to the Structured PDF Suitable for Vocalization and Navigation |
| title_sort | layout analysis for scanned pdf and transformation to the structured pdf suitable for vocalization and navigation |
| topic | document layout analysis assistive technology optical character recognition |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8128 |