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What Is a Text Scan (OCR Scan)?
LanguageTool has always been considered an exceptional text editor, but only for digital texts. How cool would it be to scan printed and written texts from anywhere using the cell phone camera and then have it proofread in the mobile app? We don’t have to wonder anymore. This intelligent writing assistant now offers this effortless feature. You can use both text recognition (for iOS users) and LanguageTool at the same time.
The OCR technology (optical character recognition) makes it possible to hold the phone camera on a certain text for scanning. The text can be anything from a label to a written work or a sign to neatly written notes. It appears as digital text in the text field after scanning and can thus be checked by LanguageTool.
How Can I Use the New Function With my iPhone?
The scan feature is a unique selling point of the LanguageTool mobile app. You need the following to use the free feature.
- An iPhone (at least model XS and all iPhones with Apple AX Bionic chip)
- LanguageTool’s Mobile App (at least version 1.2.1)
- A free basic account to use the app
- A continuous internet connection
- The text you would like to check
Once you have downloaded the mobile app and are logged in, there are multiples ways to create a new text:
- Type a text
- Import a Word file
- Paste the text from the clipboard into the text field
- Scan a text using the Scan Text button. Focus your camera lens on the text and as soon as it is recognized, you can read it in the text field.
The handling is very easy. LanguageTool will now show you spelling and grammar errors as well as possible style improvements, as usual.
As with all texts, LanguageTool strictly adheres to the requirements of the GDPR. Since no actual photo is taken at any time, you do not have to worry about LanguageTool storing any image data. There is no access to the camera. LanguageTool only receives the scanned text from the operating system.
Minimum device requirement:
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPad Mini (5th Generation)
- iPad Air (3rd Generation)
- iPad (8th Generation)
- iPad Pro 11" (1st Generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9" (3rd Generation)
Why Should I Use the Text Scan and LanguageTool Together?
In the following situations, it is simply practical to combine the advantages of a writing tool with the ease of use of a text recognition.
- Digitization of letters, books, texts of any kind
- Correction of older works
- Final check of prototypes (flyers, brochures, menus, signs, etc.) before their printing
- Checking for strange-looking texts
- Texts don’t have to be copied manually anymore
- Scanning from screens or other devices to copy texts
Last Tip
By the way, LanguageTool saves scanned texts in the LanguageTool Editor. So, you can scan something on the go with your iPhone and then edit it further at home on your Mac, your Windows computer, or on the web.
