Hierarchical PDF-printing with Mentor "IC Station Schematics"?

[Joerg]

From the interwebs, it looks like AA throws this error if there is
vector text instead of, or in addition to, bitmapped text. Since, if I'm
correctly following the adventure so far ;-) you have *only* vector
text, you're SOOL. The apparent fix is to export the whole thing as a
TIF or other bitmapped format, reimport into Adobe, and /then/ OCR it.

So, tried it. Stored TIFF, imported into Acrobat 9, let the OCR run.
Long story short it properly OCR'ed some of the text, about half of it.
Meaning you can search and find some of the designators in a PDF reader
but many that are clearly there and very legible cannot be found.

Acrobat 9 doesn't appear to be the cat's meouw so I'll have to look for
a better OCR program. Heck, the old Logitech OCR from the late 80's was
better than that. But that was before PDF was around so I can't use it
for this job.

 

[Rich Webb]

So, tried it. Stored TIFF, imported into Acrobat 9, let the OCR run.
Long story short it properly OCR'ed some of the text, about half of it.
Meaning you can search and find some of the designators in a PDF reader
but many that are clearly there and very legible cannot be found.

Acrobat 9 doesn't appear to be the cat's meouw so I'll have to look for
a better OCR program. Heck, the old Logitech OCR from the late 80's was
better than that. But that was before PDF was around so I can't use it
for this job.

Would it be worth putting up a dummy PS -> PDF -> TIFF -> PDF over at
a.b.s.e (just random components or labels at the necessary
orientations)? I can give the Foxit OCR engine a try.

 

[Joerg]

Would it be worth putting up a dummy PS -> PDF -> TIFF -> PDF over at
a.b.s.e (just random components or labels at the necessary
orientations)? I can give the Foxit OCR engine a try.

Unfortunately I don't have a.b.s.e. access anymore and these are client
schematics, from a chip design. They'd flog me

 

[Rich Webb]

Unfortunately I don't have a.b.s.e. access anymore and these are client
schematics, from a chip design. They'd flog me

Roger roger roger -- was thinking not the real thing, just something
with some rows and columns of, say, resistors with labels.

Regardless, I gave it a shot with a TIF'd schematic from Kicad. The OCR
worked pretty well -- in one orientation. It ignored the text that ran
vertically, however.

 

[Joerg]

Roger roger roger -- was thinking not the real thing, just something
with some rows and columns of, say, resistors with labels.

Regardless, I gave it a shot with a TIF'd schematic from Kicad. The OCR
worked pretty well -- in one orientation. It ignored the text that ran
vertically, however.

Well, that would blow it as well because over 30% of text is vertical :-(

I think Acrobat isn't all it's cracked up to be, at least it doesn't
seem to work well for OCR on vector stuff. Quite disappointing,
considering how much money they want to have for this software.

 

[josephkk]

I do! ...except for Crapture, where I have no choice. You, however, seem to
be saying that the network admin knows more about my job than I do.

Most any network Admin very likely knows more about how to setup a
computer to do what you need to get your work done than you have time to
bother with. Often including CAD/CAE software. By the same token your
admin probably cannot drive any specialty software nor get the most out of
ordinary office applications, let alone do your job. But then i have been
in the server and workgroup admin post for others in the workplace before.

 

[[email protected]]

Most any network Admin very likely knows more about how to setup a
computer to do what you need to get your work done than you have time to
bother with.

Bullshit. They have no idea what programs I even need to do my job.

Often including CAD/CAE software.
Horseshit.

By the same token your
admin probably cannot drive any specialty software nor get the most out of
ordinary office applications, let alone do your job. But then i have been
in the server and workgroup admin post for others in the workplace before.

An engineer in an IT admin job is a total waste of resources.

 

[josephkk]

Bullshit. They have no idea what programs I even need to do my job.

DO try reading what i actually sent.

An engineer in an IT admin job is a total waste of resources.

Your prejudice is showing. Then again your personal experience may very
well have helped to create it. You may have dealt with as many local
incompetent "admins" as i have "engineers". Telephone (vendor) support
has long ago gone lowest common denominator "is it plugged in?".

?-(

 

[josephkk]

Well, that would blow it as well because over 30% of text is vertical :-(

I think Acrobat isn't all it's cracked up to be, at least it doesn't
seem to work well for OCR on vector stuff. Quite disappointing,
considering how much money they want to have for this software.

Please do remember that what they are selling is editing pdf format, not
the OCR capabilities.

?-(

 

[Joerg]

Please do remember that what they are selling is editing pdf format, not
the OCR capabilities.

Sure, but if they tout OCR in their ads I have come to expect things
like that to works at least as good as similar software did 20+ years
ago. Or is that asking too much these days?

Imagine you buy a new car today and then discover that it doesn't have
power steering or brake assist, things you dad's Studebaker had

 

[Joerg]

Now, THAT is a challenge.
(I'm reminded of the "Play Salieri" scene in "Amadeus".)

Why should it be? All it takes is to run the OCR twice, one time with
the schematics rotated. If needed then by hand. But no ...

Have you considered Free Software (FOSS)?

A quick Google turned up this:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ctor+using.Tesseract+part-number.text&strip=1
http://tinyurl.com/OCR-VectorText-Linux-2007
http://www.linux.com/archive/feed/57222
(The very last post there.)

I've looked at Tesseract. However, this is gradually turning into a
science project and I might just do the whole IC schematic checking the
old-fashioned way, using highlighter, pencil and eraser. Sad, but I
guess that's the price we must pay for "modern CAD". Most low cost CAD
software does this perfectly yet the high-end stuff doesn't. Pathetic.

 

[[email protected]]

DO try reading what i actually sent.

I did, JKK. They certainly can't set up a system to do what I need to do
since they have *no* idea what I need to do my job. I don't know what I'm
going to need next week.

Your prejudice is showing.

Hogwash, though perhaps that was your best use.

Then again your personal experience may very
well have helped to create it.

Create what? You aren't making any sense.

You may have dealt with as many local
incompetent "admins" as i have "engineers". Telephone (vendor) support
has long ago gone lowest common denominator "is it plugged in?".

Totally irrelevant.

 

[[email protected]]

Sure, but if they tout OCR in their ads I have come to expect things
like that to works at least as good as similar software did 20+ years
ago. Or is that asking too much these days?

Obviously. ...but we have so many more feechurs to play with.

Imagine you buy a new car today and then discover that it doesn't have
power steering or brake assist, things you dad's Studebaker had

What, no tail fins?!

 

[Rich Grise]

[unacknowledged wrote:]
Use whatever you want. Like a network administrator, I have to use
what the users want. Adobe works for the average home computer user and
you'll never convince most of them to change to anything else.

I do! ...except for Crapture, where I have no choice. You, however, seem
to be saying that the network admin knows more about my job than I do.

Most any network Admin very likely knows more about how to setup a
computer to do what you need to get your work done than you have time to
bother with.

Bullshit. They have no idea what programs I even need to do my job.

Often including CAD/CAE software.
Horseshit.

By the same token your
admin probably cannot drive any specialty software nor get the most out of
ordinary office applications, let alone do your job. But then i have been
in the server and workgroup admin post for others in the workplace before.

An engineer in an IT admin job is a total waste of resources.

I can vouch for this - I'm the local network (LAN) admin here, and the job
consumes about ten minutes a month, on average. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

Your prejudice is showing. Then again your personal experience may very
well have helped to create it. You may have dealt with as many local
incompetent "admins" as i have "engineers". Telephone (vendor) support
has long ago gone lowest common denominator "is it plugged in?".

I've been a repair tech who repaired entertainment machines - from pool
tables to video games. And the job included phone support for owner/
operators who had a broken machine - it's surprising what you can fix
on the phone if you know your elbow from a hole in the ground.

And yes, "Is it plugged in" is always the first question you ask.

I once got a call from a guy who had a dead mahine - he had 115 volts
to the fuse block, the fuses were good, but there was no power to the
power supply. So I walked him through the standard troubleshooting
procedure, and narrowed the problem to the on-off switch. So, he
lays down the phone, and in the background I hear the video game
power up. He comes back to the phone and says, "Fixed it, and I'm
not gonna tell you what the problem was."

So, from that point on, whenever they said, "It's plugged in." I
would ask, "is the power switch on?" ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

Bullshit. They have no idea what programs I even need to do my job.

Maybe, but they _do_ have to know how to install any manner of software
that says, "see your network administrator."

That was kind of a challenge for me for awhile, when I was the network
administrator - I had to figure it out for myself. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Joerg]

Maybe, but they _do_ have to know how to install any manner of software
that says, "see your network administrator."

That was kind of a challenge for me for awhile, when I was the network
administrator - I had to figure it out for myself. ;-)

If I need a face to face meeting with my network administrator I go into
the bathroom across the hallway. There is a mirror ;-)

 

[[email protected]]

]
Use whatever you want. Like a network administrator, I have to use
what the users want. Adobe works for the average home computer user and
you'll never convince most of them to change to anything else.

I do! ...except for Crapture, where I have no choice. You, however, seem
to be saying that the network admin knows more about my job than I do.

Most any network Admin very likely knows more about how to setup a
computer to do what you need to get your work done than you have time to
bother with.

Bullshit. They have no idea what programs I even need to do my job.

Often including CAD/CAE software.
Horseshit.

By the same token your
admin probably cannot drive any specialty software nor get the most out of
ordinary office applications, let alone do your job. But then i have been
in the server and workgroup admin post for others in the workplace before.

An engineer in an IT admin job is a total waste of resources.

I can vouch for this - I'm the local network (LAN) admin here, and the job
consumes about ten minutes a month, on average. ;-)

That sounds like the ideal amount of time an IT admin should take. From there
the instability rises linearly with the time spent.

 

[josephkk]

I did, JKK. They certainly can't set up a system to do what I need to do
since they have *no* idea what I need to do my job. I don't know what I'm
going to need next week.

This make no sense. There are fairly standard tools every engineer uses,
word processor, spreadsheet, database, schematic capture, simulation,
layout, tools like mathcad / maxima / maple / matrixX, et cetera. Are you
telling me that your IT people cannot leave that on a machine all the
time? Software toolchains can be left on there as well. Are you saying
that you regularly go outside all these things on a weekly basis?

An IT support type (in an engineering organization) that cannot install
CAD/CAE software is a problem; one that cannot install standard office
software is a failure. Can't say that i have met one, have you?

Hogwash, though perhaps that was your best use.


Create what?
Prejudice.

You aren't making any sense.


Totally irrelevant.

Didn't figure you would catch that one.

?-(

 

[josephkk]

Sure, but if they tout OCR in their ads I have come to expect things
like that to works at least as good as similar software did 20+ years
ago. Or is that asking too much these days?

Definately. Have you not noticed the degradation of office tools into
glitz and intractable power tools? See also Capture.

Imagine you buy a new car today and then discover that it doesn't have
power steering or brake assist, things you dad's Studebaker had

Oh no, the new cars have all the power widgets, but they are no longer
reliable. And safety equipment like emergency brakes are now computer
mediated and not modulatible.

?-(