There are times when we have to retrieve some text from a printed document or book. Sure, we can always manually type out any text we want to copy in a word processor or some notepad application, but it may be tedious and more than anything, it increases chances of human error. If you are looking for ways to convert printed documents, PDF and images files to text, here is our step-by-step guide to help you do just that using Google Drive/Docs:
Converting physical document to digital text is easy, courtesy of Google Drive. It can scan the document or image stored in Google Drive and convert to text. But before you begin with the actual procedure, keep in mind that you can convert files belonging to select file formats like .JPEG, .PNG, .GIF and PDF. Also make sure the file you are looking to convert to text is less than 2MB in size.
A step-by-step guide on converting documents to text
Step 1: Make sure you have signed into your Google account. Then go to drive.google.com and locate the file you want to convert to text. As mentioned before, double check the file you want to convert to text belongs to supported file formats we discussed above and is of the right size.
Step 2: Right click on the desired file you want to convert to text > Click Open with > Google Docs. Google Drive will then start to convert the file into a document. Once it creates a document, open it and then scroll down. At the end of the converted document, you can find all the text.
Step 3: Google Drive mobile apps don’t allow users to convert documents to text. But in case you have a physical document with you that you want to convert to text, all you can do is capture it using your phone’s camera. Make sure it is oriented right-side up. If not, rotate it accordingly.
Step 4: Share and upload the captured image to your Google Drive. Go to drive.google.com from your desktop or laptop and locate the file you uploaded from your smartphone. Repeat what we mentioned in step 2.
In case you want to convert physical documents to PDF, go to Google Drive mobile app and tap + sign at the bottom right corner. Tap the option called scan and capture the document using your phone’s camera. Once you are done, hit done and the document will be converted and saved as PDF in your Google Drive storage.