JSTOR pdfs are now searchable

[fintelkai]

This is good news for many academics that use DT and download pdfs from JSTOR: no more need for OCR, since the pdfs from JSTOR are now searchable:

http://www.jstor.org/about/newfeatures.html

Improved Article PDF Files

A new PDF format for downloading and printing articles has replaced the previous High Quality PDF format. This new format enables JSTOR users to “search” or “find” words and phrases within the PDF version of JSTOR articles, as well as copy and paste portions of text from them. In addition to these benefits, the new format facilitates the use of screen-reading software, such as JAWS for Windows. Moreover, PDF files in this new format are, on average, smaller in size than our current High Quality PDF files, which means that they can be downloaded more quickly and easily. We encourage you to try the new High Quality PDF files, especially if you have had printing or downloading difficulties in the past.

–
Professor Kai von Fintel
Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
home: http://semantics-online.org

[lshear]

Great news. Thank you for posting!

Jeff

[Bill_DeVille]

I checked out JAWS for Windows and was surprised by the prices. (Although that may include Braille support.)

For those who wish to have their Mac read a file – including a PDF – simply press Command-A to select the text, then choose Services > Speech > Start Speaking Text. (There’s also a Service to tell the computer to shut up.)

I haven’t checked a multi-column PDF to see if that creates problems. But if so, make a text copy of the PDF using Data > Convert > To Plain (or Rich) Text. Then select all the text and choose the Service as above.

It’s free!