I mistakingly initiated a smart rule to OCR thousands of PDFs and the OCR settings are wrong. I can’t find a way to stop the process.
thank you
I’m not aware of any way of stopping a smart rule. In this order I would try:
- close the database(s)
- quit DEVONthink
- force quit DEVONthink
In each case if possible note which file is currently being OCRd.
Depending on your rule, you may want to restore the files already OCRd from the trash or from a backup (in which case - assuming you have an up to date backup - putting back the whole database may be easier)
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thank you VERY much. Embarrassed to say that I have not even looked into backups, which I will do right now. Quit finally worked.
There re few certainties in life, but one thing is for certain is that I am an idiot.
As an aside - and I’m aware it’s too late to say this - may I please suggest testing rules, scripts etc. on a small subset of data (maybe even copies of data) before going ahead with “the real thing”. Also, if you don’t already have a backup strategy, I recommend you urgently consider the importance of your data and how to protect it. This forum contains a number of posts on that matter.
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you are 100% right.
may I ask you what your OCR settings are ? compressed ? 150 or 300 DPI. According to the scanning literature, 300 is the “standard” but the DT default is 150.
thanks again very much
I posted my backup strategy here a while back.
Being “an idiot” is desperately easy - we’ve all been there, some more recently, some eons ago. A good (that is multiple cycles, multiple type, multiple location, multiple times daily) backup strategy will be a step towards insuring yourself against mistakes. Taking your time (yeah, I know…) is another. And testing is one more.
I use 150 dpi and have “Compress PDF” activated. I admit that I’m not completely happy with that setting - and the results change a little bit every time DT deploys a new version of the ABBYY software. Even so, for me it is a good enough compromise between usability, readability and storage space. As an aside, however, almost all my PDFs come directly from my scanner.
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you write and explain very well. I am going on a walk and printed out the link you provided to the forum discussion to read on a bench, so thanks again.
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That is probably the best thing anybody can do after a mishap! Feel free to post back here if you don’t get things working the way you want. DT is amazingly powerful, but that makes the first steps a little more complex.
PS Scanning and OCRing is not necessarily the same thing; that is I might scan at 300 dpi (actually, I’m stumped, I don’t know at what resolution I scan, and it’s not immediately apparent to me how to find that out in today’s “ScanSnap Home”; it always used to be 300 dpi), OCR and save the resulting image as 150 dpi.
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The resolution setting in the OCR preferences only relates to the resolution of the image layer in the final PDF. The scanning resolution is what affects the OCR-ability of a scanned file.
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are there any disadvantages to scanning to 300 DPI ?Only a question of more disk space ? How much compared to 150 DPI ?
thank you for your interest in my problem
Do an internet search on “file size 300 dpi vs 150 dpi” to get links to various articles and videos by numerous people.
200dpi should be sufficient for scanning good originals with good contrast.
300dpi can also be used but usually more helpful on lower quality originals.
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very useful info. thank you so much !
You’re welcome. Do bear in mind the numbers here are referring to scanning resolution, not the resolution set in Preferences > OCR. As I said, previously…
The resolution setting in the OCR preferences only relates to the resolution of the image layer in the final PDF. The scanning resolution is what affects the OCR-ability of a scanned file.