Share via

Advice needed on how to convert handwritten documents to text files using Lens and/or OneNote

Anonymous
2023-11-01T15:58:24+00:00

I have just spent two days trying to get Microsoft Lens and OneNote to convert photographs of my handwritten notes into editable text in a Word file.

I am running into at least two problems with Lens.

  • After taking the image with Lens and cropping it to size, I click the Text "T" icon, as instructed. At this stage, I am constantly frustrated by a message which says "Write something here"; when I do so, all that happens is that the typed text appears on top of a new version of the original image. I have found no information about this prompt online and do not understand what this prompt relates to in any way whatsoever.
  • Another issue arises from my use of Chat GPT to find clear instructions. This system has no awareness of what the prompt "Write something here" means (I have asked it) and instead it has advised me to "take a picture of the handwritten text you want to convert" and then "select the text you want to convert by dragging your finger over it". However, carrying out this action has no effect whatsoever; because the text is in an image file, touching it on screen does not highlight or identify anything - I have tried this, to my embarrassment, many times.

As for using OneNote to convert files, I have pasted image files, taken with and without using Lens, of a page of handwritten text into a OneNote page and then right clicked and selected "Copy Text from picture" to create a text conversion, as instructed. So far, this has resulted in a full page of handwritten **** text being reduced to a mere four or five short nonsense phrases, sometimes including non-European script! Here, for example, is a conversion from some notes I made on Renaissance drama:

As you can imagine, not a single word of this bears any relationship at all to my notes. I will only add at this point that my handwriting is small but neat and legible.

Finally, I notice that when I take a image with Lens, I am sometimes prompted to "Open [the] image" with seven different software packages - including Microsoft Create Note, Microsoft Create PDF and Microsoft Extract Text. I have found no clear reference to or explanation of these options in online videos so far. The Extract Text seems to be a sensible one to choose - indeed, is this what ChatGPT was referring to in my earlier comment? If so, it made no reference to it by name. Even if this is the right software to use, it seems unable to identify huge areas of handwritten text, even when I try to highlight it. Why is this?

Does anyone have any advice or could anyone direct me to a clear step by step document or video which provides full instructions for working with this software? There seem to be so many interacting forms of software here that instructions for one lead me to another and no instructions for this diversity are provided. I am very confused and frustrated as I have seen people do exactly what I want to do in some YouTube videos but, as I say, the options that appear on their phones and tablets are not the same as those that appear on mine.

Thank you for your help.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Other

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2023-11-06T04:16:07+00:00

    Hello DalXH!

    We haven't heard from you, so we assume that your issue has already been addressed. We will not be monitoring this thread moving forward so, if you need further assistance, please create a new thread to discuss these concerns by clicking this link: **** Create a new question

    Thank you for your understanding. 

    Sincerely

    ReynaldoB

    Microsoft Community Forum Moderator

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-11-02T22:32:40+00:00

    Hi DalXH

    Thank you for posting on the Microsoft Community forum.

    I understand how challenging it can be when you are unable to convert your handwritten documents to text files using Lens and OneNote. The issue you are experiencing with Lens could be due to the fact that the "Write something here" prompt is meant for you to add any additional text to the image, and not for converting the handwritten text to editable text. To convert the handwritten text to editable text, you need to select the text using the "T" icon and then click on "Extract Text".

    Regarding the issue with OneNote, it is possible that the handwriting recognition feature is not able to accurately recognize your handwriting. You can try adjusting the settings for handwriting recognition in OneNote to see if that helps. Additionally, you can try using the "Copy Text from Picture" feature in OneNote to convert the handwritten text to editable text.

    Moreover, here are some steps that you can try;

    1. When using Lens, after taking the image and cropping it to size, click the Text "T" icon and then tap on the image where you want to start typing. This should allow you to type text directly onto the image.
    2. If you want to convert the handwritten text to editable text, try using the "Extract Text" option that appears when you open the image with Lens. This should allow you to select the handwritten text and convert it to editable text.
    3. When using OneNote, try using the "Copy Text from Picture" option again, but this time try adjusting the image quality settings. Sometimes, if the image quality is too low, the conversion may not be accurate.

    Sincerely,

    ReynaldoB

    Microsoft Community Forum Moderator

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments