We’ve mentioned Office Lens in previous e-bulletins, but today we are going to dive a bit deeper and focus on how to use the app, and more specifically, how to use Office Lens in conjunction with other apps. For those who aren’t familiar with the app, Office Lens uses OCR (Optical character Recognition) technology to capture any document, business card, whiteboard, or photo. Essentially, this free app turns any modern smartphone or tablet into a mobile scanner, and it does so using the devices’ built-in camera(s). This app could be helpful to any individual who has challenges related to learning, reading, or mobility, as this technology allows users to easily capture, edit, share, and convert written text.
Now that we’ve looked at why the app might be helpful, let’s look at how to use it.
1. Open the app and select the type of capture you wish to use. Choose from Whiteboard, Document, Business Card, or Photo.
2. Ensure that the object you wish to capture is well lit, and that everything you wish to capture is in frame. The app will display a red frame guide around the object being photographed. Once the entirety of the object being captured is within the frame guide, take the picture.
3. You will then see a preview of the capture. Make sure that the content of the capture is completely visible. Once you are satisfied with the capture, tap “Done”.
4. Now, you’re ready to export your capture. Your export options will vary based on what apps you’ve already downloaded, but, since Office Lens can be shared to email, message, and AirDrop, and can be saved to virtually any Note-taking or word-processing app, the options are almost endless. In this case, we’ll use OneNote, since it functions as both a note-taking app as well as a text-to-speech reader which can read captured text out loud. To download the OneNote app for iOS, click here(new window). For the android version, click here(new window).
5. Under the “Save to” dropdown, select OneNote.
6. Choose a location for your capture, then, select “save”.
7. You’ll then be re-directed to a screen showing your recent files. Your newest capture will be located on the top left corner the screen. Tap on your capture to be re-directed to OneNote.
8. At this point OneNote will have launched with the captured photo, allowing you to mark-up, annotate, highlight, edit, and share their photo/notebook.
If capturing the photo for annotation/editing is your goal, then congratulations, you’re finished! But, if you want to have your captured text read aloud, keep reading!
1. While in OneNote, go to the View tab and select “Immersive Reader”.
2. You will then be re-directed to the Immersive Reader window, where your captured text will appear. Press the play button to have the text read aloud.
3. To make adjustments to voice settings, tap on the audio settings button located beside the play button.
4. To make adjustments to the text appearance and colours, tap on the text settings button located on the top right corner of your screen.
5. For other adjustments, tap on the two additional settings buttons located to the right of the text settings button.
Office Lens is available for both iOS(new window) and Android(new window). To learn more about OneNote, click here(new window).
