Abbyy FineReader PDF Review | igamesnews

Best Prices Today: ABBYY FineReader PDF for Mac

Many workplaces and educational institutions h ave moved from paper to digital documents. As a result, Mac users are increasingly relying on PDFs and other electronic document file formats. Abbyy’s FineReader PDF is one of the most popular options you may come across when looking for apps that can handle these documents. While the app is generally reliable for optical character recognition (OCR) and file format conversion, it lacks the PDF editing tools that most users expect from a premium solution.

Pricing and Availability

Abbyy offers FineReader PDF on both macOS and Windows. While the Windows edition is a full-fledged PDF editor with support for more powerful features, the macOS variant mainly revolves around OCR and file conversion.

If you download FineReader PDF from Abbyy’s website, you’ll be limited to the $69/£59 annual subscription. However, if you download FineReader PDF from the Mac App Store, you’ll be able to take advantage of a monthly option for $11.99/£11.99 (on top of the annual subscription), which is better suited to those with short-term OCR needs, as you can simply cancel after a month. (Note that the annual subscription on the Mac App Store costs £69.99 in the UK, which is more than if you bought it from Abbyy.)

Beyond the billing systems mentioned above, both the web and Mac App Store versions offer 7-day free trials and are virtually identical in terms of features.

First impressions

Abbyy’s FineReader PDF offers a simple user interface, consisting of three main tabs. The first one is for viewing PDF documents, while the second and third ones offer quick and advanced file conversion tools, respectively.

To import a document into FineReader PDF, you can browse the Finder, use the Continuity Camera for an iPhone scan, or scan an actual document using a connected scanner.

The app has been optimized to run smoothly on the latest version of macOS, and its modern design complements that of the operating system. In terms of performance and overall user experience, FineReader PDF doesn’t disappoint; the limited features, however, are another story.

FineReader PDF Features

FineReader PDF supports viewing and highlighting PDF files. You can choose between different predefined highlight colors and add comments if necessary. Therefore, you should definitely not pay for this app if you are looking for PDF annotation tools. The built-in Apple Preview app meets more use cases and is available for free.

OCR is where FineReader PDF excels. As mentioned above, you can import a document using your preferred method. This could be another PDF file you want to scan and optimize, or an image of a paper document you’ve taken. Keep in mind, though, that the app doesn’t appear to support Apple’s HEIC image format, so you may need to convert your HEIC photos taken with your iPhone to JPG first.

The quick conversion feature processes the file you input to detect its contents. Once the text and images are analyzed, you can choose the output format. Supported file formats include PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, EPUB, FB2, a wide range of image types, TXT, HTML, RTF, ODT, and CSV.

Each of the above formats also offers its own set of customizations. So, you can choose the title and author of the e-book when converting to EPUB format, for example. As for PDF, you can choose the layout, whether the output should exclude detected images, the page size, and much more.

Once the output details are selected, FineReader PDF exports the document. The new file should now be more editable, as FineReader PDF’s OCR technology optimizes the photographed text and scans it. Beyond this point, however, Abbyy’s application is of no use.

Although the advanced conversion mode allows you to check and refine the OCR results before generating a new file, FineReader PDF does not allow you to edit the actual content. So you can help it detect text fields and images and edit its errors, but it does not support proper PDF editing.

Should you buy Abbyy FineReader PDF?

While FineReader PDF certainly offers reliable OCR and file conversion features, it falls short when it comes to properly editing PDFs. So it can’t be the only PDF solution you use to scan and manipulate these files. And given that it doesn’t offer a one-time purchase option and its recurring fees are relatively high, it’s hard to justify paying for it.

After all, many similarly priced PDF editing apps offer OCR as an added benefit. With these alternatives, you get access to more advanced features while paying the same price. While the OCR functionality in these apps may not be as well-developed as FineReader PDF, it should work fine for occasional document scans.

Ultimately, FineReader PDF stands out as an OCR software and file converter. If you’re dealing with a ton of physical documents to scan, this will probably be the way to go. Otherwise, if you’re looking for an all-in-one PDF solution, Abbyy’s app isn’t the way to go.

While FineReader PDF certainly offers reliable OCR and file conversion features, it falls short when it comes to properly editing PDFs. If you’re dealing with a ton of physical documents to scan, this will probably be the way to go. If you’re looking for an all-in-one PDF solution, look elsewhere.