OCR4all

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Setup guide – Windows ​

Preparation ​

You have to prepare the following folder structure:

...
├── ocr4all
│   ├── data
│   |   ├── [Your book]
│   |   |   ├── input
│   |   |   |   ├── 0001.png
│   |   |   |   ├── 0002.png
│   |   |   |   ├── ...
│   |   ├── [Another book]
│   |   |   ├── input
│   |   |   |   ...
│   ├── models
...

Explanation:

  • ocr4all (main folder)
  • models (folder for the neural network models)
  • data (folder for the documents you want to recognize)
  • [Your book] (folder that contains all data of a single, specific print/book)
  • input (folder for original, coloured / grayscaled book scans on page level)

Choosing the right Docker version ​

  • You will need the Community Edition (CE) of Docker for installation.
  • Docker for Windows:
    • Available for Windows 10, 64 bit: Pro, Enterprise or Education (Build 14393 or later; check for your version, which can be found in your System Information)
    • https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/release-notes/ (If you do not want to register, do not chose “Download Docker for Windows” right away, but instead use “Download” under the “Stable Releases” section below)

Docker for Windows ​

Docker Setup ​

  • Follow the installation guide under https://docs.docker.com/desktop/windows/install/.

  • Make sure to give all needed permissions, install all additional drivers etc.

  • Start Docker.

  • Adjust the Docker settings (Right-click on the Docker symbol in the hidden bottom-right toolbar, then chose Settings):

    • Shared Drives: Chosen drive (or partition).
      • You will need at least one. Our recommendation: Simply use C:.
      • Click Apply. (Attention: This requires a valid, non-empty Windows password. Changing or removing the password later results in a silent removal of your Docker privileges!).
    • Advanced: Adjust CPUs (max) and Memory (2GB+) if you want to.

OCR4all Setup ​

  • Move the OCR4all folder structure detailed above (Preparation) to the shared drive (or partition). In the following example, we use C:\Users\Public\ocr4all\.... We recommend to use the same for the first setup.
  • Inside the OCR4all folder, open PowerShell (Shift + right click inside OCR4all folder -> Open PowerShell window here) and load an OCR4all image using the following command (this will take up a few minutes and requires a stable connection to the internet):
docker pull uniwuezpd/ocr4all
  • Create the OCR4all container using the following command (Note: this works only for the recommended setup, i.e. when the OCR4all folder is located in C:\Users\Public\...)
docker run -p 1476:8080 --name ocr4all -v C:\Users\Public\ocr4all\data:/var/ocr4all/data -v C:\Users\Public\ocr4all\models:/var/ocr4all/models/custom -it uniwuezpd/ocr4all

  • Do not enter line breaks manually!

  • Alternatively, you will have to adjust the paths marked in bold print.

    • Use absolute paths!
    • Use auto completion! (default: Tabulator)
    • It is recommended to not use print working directory (PWD) in this case.

Browser access and further use ​

  • OCR4all is optimized for Chrome/Chromium.

  • Browser access: http://localhost:1476/ocr4all/- If you want to check whether the mapping is working correctly you can add the example projects Cirurgia and GNM from here to your data directory. In the browser, check Project Overview -> Project selection: If you can find the two aforementioned books (or any other book that you added), the mapping (-v C:\Users\...) is working properly.

  • Otherwise, there might be a typo in the docker run command, so you will have to create the container again. First, delete the container you just created:

  • Stop the process in PowerShell using CTRL + C, then type:

docker rm ocr4all
  • Check and correct your command (as with most terminals, you can sift through your previous commands using the arrow keys), especially the two -v C:\Users\.. lines, then run it again.
  • If everything is set up properly, you are able to restart OCR4all in the future by using
docker start –ia ocr4all