I have inherited my grandmother's writings. I'm scanning them, doing OCR and in some cases retyping them so that I can have them digitized. I'd like to know, is there a format for text that is best for archival purposes? I was thinking of .rtf, since so many applications can open it. Is it considered "archival quality"?
posted by dylan_k
on May 6, 2013 -
15 answers
Dear collective intelligence that lives inside my web browser:
I'm looking for a good document scanning and organization solution for my business. Tax docs are getting lost. Bills are getting overlooked. It's a mess. I'm a digital person and sheets of paper just get totally ignored/lost.
I use Evernote a little bit, and they recommend the SnapScan line of scanners from Fujitsu. Which look pretty decent. Portable is nice.
Anyway, does anyone have any such experiences/recommendations they'd like to share.
Thanks!
posted by chasing
on Apr 10, 2013 -
17 answers
I am adding an SSD as a boot drive in my Mac Pro. I am comfortable installing it, and intend to clone the existing boot drive onto it with SuperDuper! However, I'm confused about how and WHEN to move my documents, iTunes library, etc. in the process. Can you help?
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posted by Admiral Haddock
on Apr 4, 2013 -
4 answers
Google Drive (formerly Google Docs)
has just unveiled a new "feature," that makes Google Drive open most files in a "preview" mode when you click on them, instead of just opening the file for editing/saving/etc. I would like to turn this "feature" off so that my files actually open. How can I do this?
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posted by decathecting
on Feb 28, 2013 -
7 answers
I need to draw up an agreement that would be legally enforceable in Hungary. The catch is, the circumstances of all parties (and witnesses) signing it are such that meeting at a notary's will be very impossible. Would a document signed by both parties and two witnesses be considered legally binding in Hungary? Great thanks in advance.
posted by Dee Xtrovert
on Jan 31, 2013 -
2 answers
I'm looking for the smallest, most streamlined way to hold 15-20 documents that each have a plastic report cover (similar to
this.)
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posted by frizzle
on Jan 31, 2013 -
6 answers
I have boxes of neatly organized crap! I would like to upload as much as possible to "the cloud" thus freeing up space in the basement for the
kitteh olympics.
I need recommendations!
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posted by Ruthless Bunny
on Nov 16, 2012 -
3 answers
So, I got myself an Android tablet, specifically for DnD nerdery. Now I've got some specific desires for pdf and spreadsheet programs - but am having a hell of a time tracking down apps that can what I want. Are these things really that hard to do in Jelly Bean?
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posted by FatherDagon
on Nov 4, 2012 -
6 answers
I have inherited a 1,000+ pages of my grandmother's writings. I would like to scan them, OCR them and (after fixing OCR mistakes) share them with the rest of my family online. My question is this: what's the best way to scan so many pages? Also, I should point out that many of the pages are on thin typing paper. Maybe this is carbon paper? or onion skin paper? I'm not sure but I don't want to damage the originals.
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posted by dylan_k
on Oct 5, 2012 -
15 answers
I'm getting a scanner. I would keep my personal files electronically. Is Evernote Premium pretty much my option, or is there some other less expensive alternative I can use if I don't need cloud storage?
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posted by gracedissolved
on Sep 1, 2012 -
12 answers
Is there a filing cabinet app that is: secure, online, stable, metasearchable, user-friendly, and cross-platform?
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posted by babbageboole
on Jun 11, 2012 -
6 answers
I am getting the following error when trying to save in .doc format in Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac (v. 14.2.0): "the save failed due to out of memory or disk space". I can open .docs, but can only save as .docx. This happens with brand new documents and old ones.
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posted by DiscourseMarker
on May 9, 2012 -
18 answers
I am going paperless at home and I need some program that will take care of digitized stuff with tagging.
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posted by zaxour
on Apr 10, 2012 -
12 answers
Switching from Word for Mac 2004 to Word for Mac 2011. Formatting and compatibility issues. Really truly clueless. Help?
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posted by greta simone
on Jan 18, 2012 -
12 answers
What is the easiest way to dump and or sync a directory (or two) of documents to my iPod Touch (v4?) 32Gb iOS 5.0.1 for access when offline.
I want to use my iPod Touch as my sole computing device when travelling abroad and was hoping there was a way to dump a bunch of data onto it. pdfs, txt files, .docs, pngs, jpgs, travel details, notes, reading material etc. Generally I wont' have Wi-Fi access so I want offline apps / offline storage tips.
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posted by mary8nne
on Dec 11, 2011 -
13 answers
Looking for the absolute best and (preferably) easiest way to manage thousands of PDFs as part of dissertation research.
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posted by arco
on Nov 14, 2011 -
18 answers
I'm looking for well-designed word processing software that lets me edit documents in Track Changes and is compatible with MS Word. Does it exist or am I dreaming?
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posted by scrm
on Nov 7, 2011 -
5 answers
My company got lucky and we're working on a web site for an amazing historical society, showcasing a ton of documents from their collection.
Do you have any examples of how historical documents are being showcased online? Do you have any suggestions for what they
don't do that you wish they would?
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posted by o2b
on Sep 8, 2011 -
19 answers
I am looking for an app for my iPad that allows me to save word documents from the Internet, open them and edit them preferably with a handwriting ability, on the iPad without having to filter them through googledocs or convert them to PDFs. I am basically looking to eliminate having to go through another normal computer from the process so that I can download, view and edit my class note outlines right in class on my iPad. Any app suggestions? I am willing to invest a bit of money in an app if it does what I want.
posted by RampantFerret
on Aug 16, 2011 -
6 answers
What are some creative, yet professional ways to present documents to clients?
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posted by arveale
on Jul 12, 2011 -
4 answers
In Google documents, how can I have my boss alerted when it needs to be viewed? He has an android phone and uses google mail coupled with Mac os X and mac applications. He has his gmail open all day and always has his phone with him.
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posted by JJkiss
on Jul 1, 2011 -
3 answers
How do I find policies that are actually in use, not future or the past? Specifically: How can I find EU actually-in-use policies (and if possible, if it's actually happening on the ground) in regards to second language education.
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posted by titanium_geek
on Jun 4, 2011 -
2 answers
Is there an app for the iphone and ipad that will let me store all my scanned documents?
Thanks
posted by Noodles
on Apr 7, 2011 -
16 answers
Asking for a friend: He is a security manager. The client told him to document
post orders, but they wouldn't provide him with the resources to do them. He did them on his own computer. Then, his hard drive failed. (A bit of a long story inside.)
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posted by methroach
on Mar 8, 2011 -
5 answers
I want to read pdfs on my iphone, but unless the pdf was created with larger than normal text, it's generally too small to read. They don't use the available space efficiently and there is often large margins that could have been used to enlarge the font.
Here are some
shots of what I'm talking about. I've read that epub is the format I am looking for but haven't been able to find my pdfs as epubs (the books I get are mostly textbooks or from small authors that sell their books on their own sites (like Smashing Magazine), not through e\retailers who may have multiple formats), and converting via online services or desktop apps like Calibre have not been successful, especially for large documents...
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posted by dozo
on Sep 14, 2010 -
5 answers
Unless specified against so, is it legal to copy other people's legal documents (work contract, websites' disclaimer, terms of use, etc) for my own use? I want to copy parts of other people's legal documents to create a customized version for my own business.
posted by bbxx
on Sep 4, 2010 -
9 answers
Jobhack/automation filter: Please help me track legislation and its proposed changes to the U.S. Code.
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posted by jalexc
on Aug 6, 2010 -
3 answers
Modern life brings with itself a flood of bills and letters and forms sent to us by utilities, banks, the government, etc. Some of them can be thrown away, others should really be shredded to prevent identity theft, yet others need to be retained for months and years. What do you do with yours? Do you have a filing system? Do you have a box or corner or bottomless pit you put all your paperwork into? Do you deal with it in batches or as soon as it arrives?
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posted by Zarkonnen
on Jul 27, 2010 -
19 answers
I have a large amount of family letters, photos, and documents dating from the late 1800s to the 2000s, with most ranging from the 1930s to the 1960s. Some are in fair condition, and I'd like preserve them for future generations. Most are in English, but there's a smattering of Hebrew and French, neither of which I can read. My questions inside.
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posted by scottso17
on Jun 17, 2010 -
5 answers
Are there any commercial products intended to (or could be set up to) mine content from unstructured office documents (think: memos, presentations) and populate fields in a database for faceted search, or is this still the domain of research?
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posted by Alterscape
on Jun 4, 2010 -
3 answers
Certified Translator? I'm in Montreal and I need a certified translator for documents for immigration I'm having trouble finding a certified person/company who can do this for me. Spanish to English.
posted by Napierzaza
on Feb 17, 2010 -
4 answers
How can I parse several largish (~6mb) text documents to produce a common index of keywords and phrases? I need something that will recognize phrases as well as key words, kind of like Amazon's Statistically Improbable Phrases.
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posted by cross_impact
on Jan 15, 2010 -
5 answers
Is there any way to deal with corrupt pages in non-OCR'd PDF files that occur after copying?
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posted by mjklin
on Oct 15, 2009 -
2 answers