Utility_Apps/Shell/AddOCR

📘 Add OCR Layer – Windows Context Menu Script

This script adds an OCR text layer to any PDF using OCRmyPDF, with smart handling for PDFs that already contain text.

It integrates directly into the Windows right-click menu, so you can right-click any PDF → Add OCR Layer.

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✅ Features

• ✔ Right-click any PDF to run OCR

• ✔ Detects:

  • Tagged PDFs

  • PDFs with pre-existing OCR

• ✔ Prompts user when text already exists:

  • R → --redo-ocr (best for mixed raster/vector)

  • F → --force-ocr (overwrite all text)

  • S → Skip OCR

• ✔ Produces a new file with _ocr.pdf appended

• ✔ Works even when OCRmyPDF returns ambiguous exit codes

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📦 Installation Guide

1. Install Python

Install Python 3.11 or later:
https://www.python.org/downloads/
Be sure to check:

☑ Add python.exe to PATH

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2. Install OCRmyPDF

Open Command Prompt (Win+R → cmd) and install:

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pip install ocrmypdf

OCRmyPDF requires several external tools.

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3. Install Ghostscript

Required for rasterizing pages:

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choco install ghostscript

Or download manually:
https://ghostscript.com/releases/index.html

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4. Optional: Install Tesseract

OCRmyPDF bundles a basic engine, but Tesseract yields better results:

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choco install tesseract

Or install manually from UB Mannheim builds.

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5. Copy the Script

Save the provided batch script as:

makefile

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C:\Tools\add_ocr_layer.bat

(You may place it anywhere, but avoid locations that sync to the cloud.)

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6. Add “Add OCR Layer” to Right-Click Menu

Automated (recommended)

Create a .reg file:

swift

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Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Add OCR Layer] @="Add OCR Layer" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\Add OCR Layer\command] @="\"C:\\Tools\\add_ocr_layer.bat\" \"%1\""

Double-click to install.

Manual (if needed)

Navigate to:

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Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\

Create key: Add OCR Layer
Inside it, create key: command
Set default value to:

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"C:\Tools\add_ocr_layer.bat" "%1"

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▶️ Usage

Right-click any PDF → Add OCR Layer

The script will:

1. Show the file path

2. Run OCRmyPDF

3. Detect if pages contain text

4. If text is found, it will prompt:

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Choose how to proceed: R = Use --redo-ocr (raster areas only) F = Use --force-ocr (overwrite all text) S = Skip OCR

5. Your OCR’d file will be saved as:

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original_filename_ocr.pdf

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⚠ Troubleshooting

Ghostscript not found (‘gs’ missing)

Install via Chocolatey:

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choco install ghostscript

Or add Ghostscript’s bin folder to PATH manually.

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OCRmyPDF not found

Ensure Python Scripts folder is in PATH:

makefile

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C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python312\Scripts\

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TaggedPDFError appears and OCR stops

This script handles it automatically and will offer choices.

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🧪 Tested On

• Windows 10

• Windows 11

• Python 3.12

• OCRmyPDF 15.x

• Ghostscript 10.x

• Tesseract 5.x