Speed Up PDF Conversion and OCR

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OCR is the slowest part of the conversion process. Here are some tips to speed it up:

More RAM?

FileConvert is actually fairly light on RAM. If you have a relatively clean, fast-running machine, increasing the RAM won't usually make a difference. Here's how to check if it can help you:

Open your Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL) while FileConvert's running a conversion job and look at the Commit Charge down on the status bar. This shows the RAM in use compared to the RAM available. Unless those numbers are getting close, RAM's not going to be a factor. Normally the RAM in use should be well under 75% of the RAM available.

Multiple Processors or Cores

If you have multiple processors or multiple processor cores, you can upgrade to FileConvert Pro PLUS. This will let you convert one document per core/processor (up to four), which will really speed things up.

Try a Different OCR Engine

If you don't actually need searchable PDFs, don't run OCR at all. This will make a huge difference in speed.

If you do need searchable PDFs, you might try a different OCR engine. The Simple OCR engine is extremely fast, but not as accurate as the others. If you have Microsoft Office installed on your machine, try switching to the Microsoft Office (MODI) OCR engine. FileConvert fully supports it. The MODI engine is nearly as accurate as FileConvert's Advanced OCR engine, and it's significantly faster.

To change the OCR engine:

Select your job
Click the drop-arrow next to the "Edit" button
Selecting "Edit Job"
Go to the "OCR Options" section on the left
You'll see the "OCR Engine" options available
If "Microsoft Office (MODI)" isn't available, you haven't installed that component. You can install it from your Microsoft Office disks.

To disable OCR completely, follow the steps above to get to the "OCR Options" for your job. Then under "Embed OCR Text in PDF" select the "Do Not Embed" option.

If you still need to process Separators, leave that option selected. FileConvert will do a fast OCR to look for Separators. Otherwise, de-select that option as well.

Choose a Fast Processor

Finally, put FileConvert on the machine with the fastest processor. OCR is very processor-intensive, so using a faster processor will make a difference.